Clinical connections
At Usher we recognise the importance of connecting with practitioners to drive research and innovation that translates into practice. Our team includes clinical academics from primary and secondary care, including doctors and nurses, as well as public health professionals. We manage our own general practice here in Edinburgh, and have close links with care homes and hospices. This wealth of expertise from diverse real world experience in health and care underpins our excellence in applied research, innovation and teaching.
Snapshot: Clinical decision support system for asthma diagnosis
Asthma is unfortunately commonly missed, over and under-diagnosed in routine clinical practice settings. Professor Hilary Pinnock and her team have sought to develop a clinical decision support system that would enable GPs and other primary care professionals to improve the accuracy of their diagnosis. Working with specialists in software engineering to create a practical and user-friendly interface, as well as building the ‘back end’ of the system through access to patient records through their industry partners, the team brought their clinical know how to create a prototype, which is now being tested.
ADxDA webpage on AUKCAR website
Snapshot: Diabetes and Ramadan
Some Muslim people with diabetes who wish to fast during Ramadan are at increased risk of serious health complications (low blood sugar, diabetic ketoacidosis, dehydration). Many of these health complications can be mitigated by good diabetes self-management education around fasting risk and diet and diabetes medication adjustment. Through her company MyWay Digital Health, Dr Debbie Wake partnered with the Diabetes and Ramadan International Alliance to create free Diabetes and Ramadan online support and training. “Diabetes and Ramadan” was piloted in 2022 and run in earnest in 2023 following excellent feedback from both people with diabetes and healthcare professionals.