My Health Check is a mobile companion empowering patients to track heart health and lifestyle goals.
What we did
- Native iOS & Android Development
- User Experience (UX) Architecture
- Interactive Prototyping
- Q-Risk Software Integration
- Secure REST API & Offline Sync
- ExpressionEngine CMS & Reporting Dashboard
About the project
The NHS Health Check is a vital national scheme designed to spot early signs of stroke, kidney disease, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and dementia. However, for the Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT), the challenge wasn't just performing the checks, it was ensuring that patients acted on the results. In 2015, KCHFT partnered with Tinderhouse to bridge the gap between clinical assessment and long-term lifestyle change.
We were tasked with building "NHS My Health Check," a digital ecosystem comprising native mobile apps and a robust backend management system. The primary goal was to empower patients to take ownership of their health data. Rather than receiving a paper slip with cholesterol and blood pressure figures, users could record their results digitally, track progress over time, and receive intelligent signposting to support services.
Beyond the patient experience, the project served a critical strategic function for the Trust. By digitising this data, we provided commissioners with a window into public health trends across Kent. This project exemplifies the impact of healthcare app development when applied to preventative medicine, transforming static health metrics into a dynamic, interactive journey towards better well-being.
The Challenge
Before the app's development, the patient pathway for NHS Health Checks had several points of friction that hindered long-term efficacy. The Trust needed a solution that would engage users on their personal devices while adhering to strict clinical and data governance standards.
Key challenges included:
- Data Stagnation: once a patient left the clinic, their health check data often became "dead" information filed away in a drawer, rather than a catalyst for change.
- Disconnected Services: While the NHS offers excellent support apps (like Couch to 5K or Smokefree), there was no central hub to signpost patients to these specific tools based on their unique diagnosis.
- Lack of Feedback Loops: Commissioners struggled to monitor outcomes. They could see how many health checks were performed, but not necessarily the long-term success rates regarding weight loss or smoking cessation.
- Connectivity Issues: The mobile solution needed to function reliably even when users had poor signal, ensuring data wasn't lost during transmission.
- Device Fragmentation: The solution required a consistent, high-quality user experience across a wide range of iOS and Android smartphones and tablets.
Our Solution
Tinderhouse approached this project with a focus on usability and robust data architecture. We needed to translate complex clinical data into a user-friendly interface that encouraged regular interaction.
Validated Design & Architecture
We began by establishing a solid Information Architecture (IA) to ensure the user journey was intuitive. Recognising the importance of getting the flow right before writing code, we adopted a minimum viable product strategy during the design phase. We created interactive wireframes and prototypes, allowing the client to experience a low-tech version of the app in a browser. This MVP development phase was crucial for testing core features and securing stakeholder buy-in, ensuring that the layout for health results and "heart age" scores was clear and accessible before full production began.
Native Performance and Functionality
To ensure reliability and responsiveness, we opted for native app development for both iOS and Android platforms. This allowed us to fully utilise device capabilities. We built a sophisticated "Health Wallet" where users could log their results. Crucially, we integrated Q-Risk software to calculate the user's “heart age”, a powerful metric for motivating behaviour change. Based on these scores, the app utilised an intelligent recommendation engine to signpost users to relevant third-party apps (e.g., MyFitnessPal, NHS Smokefree) or local health improvement services.
Seamless Data Synchronisation
Understanding that users are not always online, we engineered a robust data sync mechanism. The app stores data locally on the device and automatically synchronises with the web-based database when a Wi-Fi connection becomes available. This ensured that no user data was ever lost due to connectivity dropouts. Furthermore, we implemented a smart push notification system. This allowed KCHFT staff to send general health alerts via the CMS, while the app itself generated automated, personalised nudges based on user behaviour to keep them on track with their goals.
Empowering Commissioners
The user-facing app was supported by a powerful backend. We utilised ExpressionEngine, a secure and scalable CMS, to manage user profiles and content. For the commissioners, we built a bespoke reporting dashboard accessible via the web. This tool aggregated anonymised data from the app, providing real-time insights into health improvement trends across Kent. We also implemented location detection logic to segregate data, ensuring reports focused specifically on Kent residents while still allowing users outside the region to benefit from the app's features.
The Results
The NHS My Health Check app successfully extended the care pathway from the clinic into the patient's pocket, creating a continuous loop of engagement and assessment.
Clinical Integration: The app was fully integrated into the outreach nursing process, becoming a standard tool for health practitioners to recommend during checks.
Data-Driven Insights: The Trust gained access to real-time, anonymised data regarding health improvements, such as weight loss and smoking cessation statistics, which were previously difficult to track outside of clinical settings.
Enhanced Signposting: The app successfully drove traffic to other valuable NHS and third-party resources, creating a cohesive ecosystem of health support.
Robust Stability: The native build and offline sync capabilities ensured a flawless user experience, regardless of network conditions.
Behavioural Nudging: The combination of "heart age" visualisation and automated push notifications provided the psychological prompts necessary to support users in their behaviour change plans.
Technical Highlights
Native iOS (Swift/Objective-C) optimised for iOS7+.
Native Android (Java) compatible with v4.2.2+.
Q-Risk Integration for clinical heart age calculation.
REST API for secure data transmission.
Geolocation Services for regional data filtering.
ExpressionEngine CMS for backend management.
Offline Data Sync with conflict resolution.
Innovation in Public Sector Healthcare
Digital transformation in the NHS requires a balance of innovation, security, and accessibility. Tinderhouse specialises in building compliant, high-impact mobile solutions for the public sector.