Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospitals Leuven, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Allergy and Clinical Immunology Research Group, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Allergy. 2019 Jul;74(7):1292-1306. doi: 10.1111/all.13720. Epub 2019 Apr 29.
The market of mobile health (mHealth) technology is rapidly evolving, making new mobile technologies potentially available for healthcare systems. Patient empowerment through self-monitoring of symptoms, shared decision making with the physician, and easily accessible education are important features extending the reach of mHealth technology beyond traditional care.
Two digital distribution platforms (Apple App Store and Google Play Store) were searched for currently available mobile applications (apps) for patients with chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs). A new index (score ranging from 0 to 10) was developed to assess the potential of apps as a tool to empower patients through mobile technology (based on self-monitoring, personalized feedback, and patient education app features).
One hundred and twelve apps were retained for analysis and could be classified in 5 categories: Asthma (n = 71), COPD (n = 15), Asthma and COPD (n = 15), Rhinitis and Asthma (n = 5), and Rhinosinusitis (n = 6). Eighty percent were developed by medical technology companies compared to 18% by medical doctors and 2% by pharmaceutical companies. Two-thirds of apps allow disease self-monitoring, whereas over half of apps provide patient feedback through graphs. Sixty percent of apps contain easily accessible patient education material. Only three percent of apps reach a score of ≥7 on the newly designed patient empowerment index.
A variety of apps are available for patients with CRDs of which only few were developed by or jointly with medical doctors. The majority of these apps include self-monitoring tools, but only few also provide personalized feedback, which is needed to adopt these apps into daily care.
移动医疗（mHealth）技术市场正在迅速发展，为医疗系统提供了新的移动技术。通过自我监测症状、与医生共同做出决策以及获得易于获取的教育，使患者能够获得更多的自主权，这是将 mHealth 技术的应用范围扩展到传统医疗以外的重要特征。
在两个数字分发平台（Apple App Store 和 Google Play Store）上搜索了目前用于慢性呼吸系统疾病（CRD）患者的移动应用程序（apps）。开发了一个新指数（得分范围为 0 至 10），用于评估应用程序作为通过移动技术赋予患者权力的工具的潜力（基于自我监测、个性化反馈和患者教育应用程序功能）。
保留了 112 个应用程序进行分析，并可以分为 5 类：哮喘（n=71）、COPD（n=15）、哮喘和 COPD（n=15）、鼻炎和哮喘（n=5）和鼻-鼻窦炎（n=6）。与 18%的医生和 2%的制药公司相比，80%的应用程序是由医疗技术公司开发的。三分之二的应用程序允许疾病自我监测，而超过一半的应用程序通过图表提供患者反馈。60%的应用程序包含易于获取的患者教育材料。只有 3%的应用程序在新设计的患者赋权指数上得分≥7。
有多种适用于 CRD 患者的应用程序，其中只有少数是由医生或与医生共同开发的。这些应用程序中的大多数都包括自我监测工具，但只有少数还提供个性化反馈，这是将这些应用程序纳入日常护理所必需的。
