Thanks to Coeliac UK’s Research Fund, Cievert Ltd and Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield are working to develop new software which will make it easier to identify patients who need extra help.

As we release our Research Fund Impact Report, Cievert explain what their project hopes to achieve, in this guest blog.

“In 2019, Cievert Ltd joined forces with the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield to investigate whether they could send questionnaires to patients about their personal health, how well they are sticking to the gluten free diet and their general wellbeing at regular intervals, and use this to tailor the NHS care the patients receive.  The goal was to utilise technology and send questionnaires electronically, so that patients could complete them in their own home.

“In these strange times, this concept of remote healthcare and using technology in this way seems obvious, but this wasn’t the case before the pandemic!

“Covid-19 has changed the landscape for projects like this in a way that might otherwise have taken 5-10 years.  What we’ve found is that remote medicine does not replace traditional face to face care and it’s not for every patient.  But that’s okay, because it is liked and welcomed by many patients, meaning it is another tool that can be used by healthcare professionals. 

“Estimates suggest that up to 40% of routine hospital appointments are clinically not required.  If patients can be seen when they need to be seen and by the clinician best placed to see them, then care quality increases and services can run more efficiently.

“Currently, to make this happen healthcare professionals would need to have a crystal ball, but with our project we are using tech to monitor patients remotely. If we are successful, healthcare professionals won’t need to see into the future, they’ll just need their patients to have an email address!

“Whilst covid-19 has led to an increased interest in this project from a range of clinical areas, the pandemic has also caused disruption as clinical staff were redeployed and research studies suspended.  This means fewer patients have been recruited than had been planned at this stage, but we have strategies to get back on track and expand this project significantly by 2022.

“The support we have received from Coeliac UK in assisting this study goes beyond the financial contribution of their Research Fund. Coeliac UK volunteers have helped test and develop the software and over 200 of you provided feedback to improve the system before it went into clinical use. Thank you for your support!

“The potential impact of this project goes beyond coeliac disease and even beyond the principal of using technology to engage with patients. This project starts to open up the idea of a patient driven, personalised healthcare approach – empowering patients to engage and manage their own health in a way never before imagined and that is really exciting!”

The project is funded by Coeliac UK and Innovate UK.

Check out our Research Fund Impact Report to learn more about Coeliac UK’s Research Fund and how your donations are helping to create a better future for people with coeliac disease.

Read Impact Report