App to support patients suffering with rheumatoid arthritis to formally launch next month as part of testing for longer-term mobile device push
King’s College Hospital (KCH) has developed a healthcare app for rheumatology patients as part of a wider strategy to potentially expand the number of services offered through mobile devices, including potential focuses on appointment booking and patient feedback.
Set to formally launch in April, the new app has been designed as a means of offering patients suffering with rheumatoid arthritis and related conditions greater control in managing their care by allowing for the provision of personal data through a chosen mobile device, rather than in person.
KCH’s Dr James Galloway said the service, already available through app stores, was reflective of a small but emerging take up among patients of mobile health tools, which were proving to be effective for people suffering from rheumatism.
The new app has been developed as part of collaboration with Ampersand Mobile that commenced last October in order to trial innovative solutions for healthcare. Development of the project, led by Dr Heidi Lempp, was funded through a £37,231 grant provided by the South London Membership Council’s Innovation, Diffusion and Excellence Awards in Healthcare Education and Training.
Galloway added that take up of the service was anticipated to be slow at first, with around five to six patients initially using the app. A further 20 to 30 other potential users are expected to take part in an upcoming formal patient education event.
Rather than a wide-scale roll out of a large group of patients, he added that the college’s main aim was a longer-term strategy of encouraging and supporting patients in the use of mobile devices to record and provide feedback on their treatment. Ahead of an official launch, KCH has begun putting posters in clinics, as well as providing information cards detailing the app’s availability for patients.
Galloway said that healthcare apps had “huge potential” in terms of trying to provide more innovative healthcare across the UK, with patients suffering from conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis showing a preference for touch screen technologies over paper forms and leaflets.
“We had already been discussing ways that we could improve care with patient groups and there was a consensus from patients that communication and understanding within the department could be improved through IT,” he added.
“Contrary to our expectations, even senior patients produced their iPhones and said they would be keen to see our department moving into the 21st Century with regards to technology. I have seen so many examples of how mobile technology has helped in other similar instances, I was convinced that the ideas my colleagues and the patients had would be helpful. We didn’t know what it would look like, but we thought a simple mobile app would really be the place to start.”
As part of an anticipated slow roll out, Galloway said efforts were underway to demonstrate mobile technology was usable by patients and secure as a means of providing feedback on healthcare.
Should this roll out prove a success, he expressed hope that in years to come, health apps could be developed that would support patients in using phones and other mobile devices to provide feedback to clinicians on their conditions and even book appointments.
“There are enormous challenges in making this secure, but it is a long-term vision,” said Galloway.
