The acquisition aims to show that AI triage, online consultation and the intelligent use of data are now essential to solving the NHS’s access and workload challenges.
Birmingham-based software development firm OneAdvanced has acquired online consultation and triage platform Patchs Health. This follows an exclusive partnership between the two companies and aims to accelerate the delivery of OneAdvanced’s next-generation healthcare platform.
Financial terms have not been disclosed.
Patchs Health was founded by a team of AI specialists from the University of Warwick, led by Marcus Ong and Daniel Sprague, to apply advanced AI and data science to real-life operational challenges.
In 2019, they were joined by Ben Brown, practising NHS GP and clinical senior lecturer at the University of Manchester, whose insight into primary care needs shaped the company’s pivot from consultancy to a focused healthcare software provider.
Through the acquisition, OneAdvanced adds a highly specialised capability in applied healthcare AI, combining PhD-trained data science, advanced engineering and frontline NHS clinical leadership.
The Patchs leadership will now take on senior roles within OneAdvanced’s healthcare innovation unit, accelerating AI-driven innovation and measurable impact across the wider health portfolio.
This acquisition follows OneAdvanced’s acquisition of the INPS Vision EPR system last year. Together, the company hopes that these bolt-ons will accelerate the delivery of OneAdvanced’s healthcare platform, which aims to transform how healthcare services are delivered across the UK.
Not optional extras
“AI triage, online consultation and the intelligent use of data are now essential to solving the NHS’s access and workload challenges,” said Ric Thompson, SVP of health at OneAdvanced. “With Patchs joining OneAdvanced, we become the only UK provider able to combine these capabilities with national-scale clinical systems and workflow automation.”
In October last year, Thompson made the point in an article for Healthcare Today that technology was crucial to patient safety too.
“If policymakers truly want to strengthen access while preserving safety, it is time to recognise that technology partners are not optional extras; instead, they must be central collaborators in whatever online access model emerges,” he wrote.
Patchs Health retains strong academic research partnerships with The University of Manchester and The University of Cambridge, where they are currently conducting the largest ever evaluation of AI in UK primary care, funded by the NIHR. OneAdvanced will further build on these crucial academic partnerships to accelerate translational AI research into practical tools for clinicians and NHS operational teams.
Patchs GP Online Consultation with AI is already being used by practices nationwide, boosting GP productivity by 75% and reducing workloads by 43%, while providing faster and more equitable access for patients, evidenced by a patient satisfaction score of 4.5/5.0 according to Trustpilot.
