As the trusted source for health app advice, ORCHA curated and hosted an App Zone at HETT19, a conference that unites digital leaders from across the NHS with the most important health technology suppliers. Sharing from the 5,652 health apps we’ve tested for efficacy, security and usability, our App Zone brought together some of the highest scoring apps on our extensive App Library.

We’d like to give a snapshot of the health apps you need to know about right now, and give an insight into an ORCHA App Zone. Whether you’re a top-scoring app developer keen to exhibit with us, or a health professional who wasn’t able to attend this year, you haven’t missed out on experiencing our App Zone – as this year’s App Zone was such a success, we are already preparing for other App Zones next year and beyond, and would love for you to join us!

12 top-scoring app developers on ORCHA’s App Library had the opportunity to showcase their digital health solution on their own branded Pod over the 2 day conference…

30 presentations took place on our App Zone mini-theatre…

See what the showcased app developers had to say about being part of ORCHA’s App Zone and learn a bit about their mHealth app in the below video:

Silja Litvin, eQuoo:

“We would like to thank Liz Ashall-Payne and her amazing team for the opportunity to showcase eQuoo, the Emotional Fitness Game, at their App Zone. Being a part of their selected and highly rated apps has helped us build trust with many of our clients and the show was an extremely successful way to introduce ourselves to many professional potential clients. Great team spirit, a human touch to mobile health and lots of fun made the 2 days very special to us.”

Bieke Van Gorp, FibriCheck:

“The App Zone was the spot on, with the focus on innovations, showcasing how digital health can help to improve healthcare and keep healthcare costs affordable. It was great to be surrounded by other companies, all certified by ORCHA, who showcased their solution with a lot of enthusiasm. We attracted a lot of interested visitors and had wonderful conversations. It is clear that the UK really wants to move forward exploring how innovations can bring added value to their inhabitants.”

Keep an eye out for our next App Zone which will be held in early 2020!

The NHS London Procurement Partnership (NHS LPP) develops and manages collaborative procurement projects on behalf of its members, including NHS clinical commissioning groups and acute, community, mental health and ambulance trusts.

At the HETT Show (Healthcare Excellence Through Technology), we spoke to Steve Dunkerley, Category Director Clinical Digital Solutions at NHS LPP, about their Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) that will enable a streamlined and compliant route to market for safe and efficient mHealth apps.

As part of this opportunity, NHS LPP is inviting suppliers to submit apps for inclusion in the DPS. All apps that apply will undergo an assessment by ORCHA, looking at 260 aspects of the app.

World market leader in the assessment of care applications: ORCHA (Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Applications) and eHealth knowledge platform NeLL (National eHealth Living Lab) are entering into a strategic, international partnership.

The parties will jointly fulfill their shared mission to optimally integrate digital healthcare applications into existing healthcare processes. In this way they want to contribute to the international development of optimal, future-proof care.

“To arrive at a process in which the healthcare professional will also recommend digital tools to his or her patient, we must know for sure which eHealth tools are effective. That is why research into and validation of digital healthcare applications is a must,” says Niels Chavannes, founder of NeLL and professor of eHealth at the LUMC.

Working together on future-proof care

One of the first steps ORCHA and NeLL take is to prove which tools are effective and reliable, so that the healthcare professional knows what he or she can recommend to the patient and the healthcare consumer understands what safe and efficient apps are that support him effectively with self-care. In addition, ORCHA and NeLL will proactively share their knowledge and insights and advise parties on areas such as quality, implementation and scaling up of digital healthcare applications.

ORCHA

ORCHA, originally an English organisation, has developed an infrastructure in recent years to collect new and updated versions of eHealth applications on a continuous basis and to assess them on basic elements. Works in the United Kingdom have been commissioned by the NHS, among others. In the partnership with NeLL, the ORCHA team will focus on further technical and data-driven development for assessing eHealth apps.

“The range of health apps is huge. These apps are available to everyone and are not checked for publication in the app stores. We are constantly engaged in scanning the offer and reviewing apps in order to separate all nonsense from the usable tools, ”explains Tim Andrews, co-founder of ORCHA.

NeLL

NeLL is also a global leader when it comes to scientific research into digital care and the development of research methodology and standards for eHealth. For example, they are currently working on an international standard for the development of health applications on behalf of NEN / CEN. In this collaboration, the NeLL team will therefore focus on the further development of scientific evaluation and the analysis and optimization of criteria and methodology.

“The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport wholeheartedly supports innovation initiatives such as ORCHA and NeLL. We need this international cooperation in order to organize healthcare in a smarter way and to be able to exchange medical data securely, ” says the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.

The original press release can be found here on nell.eu

What is ORCHA’s solution to the digital health challenges of awareness, access, trust and governance? Liz Ashall-Payne, CEO of ORCHA, was interviewed by HETT on applying solutions to the NHS. Understand more about our approach to the adoption of trusted mHealth apps in the video above.