Treating asthma patients
Major factors in poorly controlled asthma are:
- Poor Inhaler technique
Is a major component of poor asthma control. Patients need regular demonstrations of inhaler use
- Expectations
Many patients have low expectations of what can be achieved by asthma management and do not realise their condition can be improved
- Understanding treatment
It is vital that patients understand the difference between “preventer” and “reliever” medications to improve asthma control and prevent long-term complications
- Personal care plan
Patients without a care plan have a fourfold increased risk of an emergency admission. Two thirds of asthma patients do not have a Care Plan
The Asthma webapp has been developed to address these recognised needs in improving asthma care
Shared application • interactive web 2.0 resource
The webapp is designed to promote good asthma care, patient self-management and understanding of their treatment.
- Multimedia
The resource uses text, animations, videos and multilingual audio
- Shared screen
The resource is for use by healthcare professionals in primary care, secondary care and pharmacies. It is shared with patients during asthma reviews. Importantly, patients also have access to key features at home
- Care Plan
During an asthma review in clinic the patient’s current level of control is assessed and based on this, a personal care plan is produced
- Telehealth
Away from clinic, the patient can access their care plan from a secure web page, recheck their asthma control and receive treatment advice . Patients can return data to their doctor or nurse enabling a ‘remote asthma review’
- Guidelines
The British Thoracic Society asthma guidelines are included for healthcare professionals. There are interactive prompts in the software to facilitate conformity with the guidelines
security
All data is transmitted at 128K encryption (the same as UK banks) and currently, for additional security, no patient identifiable information is transferred.
Evaluation
Asthma affects around 5.2* million people in the UK. Poorly controlled asthma has a major impact on quality of life as well as economic consequences.
Emergency hospital admissions cost the NHS £61 million* each year. There are also marked regional variations in hospital admissions for asthma, the North West has the highest rate.
It is estimated that 75% of hospital admissions with asthma are preventable
People without a care plan are at much higher risk of an emergency admission by a factor of four*
Two thirds of asthma sufferers do not have a Personal Care Plan
We will be formally evaluating the asthma webapp over the next 12-18 months to assess the impact on quality of life, exacerbations and emergency admissions with asthma. We are currently planning the evaluation with an academic partner.
*Source: Asthma UK