vMDT is on a mission to transform outpatient care by facilitating seamless collaboration among multidisciplinary teams, aiming to streamline care and enhance patient management.
- The vMDT platform has been piloted within the K2 Federation in Lincolnshire, serving a population of 195,000 patients. This pilot has led to a reduction in heart failure-related hospital admissions by approximately 15%.
- Dr Majid Akram was the winner of the Best Long Term Conditions Project at the 2023 GP Awards for his innovative work on vMDT and HSJ Digital Awards Finalist.
- The vMDT platform supports the ambitions of the NHS long term plan by improving the management of long-term conditions and streamlining multidisciplinary collaboration to reduce clinician workload.
Dr Majid Akram, a General Practitioner (GP) and Chief Clinical Information Officer for Primary Care at Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), joined the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme as a member of cohort 8.
Founded in 2021, DeepMedicine Ltd developed the virtual Multi-Disciplinary Team (vMDT) platform. vMDT is a digital tool designed to connect healthcare professionals in a virtual environment, enabling them to collaborate and provide expert clinical advice in a more effective way. This platform aims to streamline case management of long-term and complex conditions, whilst reducing GP workload, aligning with NHS priorities.
In England, there are over 55,000 MDT meetings for cancer patients each year, with demand continuing to rise. *
The modern approach to providing effective patient care in primary care are regular multidisciplinary Team (MDT) meetings, where healthcare professionals from different disciplines come together to discuss patient cases and plan treatment. The aim of these meetings is for better coordination between healthcare professionals to provide timely, accurate and personalised care for patients living with complex needs or long-term conditions.
With over 15 years’ experience as a GP, Dr Majid Akram regularly takes part in MDT meetings, which are usually facilitated in-person or virtually, using common tools such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom etc. When supporting patients with heart failure, he found that these approaches led to significant barriers to effective care. Communication was fragmented, leading to delays in treatment and due to the volume of cases being reviewed, information was often missed, resulting in inconsistent care plans. Additionally, the environment made it difficult to consistently and accurately document discussions and actions. This negatively impacted patient care and placed additional strain on healthcare teams, who already had very limited capacity.
“According to the 2024 Darzi Report, the NHS faces a “perfect storm” of increased demand, workforce challenges, and resource limitations, which necessitates a shift toward maximising productivity through digital and multidisciplinary strategies. The report stresses that “”innovative digital solutions and the upskilling of allied health professionals are essential to safeguarding NHS sustainability and delivering timely, quality care”” (Darzi, 2024).”
Dr Majid Akram.
Driven by his passion for innovation combined with his extensive experience, Dr Majid Akram with the support of his home site, Lincolnshire ICB, started to develop a digital platform focused on seamless collaboration among multidisciplinary teams, aiming to streamline care processes. This resulted in the founding of DeepMedicine LTD where he started to build the Virtual Multi-disciplinary Team (vMDT) platform, to improve the pathway for heart failure and other chronic conditions.
vMDT enables all those involved in a patient’s care to collaborate in real-time, through an effective, virtual meeting. In the case of heart failure, the patient’s GP, cardiologist, nurse, and other relevant specialists can review the patient’s medical history, test results, and current treatment plan in one shared digital space. During these meetings, decisions and care plans are co-created and automatically shared with everyone involved, including the patient’s electronic health record. This ensures that everyone stays informed, actions are clear, and care is optimised.
Machine learning capabilities provide decision support tools to alert the MDT members about safety and quality aspects that they should be considering. The integrated techniques are personalised to local care systems.
Throughout the process, the patient is kept informed. This includes being contacted within 48 hours of the MDT discussion so that they can share their treatment goals, and the system can symptom score them. This allows the MDT discussion to understand the patients’ wishes and have realistic symptoms related data from the patient, to allow accurate treatment decisions to be made. The MDT team can also leave advice for the patient in the patient portal section of the platform, which might be a simple note to state that a new drug is being considered and the patient might wish to read a leaflet in advance of this being started. This will assist with shared care decisions being made in an informed manner.
vMDT is one central platform to coordinate the full MDT pathway, and it is disease agnostic, meaning that the same platform provides templates for other chronic conditions with information linking across the speciality specific templates.
In 2022, the vMDT platform was piloted within the K2 Federation in Lincolnshire, serving a population of 195,000 patients. This milestone was a significant achievement for Dr Akram, as the proof of concept aimed to build an evidence base for scaling the solution across more practices in community and primary care.
During this period, Dr Akram faced challenges with imposter syndrome and, being from a rural area, had limited connections with other healthcare innovators. Inspired by case studies from the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme, he resonated with the journeys of other innovators and successfully secured a place in cohort 8 in 2023. He hoped the community and support would help him scale his platform, develop networks, and gain insights to execute his vision.
Impact
The results of the vMDT pilot demonstrated that the platform has made a substantial impact in improving care for patients with chronic conditions, such as heart failure and mental health in Lincolnshire. By integrating health and social care professionals into a unified workflow, vMDT ensured that patients receive timely reviews, standardised care, and proactive intervention. This model enhanced productivity by reducing the reliance on GPs and redistributing responsibilities to other allied healthcare professionals.
To date the platform has reached hundreds of patients and continues to grow as the team works toward a scalable model for Integrated Care System-wide adoption, covering 850,000 patients.
Implementing the vMDT platform has boosted healthcare team productivity by up to 25%, saving time and streamlining workflows for faster patient case reviews and reduced administrative duplication. The platform enhances collaboration by providing a centralised space for real-time decision-making and transparent care planning, reducing communication breakdowns and fostering accountability. In the Lincolnshire region, the vMDT model has reduced heart failure-related hospital admissions by approximately 15%, leading to cost savings and improved patient outcomes. Aligned with NHS Long Term Plan priorities, the project emphasises integrated care for chronic disease management, with national support highlighting its productivity gains and workforce challenge solutions.
With ongoing implementation, the vMDT platform is projected to reach over 800,000 patients across Lincolnshire, delivering scalable, high-quality care across multiple pathways. The projected cost savings and improvements in patient outcomes will provide long-term benefits for both the healthcare system and patients.
“vMDT provides the single version of the truth to ensure that all professionals working on a patient case have an accurate workflow that helps with productivity between all team members”.
Neighbourhood team lead Lincolnshire South.
After joining the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme (CEP) in 2023, Dr Akram was thrilled to become part of a community of like-minded entrepreneurs in the health sector. “The CEP network has been an inspiring and supportive community where I’ve gained valuable insights from fellow Clinical Entrepreneurs. Although vMDT was already launched, CEP’s resources helped me refine and expand its potential. Conversations within the programme deepened my understanding of business strategy and innovation in healthcare, shaping my approach to sustainable growth. While no formal collaborations emerged, the shared experiences and mutual support have been incredibly motivating” said Dr Majid Akram.
“If you have an idea then consider joining this programme, it’s one of a kind.”-Dr Majid Akram
Dr Akram has experienced significant personal and professional growth through the CEP, where he has had access to invaluable opportunities to connect with experts, establish successful mentoring relationships, and network with industry leaders, all of which have propelled his innovation to the next level. The comprehensive learning and development has bolstered his confidence, refined his value proposition, and provided crucial exposure to funding opportunities and workshops. These experiences have clarified his vision for the future growth of the vMDT platform.
“CEP has been instrumental in scaling vMDT, enhancing heart failure care across Lincolnshire and shaping it into a replicable model for ICS settings. The programme refined my business strategy, improved my stakeholder communication, and deepened my understanding of NHS pathways, IP, and funding. My mentor’s guidance was pivotal in clarifying vMDT’s value and impact. Through CEP, I connected with NHS leaders, gained market insights, and built the confidence to pursue national innovation opportunities like the NIA. It’s a unique, flexible programme that empowers healthcare entrepreneurs at every stage!”- Dr Majid Akram
Looking to the future
Looking ahead, Dr Akram’s key challenges include finding an investment partner, developing a revenue-generating pricing model, scaling the solution, and establishing robust business structures for marketing, technology support, development, and compliance assurance.
Expansion plans are in motion to scale the vMDT platform across Lincolnshire and beyond, focusing on heart failure, mental health, and potentially other pathways including frailty and virtual wards.
“I am eager to connect with individuals or groups interested in reducing unwarranted variation in healthcare and are passionate about disruptive digital healthcare delivery. If you’re interested in learning more or having a conversation, please reach out.”- Dr Majid Akram.
References:
- http://deepmedicine.co.uk/
- https://www.clinicaloncologyonline.net/article/S0936-6555(15)00339-8/
- https://www.weightmans.com/media-centre/news/darzi-review/
- https://nhscep.com/2024/11/12/our-entrepreneurs-majid-akram/
- https://www.cogora.com/meet-your-2023-general-practice-award-winners/