With the widespread ownership of smartphones and tablets, and the ever-increasing use of apps for anything from tracking jogging routes, providing healthy dinner recipes, right through to monitoring heart rhythms, there is a real opportunity for apps to effectively support patients in managing their health conditions and general wellbeing.

Unfortunately with over 360,000 health apps in the most common app stores (Google Play, Apple etc.) and with many not having a clear indication of how safe or effective they are, it can be incredibly difficult to find one that is appropriate, trustworthy and effective.

NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire CCG, in partnership with ORCHA, have therefore launched a Health & Wellbeing App Library for Herefordshire and Worcestershire, which contains hundreds of independently reviewed and clinically accredited apps to meet your needs. You can visit the library at HWhealthapps.orcha.co.uk.

ORCHA have formed a team of people, including actively practicing clinicians of varying specialities, to independently review and accredit health apps against a large number of stringent criteria in areas such as clinical assurance, data privacy and user experience, giving each app an easy to understand % score which will help you decide whether to recommend it or not.

Our local app library will only contain apps that score well, ensuring only higher-quality apps are available to download. The library also gives health and care professionals the ability to recommend apps during consultations, by sending patients a text message or email link to the app.

If you are new to the world of health apps or would like support in getting started with using the library, please visit www.hwth-lms.co.uk/course/view.php?id=290 where you can access bitesize learning video’s through ORCHA’s CPD accredited Digital Health Academy.

Please note: you will need to create a ‘pro account’ within the app library in order to access the ORCHA Academy. A guide on how to do so is available via the e-learning link above.

H&W App Library Quick Start Guide - Health & Care Professionals - Click here to download

H&W App Library FAQ - Health & Care Professionals - Click here to download