In each edition we delve into the minds of those who are redefining the boundaries of health. Our goal is to share the insights of those leading the way to achieve the highest attainable standard of health for everyone.

In this edition of Health Innovation Insider we speak to Tim Ringrose about his journey in the world of health innovation with the success of Cognitant Group Limited.

What was your motivation to start Cognitant? What need could you see that you wanted to address?

As a doctor I’ve always been very aware that many patients don’t get answers to all their questions about their health and treatment and are unsure what to do. This has got worse with the limited availability of GP appointments and the use of remote consultations. Research shows that most people go online before and after they go to see a healthcare professional and although there is some great information available online there is also a lot of misinformation that can be very harmful. This really became a big issue during the Covid pandemic and the World Health Organisation declared that the “infodemic” of misinformation was just as harmful as the virus and spread even more quickly! Our mission at Cognitant is to empower people with information and digital services that are trustworthy, easy to understand and personalised to their needs so they can make informed decisions about their health and treatment.

What are your goals over the next 5 years at Cognitant?

We already cover a number of long-term conditions including kidney disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer and asthma and provide programmes in multiple languages in the UK and internationally. I’m really excited by the huge opportunity we have to use AI to provide people with information and digital tools that are precisely personalised to their particular needs and preferences but we need to balance that with careful oversight to ensure the information is accurate and trustworthy – we still need humans! We’re working with the NHS and a number of pharmaceutical companies in the UK and internationally.

What strategies do you employ in your startup to create a positive work culture?

The most important thing is the mission and purpose. People join a start-up because they believe in what the company is aiming to do – it’s so important to have a clear and consistent ambition that people really want to achieve. Giving everyone share options really demonstrates that everyone is an important part of the team. Our team are scattered all over the country and so we need to work hard at communication – we have a weekly team meeting when we all have a couple of minutes to talk about what we’re doing and what our highlight of the week has been and we meet up in person twice a year to talk about our progress and plans and have some social time. We also run a team survey twice a year to keep a track on how everyone is feeling and what ideas people have to make the culture at work as good as possible. The hardest thing is how to respond when things are not going to plan – it’s important to keep the communication going and be honest!

Could you describe a time where you have had to change direction in response to changing circumstances and how that impacted your organisation?

That’s easy – we actually started off building virtual reality experiences for patients and experimented with various headsets including cardboard ones that you put your phone into. They weren’t bad at all but we found that people were reluctant to try it and that there were too many problems with the headsets. So although we still build some immersive experiences, most of our programmes are designed for people to view in 2D on their phone, iPad or computer.

Please could you tell us an interesting fact about yourself?

I was planning to study engineering when I went to University but made a last minute switch to Medicine. That was a great decision as the human body is the most amazing machine. All three of my children have gone into various aspects of engineering so there must be a strong engineering gene somewhere!

About the Author: I support health innovators and their startups as they realise the ambition to achieve highest attainable standard of health for everyone.