Which digital for mental health recovery action plans?

News

Which digital for mental health recovery action plans?

With mounting evidence that mental health problems have become even more prevalent since the pandemic, in the UK, the government has developed a Mental Health Recovery Action plan. Backed by £500 million, it aims to respond to escalating mental health issues, specifically targeting groups that have been most impacted including those with severe mental illness, young people, and frontline staff.

During lockdown, services turned to digital, switching from in-person help to a range of digital services, such as patient-to-clinician platforms, digitally-enabled treatments, mental health and wellbeing apps, chatbots, and social support networks.

As services deliver against the mental health recovery action plan and COVID-19 restrictions lift, we ask: what is the role of digital now?

Click on the PDF icon below to download our report, and discover:

  • Which patients prefer online support, advice, and counseling?
  • Search volumes across mental health categories, including a 2483% rise for mindfulness apps.
  • Why do only 32% of digital health for mental health meet quality thresholds? In which areas does this figure drop even further?
  • 5 examples of mental health apps that meet standards.
  • What should mental health recovery action plans include?

If you are experiencing any issues with downloading the report, or want to know more, please get in touch with us at hello@orchahealth.com.

King’s Fund: Digital innovations in health and care: looking ahead

Virtual Conference

King’s Fund: Digital innovations in health and care: looking ahead

Liz Ashall-Payne will speak on Wednesday 26th May at 9:35 am on the panel: Harnessing the digital revolution for the social care of the future. Tickets are available on the King’s Fund website.

Description:

The long-overdue digital revolution in health and care has been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic in ways that would have been unimaginable just a year ago. The advent of technology and its rapid progress have touched every area of care delivery. From devices that facilitate communication between patients and clinicians, through data-driven systems that challenge traditional thinking around health, to wearables providing patients with unprecedented independence, technology has delivered promising possibilities for the future of health care and is starting to deliver on those promises, despite some issues and concerns.

There is still a lot to achieve to deliver on the potential of technology, and the digital transformation of the NHS will be at the forefront of healthcare services for many years to come. Join us for this virtual conference, as we explore the new and exciting digital innovations that have emerged during the pandemic, and assess their potential impact and benefits. We will hear from leaders of national bodies, international experts, industry representatives, patients, and policy experts on how we can ensure the digital revolution delivers to its fullest potential while attempting to prevent any negative consequences. Join us to celebrate the new era of digitally enabled care and to discuss how we can enhance good outcomes and facilitate progress. This event is designed for the tech-friendly, the tech skeptical, and for everyone who has realized that no matter where one stands on the value of digital health care, it is a future that cannot be ignored.

Contact us

For more information about our services, to request a demo, or for advice on any aspect of digital health, please get in touch.

Market Facts and Figures

Press Office

Market Facts and Figures

The Organization for the Review of Care and Health Apps (ORCHA) is the world’s leading digital health reviewer, and our analysts regularly monitor trends in app usage by health and care professionals and citizens. The facts below may be useful background, but if there’s something you want to know and it isn’t listed, just ask us.

  • There are around 374,000 health and fitness apps.
  • Every day, we see about 30 new app products enter the marketplace.
  • A survey of doctors and clinicians who owned a smartphone found that 79% would be willing to use their phone for clinical use (Annals of Medicine and Surgery, 2015).
  • 40% of all GP-patient contacts are now via online consultations, following the pandemic (Practice Business, February 2021).
  • 81% of healthcare professionals believe that health apps will increase their knowledge of patients’ conditions (Research Now, April 2015).
  • 93% of users of health apps think the apps help to improve their quality of life (Research Now).
  • 65% of healthcare professionals believe health apps will encourage patients to take more responsibility for their health (Research Now).
  • 60% of NHS regions now have an ORCHA Digital Health Library.
  • Every single app featured on one of our Digital Health Libraries has been reviewed against more than 350 tough criteria, covering numerous digital health standards and measures, including elements of the NICE standards framework.
  • We have seen an increase of 25% in downloads of digital health apps during the COVID-19 pandemic. This equates to around 5m downloads of apps every single day.
  • In quarter one of 2019, 488m health and fitness apps were downloaded. That rose to 593m by quarter one of 2020 (Statista).
  • Across our platforms, we have seen a 6,500% increase in healthcare professionals recommending apps to their patients during this same period, an 180% increase in sessions on our Digital Health Libraries by healthcare staff, plus a 182% increase in downloads.
  • Downloads of apps supporting consumers with mental health needs increased by nearly 200% from the summer of 2019 to the summer of 2020.
  • Downloads of those supporting consumers with diets and weight loss rose by a massive 1,294% during that same period.
  • Downloads of apps helping consumers manage diabetes rose by 482% during that period.
  • Significant returns on investment can be achieved when Clinical Commissioning Groups and NHS Trusts acquire our Digital Health Libraries. By way of example, in a large CCG with 160 practices and a population of 1.3m, with 22k patients with COPD, 15k with anxiety, and 78k with diabetes, an investment of £100,000 into an ORCHA Digital Health Library would produce a return in investment of £17 for every £1 invested.
  • We are aware of several top-flight apps which are currently gathering evidence to demonstrate their efficacy with patients and levels of return on investment in health services. One of our high-scoring cancer support apps, Vinehealth, shares that 87% of patients report an improved quality of life through its platform; also, when patients simply track their symptoms and medications effectively, survival can increase by up to 20%.
  • 92% of patients who are prescribed an app will use that app, according to evidence gathered by Mount Sinai Hospital. In contrast, around £300m is wasted every year in the NHS on unused or partially used medicine (NHS Confederation, 2018).
  • The quality of apps, however, is an enduring issue. 80% of apps we review score under 65%, which is our baseline of acceptability, so are not even featured on our Digital Health Libraries.
  • This leaves only 20% of health apps deemed trustworthy: backed by high clinical standards, safe with patient data, and useable.

Contact us

For more information about our services, to request a demo, or for advice on any aspect of digital health, please get in touch.

Spokespeople

Press Office

Spokespeople

Liz Ashall-Payne, Founding CEO

As an NHS speech and language therapist, Liz was frustrated she could only see one patient at a time, especially with such long waiting times. This led her on a mission to improve quality and efficiencies within NHS departments. With the advent of healthcare apps, Liz set up ORCHA, the world’s first health app rating system. Her objective: that professionals and citizens should have access to health apps they can trust.

Download Liz’s high resolution headshot

Liz Ashall-Payne photo

Simon Leigh, Health Economist

Simon can speak about how digital health may be used to supplement or transform existing care pathways, enabling improved access or reducing reliance on incumbent services. His background is in health economics, market access, social media analytics, medical writing & value demonstration, with application in the pharmaceutical, academic, digital, & regulatory sectors.

 

Tim Andrews, Co-Founder and COO

Tim is ORCHA’s spokesperson on regulation, security and accreditation in the world of digital health. Amongst many senior roles he has held, Tim is former Managing Director of the NHS Cheshire & Merseyside CSU, an 800 strong organisation, turning over £40m pa and providing a range of support services to health and social care commissioners across the region and the North of England.

Download Tim’s high resolution headshot

Tim Andrews photo

Contact us

For more information about our services, to request a demo, or for advice on any aspect of digital health, please get in touch.