Helicon Health, a spin out from UCL, was cited as a research impact case study in UCL’s highly successful submission for the Research and Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, which saw the university rated top in the UK by research strength.
The results of the REF 2014, published last week, demonstrate the world-leading quality of research conducted in UK universities in all disciplines.
46% of UCL’s research in public health, health services and primary care was found to be world class whilst 35% was found to be of internationally excellent standard.
Helicon Health features in the ‘Clinical Management Service for Stroke Prevention’ research impact case study, which summarises UCL’s research to develop a new international standard – ISO EN 13606 – for electronic health records (EHRs). The new standard enables patient records to move with them to different health providers, and clinicians in different settings to collaborate more effectively. It has been successfully commercialized, with support from UCL Business PLC, as the key element of Helicon Health’s unique stroke prevention service.
The ISO EN 13606 standard is the only internationally published standard for communicating Electronic Health Records (EHRs) between diverse healthcare systems. It is now mandatory in all EU countries and has been publicly adopted in the UK (NHS England), Sweden, Spain, Brazil, Iran, with a number of other counties considering its adoption.
Professor David Patterson, chief executive, Helicon Health said:
“We are immensely proud to be associated with UCL and its success in this year’s Research and Excellence Framework. The stroke prevention case study is one of many research impact case studies that contribute to UCL’s performance in this year’s REF. I am delighted that the years of research have translated into a new international standard which is the cornerstone of our unique, ‘whole patient’ approach to managing patients with long-term conditions.”
The REF provides a robust and thorough assessment of the quality of universities’ research in 36 disciplines. The research of 52,061 academic staff from 154 UK universities was peer-reviewed by a series of panels comprising UK and international experts, and external users of research. The panels judged 30 per cent of the submitted work to be ‘world-leading’ (4*) and a further 46 per cent to be ‘internationally excellent’ (3*).
