NEWS - 17 December 2010
NHS Direct patient initial assessment Health and Symptom Checker now available in mobile device format
London, UK, 17 December 2010...The NHS Direct online initial assessment Health and Symptom Checker (HaSC) is now available in mobile device format. The online self-assessment service, powered by InferMed's Arezzo technology is changing the way in which people interact with NHS Direct and provides information and advice to users on a wide variety of symptoms and conditions that can now be accessed via mobile telephones and PDAs via http://mobile.nhsdirect.nhs.uk.
The availability of the initial assessment Health and Symptom Checker in mobile device format now means that even more individuals will have access to the service and that they can now be accessed on a mobile device from any location with an available signal.
As a result of this service England's NHS Direct has the ability to deliver consistent, clinically checked advice to patients, even during periods of high demand. As well as the delivery of the tools in mobile device format, it is planned that the services will also be syndicated to NHS Choices, Directgov and a number of consumer health-related sites to bring them to as wide an audience as possible.
Over time additional services such as links to other medical web sites and forums will be added. As previously reported on the InferMed website, making NHS Direct easier to contact is a key development that will help ease the pressure on those services in high demand, such as the Ambulance Services, A&E departments and GP surgeries.
On the main NHS Direct site, www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk, 24 Health and Symptom Checkers covering a wide variety of symptoms and conditions are now live, with a further 14 being developed and added to the site by the end of Q1 2011.
Duane Lawrence, CEO of InferMed Limited, commented, "This latest enhancement to the provision of the patient Health and Symptom Checkers expands their availability and means that location is no longer a barrier for potential users of the service. Wherever a patient has a mobile device and a wireless internet connection he or she can use the NHS Direct initial assessment health and symptom checker for information and self-care. This is truly revolutionising the way in which patients interact with NHS Direct and helping reduce the time and cost pressure on important NHS services."
Roger Donald, Head of Digital Delivery at NHS Direct added, "Mobile devices continue to play an important role in delivering clinically safe health advice and information. I'm very happy that NHS Direct are now able to offer a mobile web service. I'm looking forward to developing the service and offering an increased number of health and symptom checkers."
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InferMed Limited
Since 1999, InferMed has developed and provided trusted software and services
to support best practice in medicine. Through its MACRO EDC application
and Arezzo® decision support technology, patients receive safe, up-to-date
medical treatment based on best available clinical evidence. InferMed
solutions tame the ever-increasing volume and complexity of clinical information,
transforming it into personalised actionable knowledge, made available
at the point of care to clinicians in research and practice and to patients
in their homes. Its advanced technology solutions have been implemented
for over a million of users across Europe, North America and Australasia.
NHS Direct aims to provide remotely delivered care, over the phone and on the web, which is increasingly valued by patients and the wider health and social care system. The online assessments mirror the clinical assessment criteria currently used by telephone advisors, allowing patients quick and direct access to advice on the web based service. NHS Direct's web services are used around 450,000 times every month. NHS Direct health information and advice line handles over 13,500 calls a day. That's nearly 5 million calls a year. NHS Direct employs over 3,150 staff, over 1,400 of whom are trained nurses.
If you would like more information on this release, please contact InferMed
Ltd on 020 7291 7410 or at info@infermed.com.
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