Daresbury-based Orcha have become the March monthly winner of the 2019 Merseyside Innovation Awards (MIA). Referred to as ‘the Martin Lewis of Health Apps’, Orcha is the trusted source for health app advice and, in 2018 was enlisted by NHS Digital to conduct app evaluations for the central NHS Library.
The MIA’s aim to help companies transform their ideas into successful businesses, contributing towards Merseyside’s economic development. Since 1996, the awards celebrate and encourages innovative companies and individuals in Merseyside. This month’s winners Orcha are currently engaged with organisations across Merseyside*, with the aim to be used globally, to help drive adoption of digital health apps to empower patients, populations and professionals to utilise the best health apps in every day work life and practice.
Navigating health and care apps is difficult for consumers, health professionals and national health bodies with four million health apps downloaded every day and 325,000 to choose from. Crucially, Orcha independently reviews and ranks existing health and care apps using a seven stage clinically and academically assessed framework, enabling the end user to easily identify apps reaching the highest standards.
Orcha’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Liz Ashall-Payne, said: “Being crowned a monthly winner is a wonderful achievement for everyone at Orcha. We are delighted to be acknowledged for our work in reviewing and ranking existing health apps, providing patients and professionals digital tools they know they can trust.”
Brian McCann, MIA Chairman, added: “Orcha’s achievements demonstrate the impact Merseyside entrepreneurs can have locally and potentially globally, they recognised there was an overwhelming amount of health apps with a lack of reliable, creditable reviews and have managed to create an independent framework for the benefit of patients and practitioners.”
MIA is driven by a group of locally-based sponsor organisations including, dewinter, Mitchell Charlesworth, Unilever, Liverpool City Region LEP, Natwest, Insider Media, Village Software, WP Thompson, O’Connors, RTC North and BBC Radio Merseyside.
For further information about the Merseyside Innovation Awards and to find out you can apply, please visit: www.merseysideinnovationawards.co.uk