Amongst the 3.9 million confirmed COVID-19 cases in the UK to date, it is estimated that around one in five people experience symptoms that last for five weeks or longer, and one in ten have symptoms that last for twelve weeks or longer.
Termed long COVID, people report a myriad of symptoms including chronic fatigue, breathlessness, loss of sense of smell, depression, and concentration difficulties. Already totaling an estimated 186,000 people, long COVID will bring mounting pressure on primary care services.
Within its COVID-19 rapid guideline for managing the long-term effects of COVID-19, NICE recommends health apps as part of giving advice and information on self-management.
Click on the PDF icon below to download the Long COVID Self-Management Report. Discover:
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.
We were delighted to feature in Zoe Kleinman’s recent BBC News article, which discussed the proportion of healthcare apps that are not up to relevant standards.
With approximately 370,000 health and care apps available online, it can be difficult to sort those that can be trusted as safe to use, from those that may potentially be harmful. ORCHA’s independent Review evaluates digital health solutions against 350+ criteria to determine their quality assurance.
Which apps offer complex support without visible input from professionals?
Under which criteria do many apps fall down?
The article also discusses the difficulties developers can have in knowing which regulations their product needs to meet.
Read the full article on the BBC News website to learn more.
From Today, ORCHA Libraries Only Display Reviews Using this New Criterion
The measure of what makes a good app is constantly evolving. Health bodies, industry, and government regulators regularly introduce new standards and update criteria and many areas of digital health analysis and assessment are still evolving at pace. It can be hard to know which standards a digital health technology must meet and to evaluate whether a tool does in fact meet the necessary standards.
The ORCHA Review enables this evaluation. Our intelligent platform looks at a technology’s nature and purpose, identifying which, from more than 350 factors across the many digital health standards and measures it must meet. The unique ORCHA system then looks at how appropriately the digital health technology meets these relevant standards.
ORCHA regularly updates its review platform, to ensure new important medical, IT, and usability standards are embedded into the review process.
Today, ORCHA launches its latest platform update, Version 6 (V6), it is the most robust and effective to date. Health and care bodies can be assured that the thousands of app reviews published on ORCHA app libraries from today also only display how apps perform against this latest v6 criteria, and only apps achieving a score of over 65% will be listed. For example, V6 will check against requirements such as the MDR, CQC, and GPhC (if applicable), and the Digital Health ESF.
The ORCHA platform is now also able to add new bespoke test criteria, covering all components of national and international digital health assessment frameworks, including the NHSX DTAC, the draft ISO 82304-2, and the German Diga model.
First launched in 2015, the ORCHA Review has been used to assess 8,000 health apps to date. Its independent reviews now populate regional and national health app libraries across the world, helping health professionals connect patients and the population with only safe and effective health apps.
We are delighted to have co-authored a research paper, published in ‘Frontiers in Digital Health’, entitled: “Early warning signs of a mental health tsunami: A coordinated response to gather initial data insights from multiple digital services providers”.
ORCHA’s insights draw on our knowledge of how the demand for digital health solutions for mental health has changed throughout the pandemic, as well as how such solutions can have a positive impact on mental health.
The study, led by Dr. Becky Inkster from the University of Cambridge, shows that, for the first time ever, digital providers and experts from over 20 countries have gathered a staggering number of insights about mental health during the pandemic, from potentially upwards of 50 million users worldwide.
ORCHA’s Founding CEO, Liz Ashall-Payne, commented:
“At ORCHA, we’ve watched the use of mental health apps increase by over 200% during lockdown. This valuable Cambridge project shines a light on a crisis in the making and we must continue to collaborate to ensure citizens are supported in every way possible.”
Click here to read the University of Cambridge’s press release for more information on the research paper, and to access the publication in ‘Frontiers in Digital Health’, please click here.
