Optima Health plc

("Optima", the "Company", and, together with its subsidiaries, the "Group")

Optima Health Secures First License with the NHS for its Digital Assessment Routing Tool 'DART'

LONDON, UK, 11 February 2025, Optima Health (AIM: OPT), the UK's leading provider of technology enabled corporate health and wellbeing solutions, today announces it has secured the first licence contract for its proprietary Digital Assessment Routing Tool (DART) with Mersey & West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

DART has been commissioned to support the safe and effective stratification of care for musculoskeletal conditions following a successful four-month quality improvement study conducted in collaboration with the Trust. The study demonstrated positive outcomes across all measures which included patient safety, pathway efficiency, cost savings and patient and clinician satisfaction. The success of DART has created significant interest from other NHS musculoskeletal services, creating a new sales pipeline for Optima Health including application in the NHS to reduce patient waiting lists.

DART, Optima's wholly owned tool, is DTAC (Digital Technology Assessment Criteria) certified, and is listed on the NHS Innovation Service. It's a digital first point of contact for patients self-referring into a musculoskeletal pathway, providing an alternative to clinician-led triage. Taking an average of eight minutes to complete, patients are assessed and routed to the correct type of care based on the urgency and complexity of their symptoms, following the "Getting It Right First Time" principle shown to improve patient outcomes and service efficiency.

DART has received significant investment and development by Optima Health, with validation completed in association with Queen Mary University of London leading to published papers in international peer-reviewed journals^1,2,3,4,5.

Jonathan Thomas, CEO of Optima Health, commented: "We are excited to announce this first licence today for Optima's proprietary tool, DART. Whilst the value of this initial licence is not material in the context of the Group's overall revenue and profits, it aligns with the Company's growth strategy to expand into adjacent markets.  Following the successful four-month quality improvement study, we have received significant interest from other NHS trusts and breaking into this new market, as planned, will provide a healthy new sales pipeline for Optima Health."

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About Optima Health

Optima Health is the UK's leading provider of occupational health and wellbeing services, directly influencing and improving people's lives for 25 years. Optima Health's incredible team of professionals quickly and effectively encapsulate client's needs, supporting organisations of all shapes and sizes. Through tailored solutions and innovative systems, Optima Health offers unparalleled clinical expertise to its clients. These solutions ensure that processes are simple and allow its clients to spend more time focusing on their employees driving a healthy, high-performing workplace. For more information visit www.optima health.co.uk

References

1.    Lowe C, Hanuman Sing H, Browne M, Alwashmi MF, Marsh W, Morrissey D
Usability Testing of a Digital Assessment Routing Tool: Protocol for an Iterative Convergent Mixed Methods Study

JMIR Res Protoc 2021;10(5):e27205 DOI: 10.2196/27205 PMID: 34003135

2.    Lowe C, Browne M, Marsh W, Morrissey D
Usability Testing of a Digital Assessment Routing Tool for Musculoskeletal Disorders: Iterative, Convergent Mixed Methods Study
J Med Internet Res 2022;24(8):e38352 DOI: 10.2196/38352 PMID: 36040787

3.    Lowe C, Hanuman Sing H, Marsh W, Morrissey D                                                    

Validation of a Musculoskeletal Digital Assessment Routing Tool: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Crossover Noninferiority Trial 

JMIR Res Protoc 2021;10(12):e31541 URL: https://www.researchprotocols.org/2021/12/e31541  DOI: 10.2196/31541

4.    Lowe C, Sephton R, Marsh W, Morrissey D
Evaluation of a Musculoskeletal Digital Assessment Routing Tool (DART): Crossover Noninferiority Randomized Pilot Trial
JMIR Form Res 2024;8:e56715 DOI: 10.2196/56715 PMID: 39078682 PMCID: 11322692

5.    Lowe C, Atherton L, Lloyd P, Waters A, Morrissey D

Improving safety, efficiency, cost, and satisfaction across a musculoskeletal pathway using the Digital Assessment Routing tool for triage: a quality improvement study.

JMIR Preprints 07/10/2024:67269 2024 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/preprints.67269