Cow’s Milk Allergy service FAQs

Oviva is a leading provider of NHS services, combining the support of dietitians, diabetes specialist nurses, health coaches and psychologists with technology to make healthcare more convenient and accessible to all.

We blend behaviour change therapy with our unique technology and incredible team to support people to improve their health and better manage their conditions. We partner exclusively with the NHS to offer our programmes across the UK to participants for free. To put it simply, we help people lead healthier and happier lives.

The Oviva Cow’s Milk Allergy (CMA) service supports the appropriate diagnosis and management of infants with mild-moderate non IgE CMA, in line with current primary care and NICE guidance.

The service provides infants with non-IgE mediated CMA and their families access to technology and resources to enable them to self-manage their allergy; with access to additional support and expertise from a specialist paediatric dietitian.

The programme has been shown to improve the cost effectiveness of prescribing of CMA infant milks by supporting the adherence to local formulary and clinical guidelines.

Those enrolled in the programme receive an initial consultation with a specialist paediatric dietitian followed by one-to-one or group app coaching, according to individual preference. One-to-one phone coaching is offered for those unable to access the Oviva smartphone app.

The initial consultation covers the infant’s allergy history, and will set treatment goals with the parent or carer including trial of a cow’s milk exclusion diet and reintroduction challenge as per iMAP guidance.

Parents and carers will receive support with complementary feeding onto a milk-free diet, empowering them to make informed and safe decisions on their child’s feeding. The programme will also guide parents and carers to safely reintroduce cow’s milk back into the child’s diet.

Oviva’s Cow’s Milk Allergy service is delivered in a flexible and responsive manner for each GP practice.

After confirming eligibility and discussing the service with the parent/carer for the pathway please complete the referral form which is embedded into your clinical system and send it to the email address provided. As part of this service, Oviva can also carry out practice audits to identify patients who have an ongoing prescription for infant formula.

In some areas Oviva offers a rapid access clinic, and you can refer your eligible infants directly to the rapid access clinic. Infants will be seen within two weeks of referral to Oviva’s CMA service.

Patients can’t self-refer to Oviva’s Cow’s Milk Allergy service.

If a participant does not have a smartphone or would prefer not to use one, they can have all appointments via telephone calls. The app is not compulsory and they can benefit from the service without using the app if preferred, although we encourage all participants to download the app to have the best possible experience of the service. The dietitian will share all resources in a way that works with the patient.

Inclusion

• Suspected mild-moderate non-IgE-mediated CMA, including soya allergy with a CMA diagnosis
• Infants < 12 months old (unless on a prescription formula)
• Patients registered with a GP practice within contract ICB

Exclusion

• IgE-mediated CMA presenting with acute allergic symptoms
• Severe non-IgE-mediated CMA (e.g. FPIES)

The service is a combination of referrals from GPs and practice searches/audits to proactively find patients with cow’s milk allergy and review/optimise their care with the following outcomes:

• Overall 35% reduction in spend on infant milk products (vs previous growth of 5-10% increase in spend per annum). (Source)
• Of the GP referral group, 88% of babies had not had a milk challenge to see if they still needed treatment. 35% of babies passed their milk challenge and so did not need any treatment any more. (Source)
• 100% of parents rated their experience good/very good experience and 100% felt the app was a convenient way to receive advice and support from a dietitian. (Source)

All Oviva dietitians are registered with the Health and Care Professionals Council and our nutritionists are AfN registered. All members of the team undergo regular quality assurance reviews and receive regular training from our Lead Dietitians and Psychologist.