GDE Salford Royal launches own health and care app library
One of the Global Digital Exemplars (GDEs) has launched its own app library in a bid to help patients find the best and safest products.
Each app in Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust’s library has been subjected to seven stages of tests to investigate how good, secure and user-friendly they are.
It’s hoped the library will help GPs and other health professionals across Salford recommend trusted apps to their patients.
Dr Jim Ritchie, CCIO and a consultant renal physician at the trust said: “Every day across Salford, people from all walks of life, young and old, use mobile apps to improve their health and well-being.
“With more than four million downloads globally every day, they are increasingly becoming an important part of our everyday life.
“Yet for us, apps aren’t just about giving information – they are also about engaging patients in their own healthcare.
“They can use apps to check their symptoms, track their worries, monitor their medications, and review all manner of concerns. Our new app library brings all the best apps for achieving this to patients’ fingertips.”
The initiative was developed by Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust in collaboration with experts from ORCHA – the Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Applications.
The partnership aims to make it easier for the Salford community to find approved apps for hundreds of different needs, such as better mental health, stopping smoking, improving fitness, overcoming breathing difficulties and managing diabetes.
The library is separate from the NHS Apps Library, designed to bring a number of verified digital tools together in one place.
In September 2018, Digital Health News reported on how NHS Digital had enlisted the help of ORCHA to help speed up the number of clinically-approved tools available in the library.
