LONDON: Feedback plc has signed a collaboration agreement with a provider of primary care solutions to explore the opportunities for a novel Neighborhood Diagnostics Solution.

The intention is to explore creating a solution that combines the partners’ technology and Bleepa to streamline NHS diagnostic and pathway referrals between primary care, Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) and secondary care. It is envisaged the solution will also enable some diagnostic procedures to be referred into community settings such as pharmacy or other diagnostic facilities, creating additional diagnostic capacity to support NHS waitlist recovery.

The parties intend to pilot the solution before pursuing broader national opportunities for contracts. Pilot conversations with customer sites are already underway. A pilot will seek to demonstrate both the continued reduction in outpatient appointment requirement through the combined platform, further reduction in patient wait times through an optimised GP referral process and also the ability to scale the solution at pace to multiple GP practices simultaneously.

The collaboration provides a route to rapidly scale the Bleepa solution and pathway approach, leveraging the existing footprint of the party.

The Company estimates that over 190m diagnostic tests per year could be redirected to a pharmacy setting. If taken to a national scale this opportunity could represent an estimated total addressable market of £382m annually with further opportunities for potential international expansion.  Commercial revenue from this potential opportunity remains subject to, inter alia, successful pilots and commercial agreement between the parties.

Dr Tom Oakley, CEO, Feedback plc said: “This collaboration aligns to the Secretary of State’s vision to move care out of traditional acute provider settings and into the community, closer to patients. If successful it will provide additional capacity to the NHS and help to overcome some of the difficulties being faced by CDCs, such as recruitment challenges, by enabling redirection to fully staffed facilities. It will also offer patients’ choice and the convenience of attending their local high street for routine NHS investigations with, we believe, shorter wait times.

“Lord Darzi’s paper, released on Thursday 12th September, calls directly for this solution. Given the impact that the combined product can deliver and the ability to leverage our partners existing footprint to scale the solution the Company believes that we have a huge opportunity to support the new model of the NHS under the new Labour Administration.”