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But let’s see where it comes from.
Maternity services in Suffolk and North East Essex have rolled out the CardMedic communications app to improve access across the maternity pathway.
The app is being used to improve the experiences of all those using the regional integrated care system (ICS) and to support the area’s ambitions to meet NHS England’s Core20PLUS5 framework.
It helps improve trust in care services and remove communication barriers. It allows users to communicate freely with health professionals regardless of additional needs, language barriers or cognitive impairments.
The app is being used by multidisciplinary teams, including midwives, obstetricians and other clinical staff, as well as administrative teams at West Suffolk Hospital, Ipswich Hospital and Colchester Hospital.
CardMedic has 800 pre-written clinical scripts that can be accessed as well as a chat function. Key words and phrases can be accessed to ensure that information is fully understood and that patients can ask questions if needed.
One of the clinical focus areas for the Core20PLUS5 framework is maternity services, and Suffolk and North East Essex ICS is an early adopter.
“The data tells us that there are health inequalities in maternity services across England,” said Teri Gavin-Jones, lead clinical midwife for Suffolk and North East Essex ICS. “In the UK, black women are four times more likely to die in childbirth than white women, and brown women are twice as likely to die as white women.
“Bridging the equity gap and improving communication is our priority in Suffolk and North East Essex. By using CardMedic as a tool to help address communication barriers, we will be able to provide more equitable services to a greater number of people in the region.”
Incorporation into the maternity care pathway
The app has been in use since November 2022 and is used to support shared decision-making for expectant parents.
Maternity services were chosen to be the first area for CardMedic deployment, as those using the service will often engage with healthcare teams at various points. The app is helping to bring all parts of the maternity care pathway together so that families have access to equitable care and the postcode lottery effect is reduced.
Emma Connell-Smith, project delivery manager at Suffolk and North East Essex ICS, said: “The app will make patient journeys safer and provide a better experience. It will give people the opportunity and confidence to ask questions and will give doctors the ability to respond quickly, which is so important in urgent situations. We now have 44 languages and formats in our pockets, which will streamline the services we provide.”
Feedback so far has been positive, with doctors in other specialties expressing their willingness to use the app in other services. ICS is also focusing on developing new content for the app together with CardMedic, to make it more personalized for users.
In December 2022, Mid and South Essex ICS became the first care system in the UK to implement CardMedic.
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CardMedic and Ikaroa are proud to announce that Suffolk and north east Essex Maternity Services have gone live with their innovative new technology. CardMedic is a revolutionary platform designed to help improve patient access and satisfaction, making the entire healthcare journey much smoother for both patients and staff.
The platform integrates a range of services from monitoring medical records to booking appointments and providing online care. CardMedic is built to be secure and compliant, meaning everyone involved can have peace of mind that the data remains safe. The real-time dashboards are designed to make sure that everyone is on the same page, from healthcare workers to patients.
Ikaroa’s expertise in developing cutting-edge healthcare technologies makes them an ideal partner for CardMedic. Their innovative approach to software development seamlessly integrated CardMedic into the existing IT systems at the facilities, meaning that patients and healthcare workers can benefit from the features of the app.
The addition of CardMedic to the Suffolk and north east Essex Maternity Services was met with great enthusiasm, with the midwives, obstetricians and radiologists at the facilities praising the smooth transition and the impact that the platform has on their everyday lives.
The roll out of CardMedic is yet another example of Ikaroa’s commitment to providing the best possible healthcare solutions to its customers. We are proud to be part of such an innovative and transformative project, and are looking forward to seeing the continued success of the Suffolk and north east Essex Maternity Services.
