Research shows that people with asthma can halve the number of asthma attacks they suffer and become 15% better at taking their medication if they use a medical-grade App to manage their health¹.
This research also shows that this works especially well if they have a small gadget that connects to their Smartphone to tell them when to use their inhaler, record if they have used it on time, with the proper technique or sends them reminder message if any of these actions have not occurred.
Children and young people in Norfolk and Waveney have been offered the chance to use one of these medical-grade Apps developed in the UK, which has a connected inhaler tracker and lung function monitor to show them how well their lungs are working.
Between 2017/18 to 2019/20 there were 43 avoidable hospital admissions for children and young people with asthma each year across Norfolk and Waveney. This costs the NHS £802 for each child seen in the Emergency Department, totalling £34,486 each year. Such admissions also mean that these children and young people miss out on vital schooling, which in turn reduces their life chances.
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have joined forces with Aseptika, SoWhat? Consultancy and Eastern AHSN to support children and young people at high risk of asthma attacks.
Together these partners were successful in gaining a grant to fund this project via the NHS England Transformation Directorate (formerly NHSˣ). Each partner brings a unique set of skills to this project, from scaling up innovation, patient activation, adoption of services and health economic analysis.
The project will utilise the third-generation of an enhanced remote monitoring (ERM) tool called Asthma⁺me, which combines an innovative software platform utilising behavioural model to enhance adherence to asthma self-care.
Parents, carers, children and young people use a package comprising a medical-grade App, inhaler-use trackers, spirometer, education programme, Personal Asthma Action Plan (PAAP) and symptom diary. Together, these support the implementation of the Asthma Bundle.
The system also alerts parents or carers when control of the child’s asthma is getting worse and suggests tailored interventions, with cloud-based dashboards for clinicians and key workers to review remotely.
An asthma nurse experienced in paediatric asthma will provide remote review and will intervene to support patient engagement and adherence for an initial period of three months.
Dr Bikalpa Neupane and Dr Anjay Pillai, Consultant Paediatricians, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
“We are passionate about avoiding unnecessary admissions to hospital for children with high-risk asthma and therefore winning this award has allowed us to collaborate with great organisations to deliver this project for the children and young people of Norfolk. We hope that the new digital platform (Asthma⁺me) will not only help reduce asthma attacks in children and young people and thereby bring down the need for oral corticosteroids and hospital visits, but also empower and promote young people and families to self-manage their asthma better.”
Dr John Chapman, Consultant Paediatrician, James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
“This is a very exciting project which has the potential to change the way that we look after children with asthma. Remote monitoring will allow us to identify which of our patients are doing well and which ones need more of our attention. This should reduce asthma attacks and visits to our outpatient clinics allowing these children to get on with their lives and their schooling.”
Kevin A Auton Ph.D, Managing Director, Aseptika Limited
“We are delighted to collaborate with the Paediatric asthma teams at the Norfolk and Norwich and James Paget University Hospitals and this multi-disciplinary team to support the parents and carers of children and young people who are at high risk of a future asthma attack. We know from the research data provided by the Public Health team in Norwich that there is clear link between the area in which children and young people live and their risk of hospital admission if their asthma gets worse and turns into an asthma attack. The latest review of the impact of digitally-delivered care shows clear impacts¹. This project, with support from the NHS Transformation Directorate and this great team, has the opportunity to transform the lives of children, young people and their families with our third-generation of the Asthma⁺me digital health solution.”
Lindsey Cook, Founder, SoWhat? Consultancy
“We are extremely proud to be part of such a professional and innovative collaboration that is very much focused on providing the best possible outcomes for children and young people with high-risk asthma. We aim to demonstrate both the direct medical benefits and the personal benefits that come with preventing an asthma attack.”
Louise Jopling Ph.D, Commercial Director, Eastern AHSN
“Eastern AHSN has been working closely with Aseptika for more than six years. We are delighted that the PUFFClicker Smart Inhaler, a medical device designed, developed and manufactured in the East of England, will enable children and young people in some of our most at-risk areas to reduce their risk of suffering asthma attacks.”
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References
1. Chan A, De Simoni A, Wileman V, Holliday L, Chisari C, Newby CJ, Griffiths CJ, Ali S, Padakanti P, Zhu N, Ting V, Pinprachanan V, Digital interventions to improve adherence to maintenance medication in asthma’. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD013030.pub2
Further information
Activ8rlives, Activ8rlives.com, Asthma⁺me, Active⁺me REMOTE and BuddyWOTCH are trademarks of Aseptika Ltd.
For further details, please contact Aseptika Ltd on +44 (0)1480 352 821
Aseptika Ltd www.activ8rlives.com
Aseptika Ltd began developing Activ8rlives in 2010 and is currently developing its third-generation of integrated systems, which can be used by patients and their healthcare service providers using a wide range of platforms or devices to better enable effective and easy self-monitoring. Incorporating sensors and monitors ranging from consumer accessories to in vitro diagnostics (IVDs). Our focus is: respiratory and cardiovascular disease, cancer, promoting physical activity and weight management. Aseptika Limited has been certified by BSI to ISO 13485:2016 under certificate number MD691414.