Iproceedings

Infertility is a distressing chronic condition affecting one in six couples; many of them seek to achieve a pregnancy via assisted reproductive technologies. Online resources for information and support are a mainstay of the self-help strategies of fertility patients. Patients seek explanations online about their diagnoses and treatment options, and hope to connect with others who have lived through a diagnosis of infertility. However, medical information found online is often inaccurate or hard to understand. Importantly, online forums that might provide social support are seldom monitored, allowing for the dissemination of potentially misleading information. In this study we describe the development of an mHealth app, Infotility, designed to provide evidence-based reproductive health information and a monitored message board to provide social support to users.

Patient activation has been hypothesized to improve medical and surgical outcomes by increasing patient involvement in the care plan. We tested this hypothesis by utilizing a patient activation tool in a population of adults having total hip or total knee replacement. We hypothesized that patient activation would be associated with increased discharge to home as opposed to a skilled nursing facility, reduced hospital length of stay, decreased inpatient readmissions, and decreased emergency department (ED) visits.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is the seventh leading cause of death (2017) in the United States, and by 2030 it is estimated that it will affect 439 million globally. Effective glycemic control can be challenging for patients. A tool to guide patients’ in their self-management behaviors and share this data with their physician may improve insulin adherence leading to lower HbA_1c. We examined an integrated diabetes management (IDM) system that utilizes a Bluetooth-enabled insulin event capture device, a Bluetooth-enabled glucometer, and an Android smartphone app. IDM data can be viewed by clinicians in the electronic medical record (EMR).

Studies show that good communication between doctors and patients and among all caregivers who interface with patients directly results in better clinical outcomes, reduced costs, greater patient satisfaction, and lower rates of physician burnout. The main purpose of this pilot study was to test the acceptability and usability of a mobile phone app (HARP), an app designed to improve communication and data collection among nonclinical care givers such as home health aides and case managers of patients who receive care at home. The home health aides collected information on patient’s mood, energy, medication adherence, potential falls and appetite level for the day. This information is summarized in postvisit, weekly and final discharge summary reports via an online dashboard and sent to the patient’s case manager at different time points. We assessed the usability and acceptability of the HARP mobile app.

Wellness devices for health tracking have gained popularity in recent years. Additionally, portable and readily accessible wellness devices have several advantages when compared to traditional medical devices found in clinical environments The VitalWellness device is a portable wellness device that can potentially aide vital sign measuring for those interested in tracking their health.

It is estimated that more than five million Americans are living with Alzheimer disease and related dementia (ADRD), and the population of people living with the disease is expected to triple by 2060. Most care for persons living with ADRD is provided by informal caregivers. However, current strategies to improve the quality of life for both people living with ADRD and their informal caregivers are not optimal, especially from a comprehensive approach. Social media and online forums have become increasingly popular tools for ADRD caregivers to manage the burden of caregiving.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a complex and burdensome chronic disease. Most patients, including uncontrolled (HbA1c >7%) patients, only see their Health Care Provider (HCP) once every three months. Thus, a tremendous amount of patient self-management is required outside the clinic to maintain blood glucose (BG) levels within a healthy range and prevent worsening of the disease. Additionally, HCP’s overseeing diabetes care often rely on patient self-report and lack key data about how well the patient is managing the condition. We hypothesized that the development of an Integrated Diabetes Management (IDM) system which helps patients better track their BG, insulin and diet would support patient self-management. By sharing a data summary with HCPs through an EMR-integrated, web-based portal, the patient’s HCP could would have access to data to help inform treatment decisions and patient education strategies to improve outcomes.

Digital pills contain a radiofrequency emitter and gelatin capsule that over-encapsulate a study medication. The radiofrequency emitter, activated by the chloride ion gradient in the stomach, transmits a signal to a wearable Reader device following ingestion. The Reader relays ingestion data to a smartphone app and cloud-based server, allowing for real-time verification of ingestion events and adherence measurement. Digitized pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) may improve outcomes in populations with suboptimal adherence related to substance use. Stimulant use is particularly prevalent among men who have sex with men (MSM) and is associated with increased HIV risk behavior and transmission. We conducted seven focus groups with MSM who use stimulants (N=16) to inform the development of PrEPsteps, a novel smartphone-based adherence intervention respondent to data from digitized PrEP and designed to augment adherence.

Nearly 1 in 5 patients suffers from inadequate or poor bowel preparation in advance of a colonoscopy. Prior studies have shown that this leads to a decrease in adenoma detection rate, increased time spent in completing efficiency in endoscopy suite, as well as an overall increase in cost of care from 13-20%. With the shift to value-based care in the American healthcare system, there is an urgent need for solutions that can automate pre-procedure guidance and post-procedure follow up.

In a hospital setting, pediatric patients miss out on routine stress coping mechanisms, such as normative play, socialization, and exploration. Previous work has established that a lack of healthy coping mechanisms negatively impacts the psychosocial development and well-being of hospitalized children. To help alleviate the stress of hospitalization, we created a novel, normative play robotics program that utilizes telepresence technology to give children live, virtual tours of museums and cultural attractions.

Telemedicine for people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) has the potential to positively impact self-management behaviors and improve health outcomes. The Onduo Virtual Diabetes Clinic (VDC) is a comprehensive telehealth program for people with T2D that combines mobile app technology, remote personalized lifestyle coaching from certified diabetes educators and health coaches, connected devices including blood glucose meters and continuous glucose monitoring systems, and clinical support from board certified endocrinologists.

The process of triaging is performed as an effective solution to balance limited resources against high patient volumes, based on an assessment of the patient’s medical condition and the application of an established patient categorization protocol. In Princess Marina Hospital (PMH), a national referral government hospital in the capital city of Botswana, the Princess Marina Hospital Accident and Emergency Centre Triage Scale (PATS) has been in use since 2010. Because the rules of these triage scales are very well defined, these protocols have been shown to be amenable to translation into computer algorithms. Thus, clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) that can assist with information management to support clinicians’ decision-making abilities can be developed, leading to improved healthcare quality and patient safety.