Spire Healthcare partners with Inhealthcare to launch pilot diabetes service
First-of-its-kind remote monitoring service offer virtual support for people with type 2 diabetes
People living with type 2 diabetes can now access a subscription-based, nurse-led remote monitoring service that combines digital innovation, physical consultations, and virtual one-to-one support to help them manage their condition more effectively.
Spire Healthcare has partnered with Inhealthcare to launch Spire Diabetes Care and provide subscribers with ongoing one-to-one care, advice, and encouragement from a specialist nurse.
It is believed to be the first comprehensive service of its kind in the UK.
Spire Diabetes Care is being piloted at the London Doctors Clinic in London and is initially available to 500 patients.
For a monthly fee of £9.95, patients begin with an indepth, face-to-face consultation with a diabetes support nurse in London so they can discuss their condition.
The nurse then reviews the patient’s medical history, gathers baseline readings, and gives the patient easy-to-use equipment to monitor blood pressure and weight at home.
After the initial consultation, patients record their readings and mental wellbeing every month via a smartphone app and receive monthly personalised emails from their nurse to assess their body weight and blood pressure and progress towards their goals, bi-monthly face-to-face or virtual meetings with their nurse to provide further tailored support, twice-yearly blood profiles and urine tests, and twice-yearly virtual appointments with a Spire GP.
Any significant changes to health status or medication changes are communicated to the patient's NHS GP.
Inhealthcare is providing the remote monitoring technology that enables safe and secure communications between patients and healthcare providers via a choice of channels including an app for iOS and Android smartphones and SMS text message.
As part of the service, healthcare professionals are able to review the patient information, engage with patients via messaging and behavioural change content, and receive alerts about patients who need intervention.
Bryn Sage, chief executive of Inhealthcare, said: “We are delighted to be working with Spire Healthcare to support people living with type 2 diabetes and empower them to make positive, pro-active lifestyle changes that help to keep their condition under control.
“An estimated 15 million people in the UK are suffering from chronic conditions including diabetes, COPD, heart disease, and rheumatoid arthritis and we believe this model of care can be scaled up to support people living with other conditions and relieve pressure on NHS services.”
Jo Youster, head of product management at Spire Healthcare, added: “By using technology alongside one-to-one consultations, we believe Spire Diabetes Care has the potential to deliver a new, high-quality and accessible form of healthcare for people with type 2 diabetes.”
