ORCHA becomes strategic partner of DrDoctor to support patients on NHS waiting lists

ORCHA is pleased to announce that it is now a strategic partner of DrDoctor, working together to support NHS Trusts in improving patient readiness and accelerating elective recovery.

With sustained pressure on waiting lists across the NHS, Trusts are looking beyond capacity expansion alone and exploring how better patient preparation and engagement can improve productivity and outcomes.

Through this partnership, DrDoctor’s established patient communication platform will enable Trusts to offer CareQ - ORCHA’s digital waiting well solution - directly to patients at key points in their care journey.

Supporting Patients to “Wait Well”

CareQ provides curated bundles of digital health tools designed to help patients prepare for treatment, manage symptoms while waiting, and recover more effectively post-intervention.

Support may include:

• Pre-operative preparation and prehabilitation
• MSK and pain management
• Weight management and smoking cessation
• Anxiety, sleep, and mental wellbeing support
• Post-operative rehabilitation and recovery

All CareQ products are ORCHA reviewed, meaning they have been independently reviewed for safety, data protection, and usability. Some products are also ORCHA Assured, providing additional supplier commitments such as ongoing compliance, warranties, and insurance.

By embedding CareQ within DrDoctor’s trusted communication channels, Trusts can provide structured digital support at scale without adding complexity to existing systems.

Enabling Measurable Operational Benefits

This partnership supports NHS organisations to:

• Reduce avoidable cancellations through improved treatment readiness
• Improve discharge readiness and reduce length of stay
• Support referral diversion where clinically appropriate
• Extend care beyond treatment through digital follow-on support

Together, ORCHA and DrDoctor aim to help Trusts turn waiting time into preparation time — improving both patient experience and operational efficiency.

Alison Johnson, Head of UK Health Systems at ORCHA, said:

“Supporting patients while they wait is an important but often underdeveloped part of elective recovery. By partnering with DrDoctor, we can embed structured, independently assessed digital health support directly into existing patient communication pathways.”

 

Find out how this could help your Trust

NHS Trusts and Health Boards interested in learning how CareQ and DrDoctor can support elective recovery and patient readiness can contact us to arrange a discussion or demonstration tailored to your organisation’s pathways and priorities.