Leeds Teaching Hospitals creates new app for liver transplant patients
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has designed a new app to help support liver transplant patients manage their health post-operation.
Called TAPP, the mobile app aims to help those who have just had transplant to manage their health, provide access to a resource hub with information from trusted sources and easily communicate with their clinical team.
The tool has received positive feedback from patients in Leeds who have used it, and now the clinical team at the trust is looking to roll it out across national and international healthcare markets, with the help and support of an international entrepreneur programme.
TAPP was developed as part of the Healthcare Entrepreneur Exchange Programme (HEEP) which supports collaboration between clinical entrepreneurs with overseas connections and gives the opportunity to trial ideas in different healthcare settings. Through HEEP, the Leeds clinicians gained support from clinicians at Spain’s Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol (HGTP) of the Institut Català de la Salut (ICS), with mentoring, business coaching and marketing guidance.
Dr Stewart Gibson, speciality doctor in hepatology at the trust, said: “Every transplant marks the beginning of life-long treatment, with patients requiring ongoing specialist follow-up and medication. Our app provides tools to empower patients to manage their health and to make it easier to communicate with their clinical team.“The challenges that our transplant patients face are not unique to Leeds; they are faced by patients and clinicians everywhere. Working with HEEP, we have been able to get invaluable feedback on our app. We believe our innovation can help patients and clinicians across the world.”
The app is patient focused and can help support liver transplant patients with the changes that they need to make to their lifestyle to support their full recovery.
Alice Greenwood, clinical nurse specialist at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, added: “Our team developed the app to be patient-centred and accessible across a range of mobile devices. We know this is very familiar to some of our patients, particularly those in younger age groups.
“The app will allow patients to access a resource hub with information they can trust, alongside ways to manage their medication and health. Working with clinicians in Spain has helped to improve the product for international markets.”
Leeds Teaching Hospitals’ focus on digital innovation was rewarded in October, when it was announced as one of 14 winners to received funding as part of the Digital Health Partnership Awards for its work on supporting children with type 2 diabetes.
