Researchers in the UK call for better use of tech in social prescribing | Healthcare IT News

Tech could be used to tackle the UK’s loneliness epidemic, according to a new report. Smart devices should be used in social prescribing schemes in the UK to improve the quality of life of older people suffering from loneliness, according to a new report by consultancy WPI Economics, commissioned by Vodafone.

“GPs and health services should include technology (for example wearable devices, monitoring systems or classes providing lessons on how to use technology) in social prescribing schemes.

“Given the lack of definitive evidence in this area, we believe that the Government should work with partners to launch a trailblazer of these schemes and conduct a comprehensive evaluation that could support roll out through NICE,” researchers say.

Social prescribing allows GPs and other primary care professionals to refer people to non-clinical services with the aim to improve their health and wellbeing.

Think tank The King’s Fund says that a surge of interest in the model has been noticed in the past ten years – but their research indicates that this type of schemes has been used in the NHS since before the 1990s.

According to a 2016 joint report from the Co-op and the British Red Cross, more than nine million people in the UK often or always feel lonely.