A doctor in Manchester has secured £153,000 in funding after developing a mobile check-in system for hospitals.
MedCircuit allows patients to check into accident and emergency (A&E) departments using an iPad by answering questions about their condition.
It has been designed to speed up consultations by providing clinicians with medical information ahead of a patient’s assessment, cutting the amount of time spent taking notes and helping move patients through A&E more quickly.
The software is named after a company founded by former A&E doctor specialist, Lanre Olaitan.
Olaitan explained that A&E departments had not changed much in 70 years, with more patients waiting longer hours to be seen by doctors who had little information about them. “The demand for the MedCircuit software has been huge and the hospitals recognise the benefit it will have on their efficiency and in turn, on quality and patient satisfaction,” he said.
The £153,000 funding has been delivered by Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia Fund Managers and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF).
The cash will be used to further develop MedCircuit’s software and support trials in UK hospitals. Olaitan said the company was looking to secure partnerships with “numerous” hospitals in the North.
“The investment from Mercia will help MedCircuit complete and accelerate its pilots with several hospitals and NHS trusts around the UK, and adapt the software to other departments and areas in the hospital that also suffer from long waiting times,” he added.
MedCircuit recently secured a £50,000 grant from Innovate UK and an £80,000 investment from the Oxford Innovation Opportunity Network.
Jonny Sharp, investment manager with Mercia Fund Managers, added: “As a former A&E doctor, Lanre fully understands the hospital environment and patients’ clinical needs. He spotted the potential to improve efficiency and allow patients to be referred more quickly to the right department.
“In just a short space of time and with limited resources, he has succeeded in delivering a fully functioning product ready for hospital trials. This funding round will allow Lanre to further develop the software and to demonstrate its effectiveness by piloting it in multiple trial locations.”
17 May 2018 @ 21:27
£150k to get through NHS compliance, GDPR and CE marked medical device (ISO13485)? Good luck!
17 May 2018 @ 15:02
If you need AandE treatment you would not be in a fit condition to mess about on I pad answering questions , I’m on warfarin if I have a bad cut I need to get there ASAP.
16 May 2018 @ 18:23
It seems to me like a very sensible use of digital technology and if thought through could provide a number of benefits and opportunities to redesign the pathway through A&E.
16 May 2018 @ 14:44
It is a good start. By capturing more information on the app, valuable time can be saved by avoiding duplicate questions and then recording. Format can be improved so that info is directly transferred to EPR. Best wishes.
16 May 2018 @ 13:46
You never really see large queues of people waiting to check in/register in A&E.
Most are Triaged quite quickly too and reliable symptoms/information can be gathered.
The queues/waiting times are to actually see a doctor. ?
16 May 2018 @ 11:09
Of course it would make a little more sense, and I’m sure it is planned, to have an app to see if A&E is the right place for me to go as a patient, signposting me to walking centres/GP etc ?
Health really needs to get to grips with not adding digital steps to alleviate pressures in an existing process, but using digital to rethink the process origin; I live in hope.
Will be very interested to see if this is adopted anywhere.
16 May 2018 @ 21:07
Health really needs to get to grips with not adding digital steps to alleviate pressures in an existing process, but using digital to rethink the process origin; I live in hope.
Just, YES