Dehydration in older people is among the top 10 reasons for hospital admission resulting in a significant financial impact on the healthcare system. Yet dehydration in older people can easily be prevented or treated with an appropriate hydration programme.

Hydr8™ was developed by North Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group and Nine Software company Ltd, with support from the Academic Health Science Network, North East and North Cumbria.

Hydr8™ is a platform by which care homes can monitor the fluid intake of their residents. Each resident has their own profile on the Hydr8™ app, where their fluid intake is recorded. The cumulative total can be viewed at a glance, with an infographic displaying the percentage of hydration status attained. Residents at risk of becoming under, or over, hydrated can easily be identified and a standardised protocol then guides staff to the appropriate response.

Data from all residents is relayed back to a central data store which is accessible to the care home manager, care home provider, CCG and authorised clinicians.