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Livi Becomes First Digital Healthcare Provider Rated Outstanding by CQC
Livi today announced it has become the first digital healthcare provider in England to be rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and social care services.
Livi enables patients to see GPs and other healthcare professionals by video through their smartphone or tablet device seven days a week, and provides patient management technology to more than 4,000 GP practices. Through NHS partnerships, Livi is available free at the point of use to more than five million NHS patients, and can be accessed by anyone in the UK on a pay-as-you-go basis. The company employs its own GPs, adding capacity to NHS services as required, and offering patients faster access to high-quality healthcare.
The CQC report, published today, was based on a comprehensive inspection that took place on 5 May 2021, with Livi awarded an Outstanding rating in two out of five categories and a good rating in the other three, leading to an overall Outstanding rating. Just 5% of GP practices were rated Outstanding by the CQC in 2020. This is the first time Livi has been inspected by the regulator.
The key questions are rated as:
- Are services safe? – Good
- Are services effective? – Good
- Are services caring? – Good
- Are services responsive? – Outstanding
- Are services well-led? – Outstanding
Inspectors highlighted Livi’s work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, when the company was asked by NHS England to run the COVID Home Monitoring Service (CHMS). Developed and implemented in just 30 hours during the first month of the pandemic, the CHMS allowed hundreds of patients 24 hour access to care, seven days a week, without the risk of exposing others to COVID-19.
The report also commended Livi Connect, a free software platform, launched in response to the pandemic, that provides a safe way for doctors to care for their patients. Since launch, Livi Connect has enabled thousands of patients to benefit from video consultations with their own healthcare professional.
The CQC noted just one area of improvement for Livi to “review the system for recording GPs’ NHS appraisals and ensure GP records of these are kept up to date.”
Dr Harriet Bradley, Livi UK Medical Director, said: “Giving people better access to high quality care is what drives us, and this Outstanding rating means patients can be assured they are receiving the highest standards of care from their Livi GP. Our team of clinicians and digital specialists worked ceaselessly throughout the pandemic to provide patients with safe, effective and accessible healthcare. As we emerge from lockdown we will continue to apply the lessons we learned and further improve our services in support of the NHS”.
Juliet Bauer, Livi UK Managing Director, said: “This is a really exciting time for digital healthcare. The CQC rating Livi Outstanding shows that when digital is done well it can be central to providing safe, effective and responsive care. Our model of partnering with the NHS whilst innovating at scale helps us to achieve the widest access, and the best possible outcomes for patients. This will always be at the heart of everything we do, and I’m delighted that Livi is the first digital healthcare provider to receive the highest possible rating”.
In April 2021, Livi’s parent company Kry announced a funding round of more than US$300m (€262m) to fuel its expansion plans and continue its upward growth trajectory. The Series D funding round took the company valuation to more than $2 billion USD.
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