Which events is the ORCHA team excited about in November?

If you want to attend an event to stay abreast of the digital health market, we recommend attending:

‘Introduction to Health App’ Webinars – Every month ORCHA will be offering you the opportunity to join a webinar to introduce you to more information about the opportunities, challenges and solutions in the health app market space. You can join this by simply registering at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7099913110229874435

DigiHealth Leaders Congress – On 13th November 2019, we will be attending the DigiHealth Leaders Congress. DigitalHealth.London is partnering with LSX to bring together 300+ leaders from the global digital health ecosystem, including government, technology experts, pharma and innovators, to create a forum to share ideas and uncover how the sector can collaborate and master the challenges that lie ahead. Read more and register here: https://digitalhealth.london/events/digihealth-leaders-congress/

HiNZ – ORCHA will be heading to New Zealand from 18th-22nd November for NZ’s largest digital health event, the HiNZ Conference! We can’t wait to present and exhibit at Health Informatics New Zealand (HiNZ) as part of Digital Health Week New Zealand 2019, which comprises a range of events and workshops. Follow this link to learn more and find out how to register: https://www.hinz.org.nz/page/2019DHWNZ

WHINN 2019 – Week of Health and INNovation is an international health tech and health innovation conference that includes side events, an exhibition, matchmaking and networking activities, all within health and innovation. ORCHA will be speaking at WHINN 2019 on 20th November, so do come and join us to discover the latest digital health innovations! Register here: https://www.whinn.dk/registration/

Our team of experts continually monitor, assess and ask questions, so they can give consumers, professionals and health and care bodies across the world accurate, impartial and up to date advice on finding the best apps.

Here, we pick the most significant market developments from over the past month:

What is the importance of improving the quality and safety of health apps? This literature review shows how valuable ORCHA’s App Review process is in providing transparency about which apps are safe to use. Read the review here, which explores ‘Safety concerns with consumer-facing mobile health applications and their consequences’: http://ow.ly/mO4p50wW7gG

The Local Growth Hub has allowed ORCHA to scale at pace, growing to a now global company. Watch this video from Local Growth Hub for an insight into how we have worked with them, and a inside look at ORCHA’s work distributing great digital health for populations across the world: http://www.bqlive.co.uk/healthcare-medical/2019/10/07/video/how-orcha-is-improving-digital-health-apps-across-the-globe-36417/

How are we working with charity Patient Safety Learning to improve the safety of health and care apps? ORCHA want to ensure that safe and effective digital health is accessible to all for multiple health conditions, especially as only 15% of apps that we review meet our quality threshold. Read more here: https://www.digitalhealth.net/2019/10/healthcare-apps-safety-standards/

Does digital training need to be embedded into clinical workstreams in order to avoid a knowledge gap forming? Read our interview with Digital Health here: https://www.digitalhealth.net/2019/10/digital-training-embedding-clinical-curricula/

We are entering into a strategic, international partnership with Dutch eHealth knowledge platform NeLL (National eHealth Living Lab) to support the delivery, implementation and scaling-up of safe & effective health apps. Learn more here.

In our latest video, hear Dr Devender Roberts discuss the impact apps can make in the delivery of maternity care. Improving Me, a partnership of 27 NHS organisations across Cheshire and Merseyside, has introduced an app library so that patients can access safe health apps with confidence. The app library includes the top-rated apps for maternity, and can be found at improvingme.orcha.co.uk

As it’s Fertility Awareness Week, we’re taking a look at apps for Women’s Health. From period-tracking apps, to fertility and pregnancy apps, there’s been a huge rise in the number of apps in this field, but testing reveals that 85% don’t meet our quality threshold.

Take a look at our videos of three top scoring women’s health apps on ORCHA’s App Library, including an app that uses a smart algorithm to learn your ovulation cycle, and apps that empower women during pregnancy and beyond:

Natural Cycles – This app uses a smart algorithm to learn your cycle and identify your ovulation by analysing your basal body temperature, making it a useful fertility tracker. Backed by scientific research, the app is also the first digital method of birth control available in both the USA and Europe.

Mum & Baby – Developed in partnership between families and maternity staff from NHS trusts in North West London, Mum & Baby can provide support from the start of pregnancy to early parenthood. The app allows you to access information for all stages of your maternity journey, and make personalised plans for your care during pregnancy, birth and beyond.

Mush – This app empowers women to build local friendships with other mums, share advice and find support from an understanding community. Mush creates opportunities for mums to socialise, bridging the gap between appointments with healthcare professionals, and provides support for those who don’t have family networks nearby.

Due to our continual re-review process, all app scores are subject to change. As such, we’d always encourage you to view our app reviews on our App Library, as this reflects Live data and app updates which are continuously changing. Our re-review process ensures that the most up-to-date information for the latest version of an app can be accessed via our App Library.