The introduction of a new service that could help thousands of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease manage their condition has been supported by UK Research and Innovation’s Digital Health Technology Catalysts.
COPD affects approximately 120,000 people in Scotland and is the second most common reason for emergency hospital admissions.
The service and linked website, Dynamic Scot, helps patients more accurately predict and manage flare-ups and is now being offered to 2000 patients across Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GG&C).
It allows secure messaging between patients, their doctor and the community respiratory response team, meaning that routine care can continue.
If results from this scale-up in NHS GG&C are positive the service will be offered to other health boards.
The service is the brainchild of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde working with digital transformation firm Storm ID and has also attracted funding from the Scottish Government, the West of Scotland Innovation Hub and Digital Health and Care Institute Scotland.
Dr Chris Carlin, Consultant Respiratory Physician, NHS GG&C 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.”
Chris Geary, DHTC innovation Lead at UK Research and Innovation, said: “When we announced a £35 million investment in Digital Health Technology Catalysts projects like Dynamic Scot were exactly the sorts of innovations we hoped would result.
“This, and other projects that bring the NHS and digital companies together, will both help to grow and support a more innovative digital health sector and improve patient outcomes and access to treatment.”
Operating across the whole of the UK with a combined budget of more than £8bn, UK Research and Innovation brought together the existing seven Research Councils, Innovate UK and Research England when it was formed in 2018.
It works in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities and government departments with the aim of creating the best possible environment in which research and innovation can flourish.
It aims is to foster the expansion of the frontiers of human knowledge and understanding, while at the same time making a positive economic, social and cultural impact.
