People in Greater Manchester are set to receive more personalised care through a newly launched digital care plan and a patient-facing app ‘My GM Care’ – further enhancing the GM Care Record, which shares vital health information for GM’s 2.8m population to inform better care and treatment.

Digital care plans for dementia and heart failure have been developed in the GM Care Record to enable clinical teams from GP practices, hospital and social care to be able to view a person’s agreed care plan and personal preferences.

A patient facing ‘My GM Care’ app is also being launched, which allows patients to contribute to the care plans, self-record blood pressure, weight and mood, and share personal information with care professionals, with the aim of improving care quality, supporting people to take control of their health, and ensuring the wishes of each patient are respected.

Both products are being tested in Tameside and Glossop, with the hope for further roll out across Greater Manchester, as part of a collaboration between NHS Greater Manchester, Health Innovation Manchester and tech supplier Graphnet.

The GM Care Record, provides health and social care professionals with vital information for 2.8m people in Greater Manchester. Accessible via electronic patient record systems, the platform provides a single source of truth for everyone involved in a patient’s care. Over 275,000 patient records are accessed by 21,000 health and care professionals each month to provide more informed care.

Dementia wellbeing and heart failure care plans are the latest in a series of care plans, including frailty and end of life, that make it easier for everyone involved in a patient’s care to have up to date information and standardise care provision in a region beset by health inequalities and some of the lowest life expectancy in England.

Access to digital care plans transforms largely reactive services that only respond when required, to more proactive services that centre on the needs of each patient. Ad-hoc paper-based processes are replaced with standardised digital plans that can be utilised across care settings via the GM Care Record. These plans enhance continuity of care across settings and improving the patient, carer and clinician experience.

The digital care plans were developed by Health Innovation Manchester in collaboration with Graphnet, Dementia United, Pumping Marvellous Foundation, the UK’s heart failure charity and NHS Greater Manchester’s Strategic Clinical Network.  These latest developments support Greater Manchester’s Health and Care Digital Transformation Strategy which sets out how digital transformation can help people stay well, detect illness earlier, and give people greater control over their own health.

My GM Care is an interactive health app that gives patients access to key parts of their information held in the Greater Manchester care record, including the new care plans, empowering patients and their carers to take greater control and be more informed about their condition.

Speaking about the new digital care plans, Dr Saif Ahmed, Clinical Digital Lead at Health Innovation Manchester commented, “The upload of digital dementia wellbeing care plans and heart failure care plans in the pilot phase demonstrates the demand for digital solutions to facilitate seamless care plan sharing and ensure equitable care provision for all. This is a great step in ensuring reduced variability of care across Greater Manchester. Also, the My GM Care allows us for first time to give patients access and input into their care record.”

Dr Amir Hannan, GP at Haughton Thornley Medical Centres, emphasised the significance of the ‘My GM Care’ app, stating, “My GM Care could be the next game changer for the residents of Greater Manchester allowing people to take further control of their healthcare by allowing them to monitor their health and wellbeing, being better prepared for any future event as well as in an emergency, and helping to plan future care  alongside the NHS app or equivalent GP app.”

Cathy, a patient at Haughton Thornley Medical Centres said, “I like that personal information can be shared, from home access and pet information, to power of attorney and advance directive documents, and that these can be accessed by care professionals which is useful for social care services in particular. Patients in crisis can’t always provide this information so having it accessible makes all the difference.”

David Grigsby, Chief Business Development Officer at Graphnet also commented, “We’re delighted to support Health Innovation Manchester and NHS GM with the creation of digital care plans and the rollout of a unique patient app, which will change the lives of thousands of people in Greater Manchester. Personalised care and support planning is essential for helping people living with dementia or cardio-vascular disease. These latest developments make sure that everyone involved in care has access to vital, personalised information, including the patient, and is another example of population health solutions becoming the core IT system supporting all aspects of integrated care.”

The digital care plans and ‘My GM Care’ app are in pilot phase with ambitions to start a wider roll out across Greater Manchester in the coming months.

More information about digital care plans can be found at Care Plans on the GM Care Record – Resources for Clinicians – Health Innovation Manchester

More information on the ‘My GM Care’ app can be found at My GM Care: PHR App Resources for Clinicians – Health Innovation Manchester

More information on the GM Care Record and how patient information is used to support care and for research purposes can be found at: https://gmwearebettertogether.com/