Digital health company Inhealthcare has launched a self-referral service to help NHS organisations manage the expected surge in demand for new weight loss medications.
The online system enables healthcare organisations to coordinate interest from individuals seeking newly approved treatments like Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) by validating patients against the NHS Spine, to ensure that only those registered in their area can register for the new treatment options.
Jamie Innes, product director at Inhealthcare, said: “Built on our proven technology, this service will help primary care providers manage demand as interest in these new treatments grows.
“By validating patients against the NHS Spine, we ensure healthcare providers only receive verified registrations from their area, helping NHS teams to plan and allocate resources effectively.
“Healthcare providers with structured systems in place will be better prepared to manage the expected patient demand.”
The NHS is preparing for an increase in demand for GLP-1 agonist medications, used to treat diabetes type 2 and obesity, following the National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) recommendation of Tirzepatide for adults with a BMI over 35 and at least one weight-related long-term health condition, published in December 2024.
NICE estimates that, while 3.4 million people in England may be eligible for these treatments, only around 220,000 people will be able to access them over the next three years due to NHS constraints.
According to Inhealthcare, more than 375 patients have already registered for the service through early adoption.
The service was developed in collaboration with NHS-owned digital health company Health Call.
As well as secure patient information capture, reporting capabilities and customisable registration pages for integrated care systems, the platform enables healthcare providers to provide additional patient screening and eligibility pathways, allowing them to triage patients from other settings who show interest in the medication.
Beyond weight loss medications, NHS teams can use the service to invite patients for routine health checks, cancer screening and other health services.
Inhealthcare is also supporting virtual ward programmes across the NHS in England. In October 2024, Humber and North Yorkshire announced plans to expand its virtual wards service by an additional 244 virtual beds by March 2025, supported by Inhealthcare’s patient monitoring technology.
Meanwhile, in August 2023, NICE recommended four digital programmes as safe, effective and cost-efficient ways of managing complex obesity cases – Oviva, Liva, Roczen and Second Nature.
This story was amended at 14.30 on 24 January 2025 at the request of Inhealthcare to remove references to the ICS running the service.
