Ampersand Health launches a new digital therapeutic for people living with Inflammatory Arthritis

Ampersand Health launches a new digital therapeutic for people living with Inflammatory Arthritis

Ampersand Health, experts in digital therapeutics for long-term inflammatory conditions, announce the launch of My Arthritis DTx to support people living with Inflammatory Arthropathies, including Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) and Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS).

Specialising in immune-mediated disorders, Ampersand Health has already seen great success with My IBD Care; a DTx that is used by tens of thousands of people worldwide, as well as by NHS Trusts across the UK, to transform the long-term management of IBD.  

On the back of this success for clinicians and patients, Ampersand Health is now releasing My Arthritis DTx: a digital therapeutic focused on Inflammatory Arthropathies that has been partially funded by Innovate UK.

Clinical trials are currently underway of My Arthritis DTx, which has been developed by Ampersand Health in collaboration with leading specialists across the UK including experts from King’s College Hospital, University Hospitals Dorset  and the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS). The digital therapeutic will enable people living with Inflammatory Arthritis to self-manage their condition.

The app can be used by a patient independently to help them self-manage through educational resources and courses, or in conjunction with a clinical team if their NHS Trust uses the platform. When My Arthritis is used in partnership with a patient and their clinical team, it facilitates a channel for two-way, asynchronous communication, outside of regular outpatient appointments, streamlining clinical care for all those involved, this opens up a whole host of possibilities for revolutionising the way that we provide care for people living with arthritis.

My Arthritis is underpinned by behavioural science, it utilises techniques from CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and mindfulness to deliver content in an effective and engaging way. It is designed to improve patients’ mental health and quality of life by helping address their general wellbeing, adherence to medication and ability to cope with their symptoms with additional content in development.

Consultant Rheumatologist at University Hospitals Dorset, Dr Jonathan Marks is implementing the My Arthritis app to improve care and efficiency for his patients:  “We know that patients who are engaged in their own care and have a strong understanding of their condition will feel more empowered and in control of their condition, and this increases their chances of better health outcomes. We learned during COVID-19 how out of date our traditional communication with patients is, this app will enable us to build better channels and processes for communication that can revolutionise the outpatient experience for both patients and clinical teams, bringing our communication into the 21^stcentury! Using these systems will mean that time and resources can be focused on supporting patients when they need it most, creating a more efficient department. As well as creating efficiencies for health services, more consultations can be virtual which also creates savings for patients in time, expense and travel.”

-ENDS-

Notes to editors

For further information, to request images or interviews, please contact:

Sarah Khalid                            e: sarah@ampersandhealth.co.uk

Sophie Luis                       e: sophie@somx.co.uk         Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7112 8556

About Ampersand Health

Ampersand Health is a social purpose company, founded by doctors and patients to improve the health and happiness of people with long-term inflammatory conditions.

The company is pioneering the development of behavioural and data-science based digital therapies for people with immune-mediated diseases like Crohn’s, Colitis, Arthritis and Psoriasis.

Ampersand Health is recognised in the Digital Health Global 100, and has won the HSJ Award, the NHS Ideas Lab, the NHS Hackfest and competitive grants from government and industry. Ampersand Health My IBD Care has full ORCHA Approved status. The company was selected for the 2018/19 PWC Scale Health programme and the NHS’s 2019/20 DigitalHealth. London accelerator.

Ampersand Health was also one of 18 digital innovations identified  to support vulnerable people during the COVID-19 outbreak as part of the TechForce19 challenge.

Ampersand Health’s platform is CE marked as a Class 1 Medical Device, regulated by the MHRA, and has been assessed by NICE and is fully compliant with Information Governance requirements.

My Arthritis is free for patients and can be downloaded from the AppStore (iOS) and Google Play (Android).

My Arthritis DTx is available to procure on both the Crown Commercial Services G-Cloud 12 Framework and the Spark DPS (Dynamic Purchasing System)

Ampersand Health mobile apps are available on the ORCHA App Library as well as the ORCHA Covid-19 Health App Formulary