Case study: OptiOpioid moving from evidence base to evidence strategy with the DigitalHealth.London Evidence Generation Bootcamp 

Guard-Rx Ltd is developing OptiOpioid, clinical decision support software which addresses the inconsistent recognition of prescribed opioid use before surgery. Around 11% of adults presenting for elective surgery already take prescribed opioids regularly¹. National guidance recommends identifying these patients before surgery, but there is no standardised way of doing so, leading to missed opportunities and unwarranted variation. 

OptiOpioid identifies opioid medications from a patient’s medication list, calculates the total opioid dose, bands patients using published thresholds from the Faculty of Pain Medicine, and flags those who may benefit from a proactive, personalised pain management plan before surgery. 

Founder and Clinical Director, Dr Hannah Dawe, a Consultant in Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine with twenty years’ clinical experience, joined cohort three of the DigitalHealth.London Evidence Generator Bootcamp to strengthen the evidence strategy and gain a deeper understanding of market requirements for the software. 

Thinking strategically about evidence 

OptiOpioid joined the DigitalHealth.London Evidence Generator Bootcamp with a strong clinical evidence base. The company had already established a detailed review of published literature and national recommendations, patient involvement activities, early user feedback, a health economic model developed with an independent health economist, and a partnership with the Health Innovation East real-world evaluation team. The next step was to understand how to use that evidence base effectively to support evaluation, adoption and scaling. 

Expert-led webinars helped Hannah to distinguish the different types of evidence required, from technical validation and clinical safety to usability, workflow integration, clinician behaviour, lived experience, clinical outcomes and economic value, and the different audiences that ask for each. She developed a structured, staged evidence generation plan tailored to OptiOpioid’s initial chosen market of NHS acute trusts delivering elective surgery, together with a clearer view of what would be required for later expansion into private healthcare providers and international healthcare systems. 

A key Bootcamp exercise involved mapping OptiOpioid against the NICE Evidence Standards Framework. This enabled Hannah to identify both the types of evidence required by different stakeholders and the current evidence gaps. Building on this work, she is now developing a database that links OptiOpioid’s intended product claims to the evidence needed to support them. By connecting stakeholder questions with specific outcome measures and evaluation activities, the database provides a practical framework for prioritising evidence generation.  

Designing out digital exclusion 

The lived-experience workshop was a stark reminder of how easily under-represented communities can be designed out of healthcare development, particularly in the move from analogue to digital. It reinforced a decision already built into OptiOpioid: the clinician uses the software, not the patient, so nothing depends on a patient having digital access or digital literacy. Opioid consumption in England is consistently higher in more deprived areas,² and a tool that only reaches patients able to complete a digital form would potentially increase unwarranted variation. 

I would highly recommend the Bootcamp. For a clinician-founder, the clinical case is the part you already command, but this course reinforced that for a product to be adopted into healthcare systems you need to communicate the evidence effectively to a wider audience, which requires a different mindset.” 

– Hannah Dawe, Founder and Clinical Director, Guard-Rx Ltd  

Understanding the importance of collaboration 

A key takeaway from the Bootcamp was the importance of understanding the different stakeholders involved in evidence generation, including clinicians, commissioners, healthcare leaders, patients and investors, and how each assesses value. As a result, Hannah is seeking expert feedback and academic partnerships early in the development process, ensuring that OptiOpioid and its evidence generation strategy evolve in line with existing and emerging healthcare priorities. 

The session on communicating evidence was also influential, encouraging Hannah to think about evidence generation as a creative process and to consider how the same evidence should be tailored for patients, clinicians, commissioners, policymakers and investors. 

As a solo founder, peer learning played an important role. The online breakout groups provided valuable opportunities for collaboration, leading to ongoing connections with fellow innovators, including Ishtar Govia of Amagi Brain Health. 

Next steps 

Hannah leaves the Bootcamp with a clearer understanding of what evidence is needed, who needs it and why. She is now focused on finalising the patient-reported and healthcare outcome measures that will underpin future evaluation activities, including continued engagement with people who have lived experience of undergoing surgery while taking opioids. 

An upcoming feasibility study will focus on human factors and clinician behaviour, whether OptiOpioid improves identification of prescribed opioid use, and whether it prompts proactive pain management planning. Findings will inform product refinement and the design of later, larger evaluation studies.  

By strengthening her understanding of stakeholder needs and evidence requirements, Hannah is well positioned to build a robust evidence base for OptiOpioid and communicate its value effectively to those involved in its adoption, implementation and future scale-up.  

OptiOpioid is part of cohort three of the Evidence Generator Bootcamp.

The DigitalHealth.London Evidence Generator Bootcamp programme is funded by the Office for Life Sciences with a focus on signposting and supporting innovators to deliver economic growth. It is delivered by the Health Innovation Network South London.

For more information, please visit the DigitalHealth.London Evidence Generator Bootcamp webpage.

References 

1. Belete M et al. Patient-reported outcomes, postoperative pain and pain relief after day-case surgery (POPPY): baseline data from day surgery practice in the UK. Anaesthesia 2026. doi:10.1111/anae.70055 

2. Appleby S, Al Musaimi O. Socioeconomic Deprivation and Opioid Consumption: An Analysis Across England. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2025;22(5):750.