From eye cancer to HIV and Parkinson's – meet the companies developing smartphone apps set to improve medical diagnostics

From eye cancer to HIV and Parkinson's – meet the companies developing smartphone apps set to improve medical diagnostics Smartphones have already transformed the way we socialise, work, organise our lives and exercise. Now they are changing the way doctors diagnose and treat disease.
Around the world, a string of start-ups are harnessing the computing power of the smartphone to put expert medical diagnostic tools and advice in people’s pockets – and relieve the burden on health services. The combination of specialist apps and the computing power packed into a smartphone can deliver a powerful punch.
As technology is set to make up a greater share of global healthcare spending, which is set to rocket to $10.1tn by 2022 according to a report from Deloitte last year, the potential to transform treatment is greater than ever. Consultants are using a hand-held device called Butterfly iQ, that turns a smartphone into an ultrasound machine, helping slash costs and waiting times. The Telegraph

Health profile for England: 2019

Health profile for England: 2019  This report combines data and knowledge with information from other sources to give a broad picture of the health of people in England in 2019. It includes life expectancy, trends in mortality, trends in morbidity and inequalities in health. King's Fund

Public Health England - publications

Signs of a slowdown in new type 2 diabetes cases

Signs of a slowdown in new type 2 diabetes cases The number of new cases of type 2 diabetes could be stabilising, or even falling, a study suggests. The analysis looked at 47 studies from the mid-1960s up to 2014, mainly from the US and Canada and countries across Europe including the UK.
A third of populations studied between 2006 and 2014 saw a fall in new cases and another third were stable. But Diabetes UK said the challenges of obesity and unhealthy lifestyles, both linked to the condition, remained. BBC News

NHS facing year-round crisis and cannot cope, warns BMA

NHS facing year-round crisis and cannot cope, warns BMA  The latest NHS performance figures reinforce the difficult truth that frontline health services are buckling under the strain of relentless demand and NHS staff are coming under unremitting pressure, the NHS Confederation has warned. The British Medical Association said the figures provide the “clearest evidence yet that the NHS cannot cope with the year-round crisis it is now facing”, and called on the government to take urgent action to resolve the crises of doctors’ pensions and tax as these add to the problem by forcing doctors to reduce their working hours.
The performance figures, published yesterday, reveal that August had the highest-ever recorded figures for A&E attendance, although slightly lower than those for July, as well as the lowest ever proportion of patients treated within 18 weeks of referral. However, the 31-day cancer standard was met. OnMedica

Cheap booze and fags: the last gasp of government health policy

Cheap booze and fags: the last gasp of government health policy  In a government gearing up for an election, where every statement is supposed to be choreographed as part of a finely tuned grid of speeches and events, it takes a particular stupidity for the chancellor, Sajid Javid, to extol the virtues of cheap cigarettes and booze just as the health and social care secretary, Matt Hancock, was heading for Public Health England’s annual conference.
Having alighted upon what he regards as unequivocally good news about leaving the EU without a deal, Javid announced on Tuesday that people travelling to Europe will be able to buy alcohol and cigarettes without paying UK excise duty. The Guardian

Nearly 100,000 Britons thought to be risking death from hepatitis C

Nearly 100,000 Britons thought to be risking death from hepatitis C  Almost 100,000 Britons are at risk of dying because they do not know that they have the deadly liver disease hepatitis C, health officials are warning.
An estimated 95,600 people in the UK, mainly drug users, are believed to be suffering from the disease but are unaware of the condition because they have not been diagnosed, said Public Health England (PHE) on Friday. The Guardian

Scotland agrees deal for 'unaffordable' cystic fibrosis drug Orkambi

Scotland agrees deal for 'unaffordable' cystic fibrosis drug Orkambi  The Scottish government has agreed a deal with the manufacturer of Orkambi, the cystic fibrosis drug that NHS England has said is unaffordable for its patients.
Scotland has not disclosed the price it has agreed to pay to treat 350 patients who are eligible for the drug. In England, there are more than 10,000 children and adults with the disease, nearly half of whom could benefit, making the potential bill south of the border very high. NHS England offered £500m over five years for Orkambi and other upcoming cystic fibrosis drugs, but the manufacturer, Vertex, turned that down. The Guardian

Cancer patients left in the dark because nurses are 'insanely overloaded'

Cancer patients left in the dark because nurses are 'insanely overloaded'  Cancer patients are being left in the dark over results because nurses are "insanely overloaded", a new report warns. Polling by Macmillan Cancer Support found almost half of specialist nurses said their high workload was negatively affecting patient care.
Cancer patients said they had been left with “no idea” when they would get the results of scans to monitor for a relapse, because staff were too busy to attend to them. The charity's study found the cancer workforce is stretched, with around one in 10 specialist nurse posts vacant in some regions. The Telegraph

One in ten A&E patients is back in casualty within a week

One in ten A&E patients is back in casualty within a week Almost one in ten Accident & Emergency patients are returning to hospital within a week, amid growing difficulties getting to see a GP. The new figures from NHS Digital show that last year, almost 2 million patients who went to A&E were back again within seven days - a 72 per cent rise from 1.1 million in a decade.
In total, there were 24.8 million A&E attendances in 2018/19, the figures show - a rise of more than a fifth in a decade. The Telegraph