BRADFORD Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has become the first healthcare provider in the UK to partner with TytoCare, the industry’s first all-in-one modular device and telehealth platform for on-demand, remote medical examinations.
The Trust has broken new ground by carrying out remote examinations and diagnoses with a cohort of young patients with acute and worsening chronic conditions.
Having secured US FDA clearance in 2016, the TytoCare device is being used by leading health systems, telehealth companies, large private practices and employers across the United States and Israel, and has triggered worldwide interest.
Now, having attained CE Mark approval for use in Europe in 2019, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has become the first to bring the telehealth solution to the NHS.
The project has been spearheaded by the Trust’s Ambulatory Care Experience (ACE) team, which brings care to unwell children from the comfort of their own home and prevents unnecessary admissions to hospitals.
“This partnership between Tyto Care and ACE brings together two healthcare leaders,” said Cindy Fedell, the Trust’s Chief Digital and Information Officer. “This ‘digital-first’ approach to care, where we put health in the hands and homes of patients, is a lynchpin of the NHS’s long-term telehealth plan.
“It also marks a milestone in our journey of digital innovation, which is already gathering pace thanks to other ground-breaking projects now in place in Bradford.
“These include the launch of Europe’s first Command Centre to improve the flow of patients around our hospitals, and the appointment of our inaugural head of clinical artificial intelligence.”
Physical exams
TytoCare is a handheld, modular examination device that enables comprehensive and clinical grade physical exams of the heart, lungs, skin, ears, throat and abdomen, and measures body temperature and heart rate, to enable remote diagnosis of acute care situations.
During a virtual consultation, clinical visual and audio data is captured by the TytoCare device and transferred either online or offline to a clinician. The all-in-one solution enables care providers to deliver a full, guided examination 24/7, as well as a one-to-one consultation easily, in real time or as a deferred, planned review by a remote clinician.
The clinician can also link to local pharmacies using TytoCare, where a prescription can be ordered, meaning that the child or young person can be managed entirely in their own home.
“We are proud to partner with Bradford Teaching Hospitals to implement our telehealth solution and make an impact on a community that will benefit enormously from remote care,” said Dedi Gilad, CEO and Co-Founder of Tyto Care.
“Tyto was created with children and families in mind to deliver convenient and accessible medical care without compromising quality, all from the comfort of home. We’re looking forward to enhancing the incredible work Bradford and the ACE teams are doing with existing at-home care.”
The ACE service involves an experienced community nursing team treating children aged up to 16-years-old in their own home, under the expert guidance of the Trust’s consultant paediatricians. Their work has already secured a prestigious Health Service Journal award last year for Improvement in Emergency and Urgent Care.
Bradford is viewed as the perfect research partner for the TytoCare device. It is recognised as the UK’s youngest city, with almost a quarter of its 528,000 population aged under 16. Its community, rich in cultural diversity, also experiences a higher-than-average rate of respiratory illness and infections, which require frequent monitoring and clinical interventions.
About Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is responsible for providing hospital services for the people of Bradford and communities across Yorkshire. We serve a core population of around 500,000 people and provide specialist services for some 1.1 million.
Our 5,500 staff work over several sites, including Bradford Royal Infirmary, which provides the majority of inpatient services, and St Luke’s Hospital, which predominantly provides outpatient and rehabilitation services. We also manage several local community hospitals.
For further media information, please contact communications@bthft.nhs.uk or call 01274 383901.
About Tyto Care
Tyto Care is transforming primary care by putting health in the hands of consumers. The company seamlessly connects people to clinicians to provide the best virtual home examination and diagnosis solutions.
Tyto Care’s solutions are designed to enable a comprehensive medical exam from any location and include a hand-held, all-in-one tool for examining the heart, lungs, skin, ears, throat, abdomen, and body temperature; a complete telehealth platform for sharing exam data, conducting live video exams, and scheduling visits; a cloud-based data repository with analytics; and built-in guidance technology and machine learning algorithms to ensure accuracy and ease of use for patients using the device at home. The platform also allows for simple integration with electronic health records systems, third party exam tools, and other telehealth platforms. To watch a demo video, click here.
For more information please visit www.tytocare.com.