CARDMEDIC

CardMedic is an innovative digital communication technology designed for frontline healthcare staff to communicate with unwell and critically ill COVID-19 patients through the barrier created by PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). Following extensive uptake and feedback from patients, healthcare staff and members of the public, CardMedic has been rapidly adapted for use beyond the pandemic and is able to overcome any communication barrier, including visual, hearing or cognitive impairment, a language barrier, or PPE.

Available as a website and app, it comprises an A-Z list of flashcards replicating clinical conversations around common healthcare topics. It helps guide the clinical interaction and enables staff to talk to patients about their care, including medical procedures and investigations.

CardMedic is also a convenient upskilling tool for returning/re-deployed healthcare staff working outside their usual clinical practice arena, and a communication training tool for university healthcare students.

The flashcards are simple, flexible and succinct, using basic language to keep patients informed and involved in their care. Translated into 10 different languages currently, with a "read-aloud" option, it is also being translated to EasyRead English with symbols and British Sign Language.


**TESTIMONIALS**

"On behalf of the whole country, I want to thank you for the wonderful contribution you have made to our NHS and to assisting health workers caring for those with Coronavirus right across the world. It will surely continue to assist healthcare around the world long after we have defeated this pandemic." Prime Minister Boris Johnson

"This is a truly innovative product that could change the future of the healthcare industry and be widely applied across the world long after the pandemic." International Trade Secretary Liz Truss

"This is very useful. We have incorporated it into our local how to aid communication guidance. Brilliant." Dr Pauline Wilson; NHS Shetland

"Brilliant and very timely initiative. Delighted to be collaborating. Hugely important for patient safety. Promoting it through Patient Safety Learning and WHO network." Helen Hughes; CEO - Patient Safety Learning

"Frontline NHS innovation at its best." Dr Mary Darking - Director of Digital Media Cultures Research ;University of Brighton

"So many use cases for this!" Nuala Foley - Training Management/Business Consultancy; Kent Surrey Sussex Academic Health Sciences Network

"Clear messages. Brilliant communication tool for use with patients when staff in full PPE." Professor Donal O'Donohue - Registrar of Royal College of Physicians; Consultant Renal Physician

"Amazing resource, helping frontline healthcare professionals in PPE communicate with scared and critically ill COVID19 patients." Dr Sara Kayat - NHS GP / TV Doctor

"A brilliant and needed concept. Masks prevent those who rely on non-verbal communication including deaf from getting meaning of messages. Love the read-aloud option." Fiona Collins; Speech and Language Therapist

"Very intuitive. Stunning, simple program." Dr Gordon Caldwell - Consultant Physician; Scotland


**MEDIA:**

* Media: Significant inbound national and international interest and coverage including (but not limited to) - BBC TV / News / Radio, The Guardian, Department for International Trade, Cabinet Office, GOV UK, Royal College of Anaesthetists
* Articles: Cochrane Database, Patient Safety Learning, KSS AHSN Newsletter, BOB.Health, Weshare.Healthcare, Real Talk Training
* Webinars: Patient Safety Movement Foundation - (USA), International Society for Quality in Healthcare - (UK)
* Podcasts: CODA vs COVID (Australia), WeShare.Healthcare (UK)


***ADDITIONAL INFORMATION HERE***

EXTENSION FOR IMPACT FUNDING

We with an extension of funding, we will be able to undertake pilot evaluations with The Royal Marsden Hospital and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, to formally assess the functionality and usability of CardMedic in clinical practice, then make rapid live enhancements to improve usability.

We will work with the Patient and Public Involvement teams, Black Asian and Minority Ethnic teams, Nursing Directors, Medical Directors, Research teams, frontline clinical staff, patients and service user groups, to understand what works well and what needs improvement.

Through being able to access co-design expertise in relevant testing facilities we will be able to align with key stakeholder agendas, including patient, staff and institutional, and ensure we align with their core strategies and values.

We will then take these learnings back to our development team (Fat Fish Games Limited) and accessibility teams to make rapid live enhancements in line with the feedback, further building out our technical architecture and roadmap, to ensure we are delivering the best service possible and making the biggest impact we can to reduce health inequalities, improve access to healthcare information, and improve patient safety, experience and quality of care.

Working closely with our development team (Fat Fish Games Limited) who have expertise in creating licence subscription models for mobile applications, the grant will also enable us to assess the feasibility of our business model in practice to ensure we market ourselves correctly for significant uptake, therefore increasing the speed to market and maximising the impact and scale of the innovation.