Welcome to Virtual Health Labs, where we develop tailored Coachbots® to help people change, for the better.
• Are you seeking ways to dramatically increase people’s engagement in behaviour change or self-care?
• Are you looking for an innovative approach to activate and empower people to look after themselves better, at scale?
“Because the most important conversation people have about their health… is the one they have with themselves”
- Virtual Health Labs
What some users have said about CoachBot®
Our clients include:
The Challenge:
The continued rise in the number of people with one or more long term conditions is placing immense pressure on health and care system – as well as healthcare professionals
Healthcare systems are currently responding with:
- New Services – Such as: Community Groups, Telephone Health Coaching, Social Prescribing and Adult Health Checks.
- New Roles – For instance: Health Coaches, Link-Workers, Navigators and Peer Support Workers
- ·Health Apps – Including those for different conditions (Diabetes, Depression, Heart Disease, etc.) and for different behaviours (Physical Activity, Diet, Smoking, etc.)
Often these approaches focus on people who have already decided to change, but perhaps don’t work so well for the less ready to change.
What if there was another way?
A way of reaching, engaging and activating the less ready to change, and perhaps those most in need of help?
A way of delivering on-demand, personalised, placed-based, precision health coaching to local people, 24/7
That’s our focus at Virtual Health Labs
And we’re on a mission to help 1 million people each day
We understand health behaviour change.
Dr Tim Anstiss, one of our founders, has trained thousands of health professionals in motivational interviewing, health coaching and shared decision making, and has been involved in several national and international behaviour change initiatives, including around Physical Activity, Cancer Survivorship, Hepatitis Elimination and Hazardous Drinking.
He currently teaches on Masters Coaching Programmes at Henley Business School, UCL and Cambridge University, and is supporting regional and national initiatives around physical activity in multiple long term conditions and screening uptake in Diabetes.
"I worked with Dr Tim Anstiss and the team at VirtualHealth Labs on two projects in my former role as head of digital public health at Southwark Council, prior to joining NHS England.
Tim and his team are experts in their field, are groundbreaking and prepared to go above and beyond. I believe that their work is of excellent quality.
They have a good understanding of health, public health, the NHS, local government and the politics, complexities, and nuances that I have found out others often don’t have.”.
Jo Stead
“ Dr Anstiss and his team provided invaluable support in the development of a smoking cessation software platform for one of our clients in Dubai. They demonstrated a high level of expertise and professionalism throughout the project.
One notable aspect of VHL's commitment to excellence was their ability to adapt the smoking cessation application seamlessly from English to Arabic – demonstrating their linguistic versatility, cultural sensitivity, and ensuring that the software was accessible and user-friendly for a diverse audience in Dubai.
Their technical expertise, professionalism, and ability to meet tight deadlines make them a reliable and valuable partner in the development of health-related software solutions”.
Rob Mills
Five Steps To Progress:
Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:
Step 4:
Step 5:
Modular Approach:
Over the last few years and working with several organisations,we have developed, tested and improved our unique coaching algorithm, and createoachbots for the following behaviours and issues:
Physical Activity
Healthy Eating and Weight Loss
Smoking Cessation
Screening Uptake
Hazardous Drinking
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Diabetes Distress
We have also developed solutions in German, Slovenian and Arabic Languages.
These existing algorithms and modules help us speed up the development process for your particular challenge, population and desired outcomes.
Meet our team members
Read Bio
Doctor with 30yrs experience in health, rehabilitation and disease prevention space.
Experienced trainer involved in several national and International health projects
Author of 15 articles, papers and chapters on different aspects of health coaching, wellbeing and behaviour change.
Honorary Lecturer on MSc in Coaching and Behaviour change, Henley Business School
Former GB Pole Vaulter and contender on ITV’s Gladiators
Read Bio
CTO of MiLife, Unilever’s automated behaviour change coaching system.
CTO AXA PPP Health Services. Led a tech transformation, integrating enterprise workflow solution with client facing portals and tablet-based solutions.
Director Expert 24. Clients included United Health, Mayo Clinic, Bupa, Phillips, US dept of Veterans Affairs.
CTO of Optima Health (formerly Atos). Helped company become leading digital health service provider, including SaaS solutions.
Read Bio
NHS Digital Pioneer Fellow.
Worked for ORCHA, a global leader in digital mHealth, supporting uptake of digital health technologies.
Awarded SPIRIT Award by peers. Finalist for EMPOWER Award.
Tech Education Programme - NHS Parliamentary Award
Worked with Tiny Medical Apps on the Digital Health Passport
Read Bio
Founder and professional trainer of self-help groups.
SMART Recovery facilitator
Doctoral training in predictors of engagement in online peer support.
Peer support consultant for Institute of Mental Health. Collaborates with academics and providers to understand best practice in digital mental health
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20 years of experience as a Registered General Nurse (RGN), Public Health Nurse(PHN), and Senior Director of Clinical Operations Specializing in population health, chronic disease management, and operational transformation.
Extensive experience in designing and implementing remote monitoring solutions, integrated care pathways, and AI-enabled health technologies, driving advancements in patient care and operational efficiencies.
Track record of delivering scalable healthcare solutions across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Ireland, improving patient outcomes
Recognized for developing patient-centric, technology-driven healthcare strategies
Passionate advocate for enhancing health outcomes through personalized care and cutting-edge technology.
Read Bio
28 years at Oracle including roles in customer support, database engineering with complex data types, cloud architecture and system design.
Deep skills in Database Engineering, Digital Mapping, Cloud Computer Architecture, Real Time Process Control, & System Resilience.
Research interests include the development and use of technology & software algorithms to understand complex phenonoma, including the use of information and AI tooling in health care settings
Visiting Research Fellow at University of Reading and The University of Essex (School of Computer Science and Electronics focusing on AI and Fuzzy Logic tools).
I am also collaborating at the University of Bristol with Prof Mulholland on Cloud based Virtual Reality tools,
