Thanks to software developed by Dr Chris Martin, a GP from Laindon, Essex, your patients might find out when they are going to die. Well, actually, kinda:
New risk assessment software enabling GPs to show patients the impact of their lifestyle habits and the benefits of potential changes is being launched across the UK, after successful validation and uptake throughout Essex.
The Laindon Survival Model, created by Dr Chris Martin, a practising GP based at the Laindon Health Centre in Essex, is being promoted by Health Enterprise East (HEE), the NHS innovation hub for the East of England.
The software has been developed to enable patients to make a more informed choice about their healthcare. This mortality assessment technology translates the percentage risk of cardiovascular disease from the presentations of particular patients, so that they can see first-hand the risks they are incurring and make decisions on what action to take.
The Laindon Model uses the Framingham risk equations along with risks of death and disease obtained from UK mortality and health statistics. Risk factors assessed include: smoking vs non-smoking, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, diabetes, left ventricular hypertrophy, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein and age. These factors are then utilised to project the probability of an individual’s survival over a lifetime. The package can be used immediately from any computer with Microsoft Excel and costs £35 per individual licence, with discounts available for five or more licences purchased. A comprehensive instruction manual is also included.
Stuart Thomson, HEE Innovation Manager, said: “The Laindon Survival Model has already been trialled successfully across GP surgeries and Health Centres in Essex for the last three years with many users extolling the benefits. The way the package enables the user to alter factors and see the risk change, as well as the impact of seeing a specific risk explained in a highly visual way on screen are key features of this software…”
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(Thanks, Donald!)
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