With more than 8 million smokers in the UK and 80,000 deaths related to smoking each year, this application will be a critical part of the drive to get UK smokers to quit.
With smokefreelife, patients who want to interact with a trained health advisor can choose to select an appointment time that suits them for a face-to-face video consultation or to speak to an online advisor immediately. The application also notifies patients which advisors are currently online and available for an immediate consultation. Patients select the advisor to consult with based on additional details, such as the languages the advisors speak and their respective qualifications, giving them an informed choice about who they interact with.
One of the UK's leading experts on smoking cessation, Professor Robert West, Professor of Health Psychology and Director of Tobacco Studies, has been impressed with smokefreelife and said: "This is an exciting development which promises to bring effective support to a wider group of smokers wanting to stop than we have been able to reach so far."
"This online service aims to break down barriers and to help ensure everybody has access to support to successfully quit smoking and the opportunity to adopt a healthy, balanced lifestyle," says Leena Sankla MFPH, FRSPH, Public Health Specialist. "Research shows that smokers are four times as likely to quit by using a combination of behavioural support and medical treatments. We believe this service is a breakthrough in smoking cessation as the application provides users with counselling and advice in their own language, including sign language and can be accessed anytime, anywhere."
Microsoft HealthVault will provide the storage for patient information used by smokefreelife which the patient can access at any time and share with advisors if they choose. A key feature of HealthVault is the ability for the patient to limit access to data by time period and type, allowing the patient to opt-out of sharing the entire record. Patients are able to log in directly to their smokefree account, which provides them with a dashboard detailing their weekly Carbon Monoxide (CO) level readings, as well as their treatment history. Patients can choose to upload information such as blood pressure levels and weight, which can be particularly important for this type of remedy, as many people seeking treatment will be looking for a complete lifestyle change.
Alexander Britz, European Health Solutions General Manager for Microsoft said: "The ability to manage patient data, including CO readings and blood pressure results, through the Microsoft HealthVault platform, as well as providing a full consultation, demonstrates the versatility and robustness of the platform for healthcare application developers. HealthVault also gives the user complete control over their information and the ability to share this with their advisors if they choose, whilst still being under the user's complete control."
Professor West continued; "Telehealth is proving to be one of the most significant changes to healthcare in the UK, as it provides patients with an alternative method to managing their health and will play an important role in the future."
Consultations on smokefreelife.co.uk are conducted through an inbuilt video communication system that does not require installation and features an instant messaging function. Advisors are provided with a library of NSCT (National Smoking Cessation Training) certified information that they are able to share with the patient instantly through this function.
About Microsoft HealthVault
HealthVault provides a privacy and security enhanced platform for holding personal wellness and health information in a single place and in a structured and interoperable format. HealthVault gives people easy access to, and more control over, their personal health information. This builds on Microsoft's core competencies in delivering web-scale consumer applications, and in handling complex information management challenges.
Not only does HealthVault put users in charge of their own health data, but it also offers huge opportunities for organisations in the healthcare ecosystem to build applications and services that help people engage in their health and wellness. Moreover, the security features built into HealthVault mean that users can take control over who can access and use their data.
About Solutions 4 Health Ltd
Solutions 4 Health is a highly innovative, flexible, independent provider of health improvement services including chronic disease self management, health trainer, coronary heart disease prevention advice, sexual health and smoking cessation services for the general population. Solutions 4 Health has a particular specialty in accessing hard to reach groups such as routine and manual workers, high risk groups, black and minority ethnic populations, young people, pregnant smokers and those living in areas of highest deprivation. More information can be found on smokefreelife.co.uk.