Clinical Research Directory

A Pragmatic Real-world Multicentre Observational Research Study to Explore the Clinical and Health Economic Impact of myCOPD

Sponsor: my mhealth Ltd

Summary

COPD is a condition which affects over 3 million people in the UK. It causes chronic symptoms including breathlessness and cough, limitations in exercise tolerance and acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) which often lead to hospital admission. Current treatment for COPD includes inhaled medication and exercise programmes called Pulmonary Rehabilitation(PR) to improve exercise tolerance and resilience to AECOPD. Currently NHS respiratory services are struggling to provide support to patients with COPD, a recent-report highlighted that 75% of people with COPD are not receiving basic care. There is an increasing need therefore to improve the provision of PR and to support patients to self-manage their condition effectively, this requires new approaches and pathways of care. My mhealth Limited MMH is a UK based digital healthcare company established in 2011, specialising in the development of digital solutions for the management of long-term conditions. Evidence based, UKCA classified, and highly secure the company has developed a suite of solutions NHS approved and widely used, MHRA registered and is working towards NICE accreditation to manage patients with asthma, COPD, diabetes, and heart disease. myCOPD is a digital self-management application (app)therapeutic, developed by MMH, that supports all elements of managing COPD by creating a supported self-help environment, and in turn reduce medical visits, and hospital admissions and re-admissions. myCOPD allows for key aspects of disease management, such as PR, to be provided remotely, based on a person's self-assessment. Furthermore, it can help people with COPD manage their condition at home, or anywhere away from a clinical setting. Successful implementation of myCOPD provides an opportunity to build capacity in primary and secondary care, and community teams where a blended approach with traditional PR and myCOPD is used. Studies have shown myCOPD is able to deliver similar improvements in symptoms and exercise tolerance compared to PR exercise-classes and helps patients admitted to hospital recover more quickly at home. myCOPD is widely deployed across the NHS and is being used by patients in different areas of the UK- but to enable NICE approval and re-imbursement across all the NHS, evidence for the health-economic benefits of its use is required. With funding from SBRI Phase 3 grant, this project will explore the implementation of myCOPD by NHS respiratory services in two regions with diverse populations and challenges. In Bristol (Setting 1) the investigators will assess the value of using myCOPD in the COPD discharge care bundle for patients admitted to hospital with AECOPD, and its ability to help accelerate recovery, and prevent unscheduled care visits and re-admissions. Data collected from a pilot will be used to support the analysis. Whilst in Cornwall (Setting 2) the investigators will work with local services to provide 'digitally-supported PR' to isolated communities and increase the service capacity, completion rates and access to specialist support for self-management. A formal assessment will provide vital evidence for the value of myCOPD in the NHS and enable us to develop a business case for its national adoption and use, which will ultimately transform outcomes for people with this common and complex condition.

Key Details

Conditions

Interventions

Locations (3)