Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, SFI CONNECT Centre for Future Networks and Communications (CONNECT), Maynooth University and Mater Misericordiae University Hospital announced a new partnership recently to introduce an innovative health app.
The app has been specifically developed using award-winning technology deployed by many UK-based hospitals and is designed to provide essential tools and information for patients living with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), supporting improved health outcomes and quality of life right from their homes. The app also enables medical teams to educate patients about their condition and encourages proactive health management.
PAH is a rare form of pulmonary hypertension, which is high blood pressure in the lungs with an annual incidence rate of 3.11 patients per million of the total population of Ireland. Symptoms of PAH include: Breathlessness, particularly during physical activity; fatigue; dizziness; syncope (fainting or passing out); peripheral oedema (swelling to lower legs or hands) and chest pain. These symptoms can severely impact a patient’s ability to carry out normal daily activities.
As the disease progresses, some patients may experience constant dyspnoea (shortness of breath or breathlessness) and fatigue so that even simple tasks, such as getting dressed and walking short distances, become difficult which can severely impact a patient’s quality of life.
The Mater Hospital is the National Centre of Excellence for PAH and is attended by patients from across Ireland. The initial rollout of the app will benefit up to 250 people living with the rare disease who attend the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital for treatment, empowering them to manage their disease more effectively from their homes.
The app’s integration into the patients’ care routine is expected to:
- Improve the quality of life of patients, empowering them to self-manage elements of their condition through access to credible and localised information about the management of their condition, their treatment pathways and online support services.
- Improve medication adherence by providing patients with medication support and education.
- Reduce hospital appointments by providing patients with self-management information and the use of a health tracker to enable patient-initiated reviews. This would positively impact patients who are not located close to the hospital, to reduce the burden of travel, parking and support from loved ones.
- Provide holistic guidance and education to patients on their emotional, physical and nutritional wellbeing with the aim of improving their quality of life.
- Improve the quality of care through personalised, up-to-date medical advice from trusted clinical teams as well as deploying remote education for healthcare professionals through the app.
- Enhance the experience of healthcare professionals by streamlining patient interactions and reducing administrative burdens, creating greater efficiencies that benefit both the professionals, and the patient.
Developed by Health and Care Innovations (HCI), the CONNECTPlus app has been designed in collaboration with nurses, clinicians and PAH patients, to ensure it closely supports the local pathways of care, patient needs and challenges faced by people living with PAH which will be optimised over time to incorporate user feedback.
Prof Sean Gaine, Consultant Respiratory Physician at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital said: “Our teams are actively involved in shaping this innovative app to ensure the technology will best suit the needs of our patients and support our goal of empowering people living with PAH to play an active role in the management of their disease. We are delighted to deliver this new innovation to help patients better manage their condition.”
