Social:HealthUnlocked
HealthUnlocked is a social networking service for health. The company uses health-specific artificial intelligence to support patients to better manage their own health, by recommending relevant and tailored health content, information and services to patients [1] The site enables peer support for various health conditions and promotes patient empowerment by actively engaging people with their healthcare.[2][3][4] The social network hosts online communities within a dedicated health web platform. There are currently over 700 different health communities on the HealthUnlocked website, for a wide range of health and wellbeing conditions. After registering to use the site, users can create a user profile and join one or more of these online communities. Many of the online communities are run in partnership with health organizations, non-profit organization's (NPO) and charities worldwide, including Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), British Liver Trust, Endometriosis UK and The Multiple Sclerosis Association Of America. Each month over 4M people from across the world come to the platform, the majority of which are from the UK and US. HealthUnlocked is in the top 20 private health websites globally according to Alexa Internet. HealthUnlocked is also available through an app for iPhone [5]
A study (2017) by University of Manchester concluded that use of the HealthUnlocked platform positively affects a persons Patient Activation Measure and research (University of Warwick, 2016) found use of platforms such as HealthUnlocked helps people to come together and cope with illnesses and diseases such as diabetes, cancer and mental health problems.[6]
The network was identified as a technology that will change health and care by the Kings Fund,[7] a tech startup that is on track to become Britain's next billion dollar companies [8] and won an award and named as a truly standout, disruptive innovation, in the AXA PPP Health Tech & You Awards (2017).[9]
HealthUnlocked was one of the first companies selected to join NHS England's, NHS Innovation Accelerator (NIA) programme,[10] which aims to have proven innovations adopted faster and more systematically through the NHS, delivering on the commitment detailed within the Five Year Forward View.
HealthUnlocked works with organisations including think tanks and the pharmaceutical industry to better understand long term health conditions and to recruit people from its online health communities to surveys, advisory boards and panels, as well as clinical trials. An academic review into patient involvement in drug development found that social media and peer networks are evolving to play a much deeper role in innovation and clinical research in industry and changing opportunities for patients to participate in research and development of new therapies.[11] A study into patients experiences on steroids taken from data on the health platform found that the timing of glucocorticoid administration varies significantly in patients, potentially influencing effectiveness and side effects.[12]
The company has also worked with the Institute for Public Policy Research, surveying its users to better understand the attitudes and activities of people with long-term conditions.[13]
History
HealthUnlocked was founded in 2010 by Jorge Armanet (CEO) and Dr Matt Jameson Evans (Chief Medical Officer), to transform how information and data are used and treated in healthcare and support people with health conditions to connect together online. Jameson Evans, a doctor in the NHS, had previously been chairman of Remedy UK.
References
- ↑ "Building a digital business in healthcare". http://www.techpageone.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Dell_FRE-4_Building-a-digital-business-healthcare.pdf. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ↑ "Why I turned to social media for help after a double lung transplant". https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/mar/01/social-media-control-illness-online-health-forums. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ↑ "Crowdsourced service to revolutionise long-term NHS care". http://www.businesscloud.co.uk/news/crowdsourced-service-to-revolutionise-long-term-nhs-care. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ↑ "Don't suffer period pain in silence, says woman whose endometriosis was misdiagnosed". http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/news/west-london-news/dont-suffer-period-pain-silence-11014708. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ↑ Lomas, Natasha. "HealthUnlocked support social network app goes global" (in en). TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/14/healthunlocked-support-social-network-app-goes-global/.
- ↑ "Social networks could revolutionise patient care". http://www.wbs.ac.uk/news/social-networks-could-revolutionise-patient-care/. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ↑ "The digital revolution: eight technologies that will change health and care". http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/articles/eight-technologies-will-change-health-and-care. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ↑ "Here are 58 tech startups that are on track to become Britain's next billion dollar companies". http://uk.businessinsider.com/here-are-58-tech-startups-that-are-on-track-to-become-britains-next-billion-dollar-companies-2015-11. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ↑ "AXA PPP Health Tech & You - 2017 The Wow! Award" (in en). https://www.axappphealthcare.co.uk/healthtechandyou/2017-award/the-wow-award/.
- ↑ "NHS selects 17 healthtech innovators for Innovation Accelerator". http://techcitynews.com/2015/07/06/nhs-selects-17-healthtech-innovators-for-innovation-accelerator/. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ↑ "Improving Patient Involvement in the Drug Development Process: Case Study of Potential Applications from an Online Peer Support Network". Clinical Therapeutics 39 (11): 2181–2188. November 2017. doi:10.1016/j.clinthera.2017.10.004. PMID 29096919.
- ↑ "Timing of glucocorticoid administration: a cross-sectional survey of glucocorticoid users in an online social network for health". Rheumatology 56 (3): 494–495. March 2017. doi:10.1093/rheumatology/kew421. PMID 27994092.
- ↑ "Patients in control: Why people with long-term conditions must be empowered". http://www.ippr.org/files/publications/pdf/patients-in-control_Sept2014.pdf. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
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