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CareQ: Automated patient engagement tool

Move patients from passive waiting to active preparation

CareQ is a pathway-specific, automated digital support tool that helps patients move from passive waiting to active preparation, so they arrive more prepared for treatment, recover faster, and free capacity across your outpatient and elective pathways.

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Better prepared, fewer cancellations

Reduce avoidable DNAs and late cancellations by giving patients digital tools and confidence to actively prepare for treatment.

Shorter length of stay

Pre-hab and pathway-specific support help patients recover faster and safer, freeing up beds and theatre capacity.

Unlock capacity, hit recovery targets

Turn waiting lists into readiness lists, easing pressure on staff, boosting throughput, and supporting RTT and national priorities.

2,400+

products reviewed

250+

health conditions and categories

32,000+

assessments delivered

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Passive waiting costs healthcare providers time, money, and outcomes

For most patients, referral means months of passive waiting. This lost time creates risk - for patients, clinicians, and Trusts alike.

  • Rising cancellations and DNAs: many patients arrive unfit, anxious, or unready.
  • Longer stays and slower recovery: poor preparation delays discharge and increases follow-up needs.
  • Added pressure on staff and services: wasted theatre slots and blocked beds amplify the strain across elective care.

The result? Patients wait passively, outcomes decline, and operational pressure intensifies.

The solution: ORCHA CareQ

From passive waiting to active preparation

CareQ transforms waiting lists into readiness lists. By delivering tailored digital health support to patients from the point of referral, we help them use waiting time to actively prepare for treatment personalised to their pathway and recover faster afterwards.

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What “active waiting” looks like with CareQ:

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Pathway-specific support

Curated bundles of ORCHA-assessed apps, tools, and content matched to specialty, condition, and patient risk profile.

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Pre-hab and wellbeing

Guidance on exercise, nutrition, sleep, and anxiety management so patients arrive stronger, fitter, and more confident.

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Personalised patient journeys

Content delivered via trusted channels (SMS/RCS) and Patient Engagement Portals that meets patients at their level of digital confidence.

Care Bundles: Targeted solutions for priority needs

CareQ delivers curated digital health bundles to patients while they are on referral or waiting lists. These bundles are tailored by pathway, condition, and patient profile, and contain ORCHA-assessed apps and resources to help patients prepare, wait well, and recover.

Acute Trust bundles

  • Elective pre-hab: exercise, nutrition, lifestyle, mental readiness before surgery.
  • MSK & pain management: digital physiotherapy, pain coping tools, activity tracking.
  • Long-term conditions: diabetes, cardiovascular, respiratory.
  • Women’s health: pre/postnatal, pelvic health, menopause.

Mental Health Trust bundles

  • Mental health & wellbeing: anxiety, depression, stress, resilience, sleep.
  • Condition-specific support: severe mental illness, self-care alongside therapy.
  • Lifestyle & physical health: smoking cessation, diet, activity for those with comorbidities.
  • Recovery & relapse prevention: digital tools that extend therapy gains and support discharge.

Up to 10× return on investment

CareQ delivers measurable savings by reducing cancellations, shortening stays, and avoiding readmissions.

By turning passive waiting into active preparation, CareQ generates significant financial and productivity gains, often delivering up to 10× ROI compared to license cost.

Here’s how:

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Shorter hospital stays

Patients who actively prepare recover faster.

  • Impact: 1,800+ bed days saved (based on a 50,000-patient cohort).

  • Potential savings: £634,200

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Fewer readmissions

Better preparation and follow-up support means fewer patients bounce back into hospital.

  • Impact: 15 readmissions avoided (75 bed days).
  • Potential savings: £26,250
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Avoided cancellations

Improved readiness protects theatre slots and avoids wasted procedures.

  • Impact: 350 procedures protected.
  • Potential savings: £350,000
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Care Q works with what you already have

CareQ is designed to slot into existing healthcare technology and workflows, so you don’t need to rip out or rebuild systems to get started.

  • No new platform required: CareQ is plug-and-play, delivered through the communication tools your Trust already uses (SMS, RCS, email).
  • EHR and PAS ready: Integrates with core NHS systems to target the right patients at the right time.
  • Seamless with patient engagement tools: Works alongside existing portals and apps, complementing rather than competing.

How CareQ is delivered

1

Reach patients early

Patients on referral or waiting lists receive a simple SMS/RCS message inviting them to access digital support.
2

Match the right bundle

Based on pathway, risk profile, and digital confidence, patients are guided to a tailored bundle of ORCHA-assessed tools and resources.
3

Support across the journey

From pre-hab to post-op recovery, patients receive ongoing nudges and content that help them move from passive waiting to active preparation.
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Distribute digital health tools you can trust

With ORCHA Assured, every app in CareQ's bundles meets rigorous clinical, data, and usability standards, giving you confidence in what your teams recommend and what your patients use.

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ORCHA Assured: The benchmark of trust

The ORCHA Assured mark is your signal that a digital health product has been independently validated against global standards.

  • 38,000+ assessments across 9,000+ technologies.

  • Trusted worldwide by NHS, MHCC, Mind, APTA, APA, NordDEC, and ISO.

  • Continuously monitored so compliance stays current.

Trusted by the world’s leading health systems

When the NHS, health boards, and international health systems need a trusted way to assess, procure, and deploy digital health, they turn to ORCHA.

For over a decade, we’ve been the partner of choice for NHS Trusts, ICBs, national regulators, and ministries of health across Europe, North America, and Australasia. These organisations rely on ORCHA to:

Set a standard

Using the ORCHA Global Baseline Review, which underpins NHS DTAC, US DHAF and more

Provide confidence

With over 31,000 independent assessments completed

Access safely

Millions of patients and clinicians already access trusted tools via ORCHA-powered formularies

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is ORCHA CareQ?

CareQ is a digital health platform that delivers tailored bundles of ORCHA-assessed apps and resources to patients on referral or waiting lists. It helps people move from passive waiting to active preparation—so they’re fitter, readier for treatment, and recover faster.

Is CareQ just a waiting list validation tool?

No. CareQ is a separate tool to waiting list validation. It's value is moving patients from passive waiting to active preparation, improving fitness, reducing cancellations, shortening stays, and supporting recovery.

How is CareQ different from sending patients a link to the NHS App or a leaflet?

CareQ delivers tailored bundles of ORCHA-assessed solutions, specific to pathway, risk profile, and digital literacy. It’s proactive, continuous, and targeted; far more than a static one-off resource.

How do we know the digital tools are safe and effective?

Every product is ORCHA assessed for safety, privacy, and usability. Some are also ORCHA Assured, meaning suppliers commit to warranties, insurance, and ongoing compliance. Governance and documentation are streamlined via ORCHA Verify and Compare.

How quickly can CareQ be deployed?

CareQ is lightweight to set up, with pilot pathways launched in weeks. Because it uses existing communication infrastructure, operational overhead is minimal.

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Move patients from passive waiting to active preparation

See how CareQ helps your patients move from passive waiting to active preparation, and your Trust move closer to elective recovery.