IMPROVING PATIENTS LIVES WITH VIRTUAL WARD TECHNOLOGY

Patients in recovery would rather be at home than in crowded hospital wards; Doccla explains how virtual ward technology makes this possible

WRITTEN BY: HELEN ADAMS

Doccla is a virtual hospital, proud to be the fastest growing and leading provider to the NHS of virtual wards in the UK, partnering with hospitals to enable early discharge and reduced readmission across a wide range of patient groups. Its end-to-end solution is device agnostic, integrated with local systems, and delivers data-driven insights. As an accredited healthcare operator, Doccla provides additional clinical capacity – not just technology – to reduce hospital workload.

Martin Ratz, CEO & Founder, has been an entrepreneur for nearly 20 years, primarily in the healthcare industry.

“I’m one of the founders of Doccla along with my colleague and fellow tech entrepreneur, Dag Larsson. Together, we founded Doccla in 2019 with the intention of improving patient experience of hospital care by keeping them out of hospital unless it is absolutely necessary for them to be there.”

As Doccla’s Chief Medical Officer, Greg Edwards’ role involves the medical oversight of Doccla’s remote patient monitoring solutions.

“One of my previous roles was as Chief Clinical Officer at NHS Digital, where I provided leadership to NHS Pathways and the NHS website, so I have first-hand experience working with our NHS, and continue to do so as Doccla expands, providing virtual wards to more and more NHS Trusts.”

Remote medical monitoring technology

After an unexpected heart attack in 2017, Ratz’s own personal experience of staying in the hospital and the lack of aftercare once being discharged led him to the conclusion that a revolution in the hospital care system was needed.

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“Something needed to be done to use new technology and keep patients away from the hospital,” says Ratz. “Back then, hospitals were using very outdated technology. By using modern technology, it is easy for clinicians to monitor patients at home, which improves patient aftercare and minimises readmissions.”

Ratz and his team created a virtual hospital ward, using remote medical monitoring technology to enable the early discharge of patients from hospitals.

Having completed his training as a General Practitioner in 2007, Edwards later discovered a passion for medical management, taking up leadership roles including Senior Clinical Director at Greenbrook Healthcare and then Chief Clinical Officer at NHS Digital.

“My continued fascination with the ability of technology to enhance patient care led me to work with Doccla, providing an end-to-end virtual ward service, offering customer service support and clinical capacity,” he says.

Today, Doccla is present in nearly 30% of all Integrated Care Systems (ICS) in the UK, with patient intake from over 20 hospitals. Current clients include a number of NHS trusts across the country – Northampton General Hospital,

Cambridgeshire Community Services, Hertfordshire Community Trust, NHS BNSSG Integrated Care Board and Solent NHS Trust.

“Doccla’s virtual ward technology enables the early discharge of patients while remaining under the care of clinicians, thereby minimising NHS costs and workload pressures,” says Ratz. ”To date, Doccla has already saved thousands of bed days for the NHS and for client health trusts, achieving a 29% reduction in emergency admissions and a 20% reduction in A&E attendance.”

The UK is currently suffering from intense pressures and record waiting times for NHS services, as well as ongoing strike action by nurses and ambulance staff. The hospital bed crisis and NHS staff crisis can certainly be improved with the help of virtual ward technology.

“Delayed discharge puts huge pressure on emergency departments and ambulances,” says Edwards. “Doccla’s solution means that patients can be discharged early while remaining under the care of clinicians, thus reducing the need for patients with long-term or chronic health conditions to visit hospitals in the first place. This reduces patients taking up much-needed hospital beds, freeing up hospital capacity by creating bed space in busy hospitals.”