Sussex company, Definition Health, scooped its eighth national accolade last night with a win at the HSJ Awards for introducing digital health technology to improve patient outcomes within the NHS.
At the ceremony in London, the digital health technology specialist won the Partnership Award for its work with Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust. The partnership introduced an app, called Definition LifeBox, which allows Royal Surrey patients to complete their pre-assessment for surgery from the safety and comfort of their own home.
The HSJ Awards are recognised as the most esteemed accolades of healthcare service excellence in the UK and are known as the `Oscars of the health industry’.
“We are all absolutely delighted for ourselves and our partner, Royal Surrey, to win this prestigious award,”
says Sandeep Chauhan, orthopaedic surgeon and co-founder of Definition Health which is based at the Sussex Innovation Centre in Falmer.
“This award recognises the hard work and commitment of everyone involved to bring about a digital change to improve patient outcomes. Our digital solutions have raised the bar when it comes to reducing patient risk and improving time and cost efficiencies across the NHS, but we can’t do that without strong partnerships with the hospital teams – together we can improve patient care and drive an enhanced patient experience.”
Definition Health was founded by two Sussex-based NHS consultants in 2018 – Mr Chauhan and Dr Rosie Scott, a consultant radiologist. Together, with a team of local technology specialists, they launched their first solution called Definition LifeBox, a digital pre-assessment app, in 2018, at The Montefiore Hospital in Hove, Sussex.
To date, its digital solutions have enabled more than 175,000 patients across 10 NHS Trusts and six independent hospitals to access pre- and post-operative health assessments and monitoring from the comfort and safety of their homes.
Definition LifeBox was introduced to Royal Surrey in May last year. It allows patients to complete their pre-assessment at home ahead of a procedure. The app generates patient-specific questions to fully identify the individual’s level of risk ensuring they are `surgery-ready’.
Two-way file sharing between the Trust and the patient allows for a secure exchange of information such as test results, fasting advice and useful information to reassure and inform patients. Medical concerns, such as blood pressure or anaemia, are identified early and brought under control, greatly improving outcomes and preventing last-minute cancellations on the day of surgery.
