Rachel Dunscombe has joined Visionable as its chief technology officer.
She is one of the best-known healthtech leaders in the UK, as a result of her work with the NHS Digital Academy, the KLAS ARCH Collaborative, and Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust.
In her new role she will lead Visionable’s strategy on the development of its unique video collaboration platform to meet the evolving needs of integrated care systems, the clinicians who work in them, and their patients.
“In the past few weeks, we have seen the rapid development of new pathways to respond to the Covid-19 outbreak,” she said.
“But, once we are through the crisis, we will need to continue that work to enable redesign of care pathways in the system.
“I see Visionable as a platform that we can scale fast in the face of Covid-19 to help keep clinical staff safe by reducing unnecessary contact between teams and patients.
“In the longer-term, I see it as part of a technology ecosystem that gets clinicians and patients working together so clinicians can make the right decisions, in the right place, at the right time, while giving patients new tools to manage their own health.”
I see Visionable as a platform that we can scale fast in the face of Covid-19 to help keep clinical staff safe by reducing unnecessary contact between teams and patients
Visionable was founded by two NHS leaders who could see the potential of using technology to support clinical collaboration and improve access to services for patients.
The company has since developed a large-scale collaboration platform specifically for healthcare that enables multiple users to share real-time audio and video feeds from any device.
The platform can handle anything from straightforward calls and presentations to live CT scans and feeds from cameras used to examine the ear or throat.
And it is already being used to connect ambulances with A&E units, to deliver consultant-led stroke care to patients out of hours, to facilitate multi-disciplinary team meetings, and to run virtual outpatient clinics and remote consultations.
Chief executive, Alan Lowe, said of the appointment: “Rachel is seen as a thought leader, not just in this country but internationally.
“She will be taking on the strategic direction of the functionality we develop, working closely with clinicians.
“We have ambitious plans for growth, and we are putting together an outstanding team to deliver it; one that wants to do good and that is committed to our mission of supporting clinicians and making healthcare more accessible and equitable for everyone.”