2,000 people who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are now being offered new tools and technology to help manage their condition in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
COPD affects approximately 120,000 in Scotland and is the second most common reason for emergency hospital admissions.
This new service is also anticipated to help patients avoid unnecessary visits to hospital and improve their care in the face of COVID-19.
NHSGGC patients involved monitor their symptoms of COPD at home through a digital service that can be accessed via smartphone or table devices. They are able to message their clinician and community respiratory response team in real-time. This also allows for routine care to continue virtually.
The project aims to support self-management and predict flare-ups or episodes of poor health.
William Coyle was one of the first patients to have access to the tool and uses it daily. He was diagnosed with lung problems in 2008.
He said: “The app is so straight forward and keeps my clinical team up to date on my condition. It means you’re looked after every day without having to go and see a doctor. With the messaging service, you have a way of contacting somebody if you’re not feeling well which is a reassuring back-up.”
The project, Dynamic-Scot, builds on an earlier work, which was initially started by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde with a small group of patients and was made possible with a UK Research and Innovation Grant.
The new service will be expanded until August 2021 with funding from the Scottish Government. Individuals with COPD will be offered a package of support including remote monitoring of their condition using new technologies, support from clinicians and tools for self-management.
The Dynamic Scot project is being overseen by the Digital Health & Care Institute and is a collaboration between NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, the West of Scotland Innovation Hub, Scottish Government and National Services Scotland. Storm ID, the developer of the Lenus Health Platform technology, is the project’s industry partner.
The project will evaluate the benefits of the new service with a view to informing future scaling up across Scotland for people living with COPD.
Dr Chris Carlin, Consultant Respiratory Physician, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said:
“At the moment, NHS management of COPD is reactive. We’re aiming to predict what will happen with this condition so we can be much more proactive, without having to bring patients up and down from hospital. This is so important now with changes that have need to be made because of COVID-19.
“We’re really pleased to be able to offer this to all patients in order to improve their care and management of this condition.”
Moira Mackenzie, Deputy Chief Executive of Scotland’s Digital Health & Care Institute, said:
“DHI is really excited to be collaborating with partners on this unique and innovative endeavour. Dynamic Scot will use digital health to transform services for people living with COPD and inform the scale up of data driven models of care. It aims to provide patients with greater control over their health, enhanced clinical triage, and deliver crucial insights to inform future investments.”
Chris Geary, DHTC innovation Lead at Innovate UK, said:
“When we announced a £35 million investment in the Digital Health Technology Catalyst, projects like Dynamic Scot were exactly the sorts of innovations we hoped would result.
“This, and other innovations that bring the NHS and digital companies together, will both help to grow and support the digital health sector and improve patient outcomes and access to treatment.”
Paul McGinness, Director of Storm ID, said:
“We look forward to working with NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde and partners in scaling the service and firmly believe it will help re-orientate care delivery for this patient cohort and ultimately help reduce hospital re-admission rates.”
Dr Margaret Whoriskey, Programme Director, Technology Enabled Care, Scottish Government, said:
“This is an innovative programme supporting people with COPD and avoiding hospital admissions. The Scottish Government is delighted to support the next phase of this project, which forms part of an important collaboration across industry, academia and the public sector. We are progressing an ambitious programme in Scotland to develop Remote Health Pathways across primary and secondary care services enabling people to manage their condition with good clinical support at home as far as possible. Dynamic Scot is making an important contribution to this aim through the use of digital technology continuing to support many people to have more control over their care and we look forward to seeing how this work develops in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.”
Notes to editor:
For further information, visit: https://support.nhscopd.scot.