Why Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has created a new app for liver transplant patients

The clinical team is looking to roll out the app called TAPP (Transplant Application Patient Pathway) across national and international healthcare markets, following positive feedback from patients in Leeds.

Dr Stewart Gibson, speciality doctor in hepatology at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS 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 team behind the app took part in the Healthcare Entrepreneur Exchange Programme (HEEP), an international innovation competition which provides an opportunity for clinical entrepreneurs to establish overseas collaborations and test their ideas in different healthcare settings.

The Leeds clinicians showcased their product to counterparts at Spain’s Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol (HGTP) of the Institut Català de la Salut (ICS) and in North Eastern Spain. Through the HEEP programme, the team received mentoring, business coaching and marketing guidance.

Dr Gibson added: “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.”

Transplants are generally successful though it can take a year or more for patients to fully recover.

Recipients must take immunosuppressants for the rest of their lives, have regular check-ups and stay as healthy as possible with a good diet and regular exercise.

The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust launched the Healthcare Entrepreneur Exchange Programme in 2020 with Spain’s HGTP at the ICS to promote innovation in healthcare systems through collaboration. bIt aims to empower clinical innovators to develop the healthcare solutions of the future.

Omar Masood, consultant transplant surgeon at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “HEEP has been instrumental in giving our team the opportunity to collaborate with the wider healthcare team to bring innovative solutions to our patients. TAPP represents the move towards utilising technology and innovation integrated with health care access to empower our patients.”

The Innovation Pop Up at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust provides advice to medical innovators, covering regulatory, intellectual property and technology matters as the clinicians prepare to launch TAPP.

Dr Chris McKee, business development and innovation manager at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “This exciting project saw many entries from teams in the Trust. This was something that we were delighted to see, especially as the competition took place during the pandemic. The exchange visits during October 2021 brought teams from Barcelona and Leeds together.

“During the exchange visit to England, clinical teams from the HGTP enjoyed a fantastic programme of activities. This included a visit to City Labs 1.0 in Manchester, Alderley Science Park in Cheshire, the Nexus campus in Leeds, complemented by inspiring events held across the Leeds City Region including the Thackray Medical Museum and the recently launched Innovation Pop-Up.”

Improving for international markets

Working with clinicians in Spain has helped the Trust to improve the product for international markets.

Alice Greenwood, clinical nurse specialist at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “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.”

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