Medtech wins Innovate UK funding for elderly care data system
Leeds-based tech provider Radar Healthcare has been awarded funding by Innovate UK to develop a workflow system which will drive action and interventions in the care sector to significantly enhance care delivery.
The firm supplies risk and compliance software to the health and care sectors. The funding has been awarded to address a consistent challenge for providers of elderly care who currently can only manually interpret a wide variety of data from different sources. A process that is laborious, taking away valuable care resource at a time when the sector is facing significant staff shortages and is open to human error.
Manual interpretation of data from sources such as IoT devices through to care planning systems can take up as much as 30% of the workload for some staff members.
Through the funding, Radar Healthcare will develop an API accessible system, which will help to address a key strategic priority in the NHS 10-year plan to integrate data sources for improved care delivery and transparency. It will be capable of third-party software and device integration enabling automated analysis of data and actions from a combination of devices and systems.
Combining data sources in this system will lead to improved efficiencies in information flow, and support benchmarking between operators at a regional and national level. It will enable informed, insight-driven decision making based on integrating data through one central system, avoiding duplication of effort and allow more rapid interventions.
Through this consolidation of data, the system will also help address regional disparities in care by increasing transparency and communication and sharing of best practice.
Mark Fewster, Chief Product Officer at Radar Healthcare, said: “We want to use data to make a real difference. There are a huge number of data sources in the care sector, we know there is a need to integrate and analyse this data, but this is something that is currently a significant resource drain for a sector which already has a huge shortfall in labour resource.
“The funding from Innovate UK will allow us to create a solution that will not only lead to improved efficiencies in the flow of information between systems, but also offers significant value in benchmarking performance between operators at a regional and even national level.
“Ultimately, and most importantly, this system will allow for improved quality of care out of hospital and help prevent unnecessary hospital admissions.”
The project is expected to span 18 months.
