„"Pneumo-App": structured treatment of respiratory diseases

08.05.2018 10:29

The "Pneumo-App" aims to improve medical care for people with chronic respiratory diseases. Initiated by the MedTech company vitabook and the Baden-Württemberg State Association of Pulmonologists, the app is also intended to help close gaps in rural healthcare provision.

Continuous monitoring of patients diagnosed with bronchial asthma or COPD is essential for successful treatment. However, as Markus Bönig, CEO of vitabook, points out, there are far too few pulmonologists in Baden-Württemberg, as in almost all other regions of Germany, who can guarantee this close monitoring and control.

„We are facing the challenge of rethinking and reorganizing pulmonological care, especially in a predominantly rural state like Baden-Württemberg,“ explains Dr. Michael Barczok, board member of the Professional Association of Pulmonologists Baden-Württemberg.

Reimagined medical care

This is where the app comes in: In the first phase, according to Bönig, approximately 20 pulmonologists will participate in the project, which is scheduled to launch on July 1st of this year. Following diagnosis, they will work with the patient to create a concrete treatment plan in the vitabook account. The patient will receive regular reminders via their electronic health record to take their medication and adhere to the therapy. They can add self-collected measurements and other data to their vitabook account and make it available to their pulmonologist online for review.

Local family doctors and pharmacists could also be better integrated into the therapy. Those involved in treatment would be able to analyze the course of the illness at any time and react quickly to any problems without the patient having to appear in person every time.

„The broad support for the project in Baden-Württemberg from ministries, health insurance funds, the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, and the Southern Health Network demonstrates the importance attached to it,“ says Markus Bönig, CEO of vitabook. „Digitalization offers enormous opportunities for the healthcare system, which we should seize. The ‘Pneumo-App“ is one example of this. We are developing the electronic health record into a truly personal health assistant and offer customized solutions for the diverse needs of patients.”