Melbourne-based Solara Health has launched the Skye patient engagement platform to put patients at the heart of their healthcare journey. 

Skye is an intuitive mobile app designed to educate, guide and support hospital patients – whether they’re navigating a complex diagnosis, preparing for major surgery, managing recovery or living with a chronic illness.

Founder and CEO Josh Farrington said: “What sets Solara Health apart is its deep-rooted commitment to co-design. From day one, the company has worked hand-in-hand with patients, caregivers, clinicians, and care teams to build a platform that reflects lived experience as much as clinical insight. This collaborative approach ensures that the tools within Skye are not only evidence-based but also intuitive, relevant, and truly helpful”.

Four pillars

Mr Farrington said Skye was built on four foundational pillars – flexibility, scalability, interoperability and trust —making it a robust solution for both patients and healthcare providers. 

“With features like symptom tracking, appointment reminders, screening tools, tailored recovery plans and care coordination support, Skye empowers patients to play an active role in their health without becoming overwhelmed”.

He says Skye is currently in use at a leading Australian private hospital group, where oncology patients are using the platform as part of their care journey. 

“The idea started as a concept I pitched to our first hospital client. The CEO saw real potential in it and agreed to co-design the solution with us. Over the past 12 months, we’ve worked together to build out the functionality, and they’re now piloting it with their cancer patients. There’s also potential to expand into orthopaedics, cardiac rehab, mental health, and other areas.”

Through the Skye app, patients can access tailored support, track symptoms, communicate with their care team, and stay engaged throughout treatment and recovery. 

While initially implemented in oncology, the platform has been purposefully designed to be flexible and adaptable – making it equally effective for other clinical areas such as cardiac rehab, orthopaedic rehab, mental health support and more. 

“This configurability ensures that Skye can meet the unique needs of diverse patient populations, while maintaining a consistent user experience,” Mr Farrington said.

“Our mission is simple – bridge the gap between care plans and daily life, so patients feel supported every step of the way.

“Our goal isn’t to replace human care – it’s to enhance it, by giving patients and care teams the tools they need to stay connected, informed, and aligned.”

The vision

Josh Farrington has been working in the health tech sector for over 20 years and has focused on medical software for the last eight or nine. Solara Health (formerly Healio) undertook a strategic rebrand earlier this year and reaffirmed its commitment to improving healthcare outcomes through co-designed, user-centric digital solutions that meet the real-world needs of patients, families and clinicians.

Mr Farrington said through ongoing conversations with hospital leaders, a ‘clear concern’ emerged around the growing use of single-purpose apps within healthcare settings. 

“Many executives are wary of the fragmentation this creates, where different clinical groups rely on separate tools that don’t talk to each other or align with broader care goals.

“This helped solidify the vision behind Skye – to create a single, flexible digital platform that could serve all clinical groups, enabling a consistent experience for both patients and healthcare teams. 

“Rather than building siloed solutions for each specialty, the goal was to design one adaptable platform that could be configured to support the unique needs of oncology, cardiology, orthopaedics, mental health, and beyond. 

“This unified approach simplifies implementation, reduces fragmentation, and ensures that patients receive personalised support no matter their condition, while clinicians and staff benefit from a streamlined, cohesive system that works across departments,” he said.

To learn more, visit the Solara Health website.