- Hybrid care, enabled by the patientMpower solution, reduced clinic visits by 80% and healthcare costs by 92%
- Hybrid care significantly reduced service delivery time and saved six hours in patient travel time
- There were no differences in unscheduled visits, symptoms, lung function or adverse events
- “Gold-standard” in trial design extends the impressive evidence base for the patientMpower digital health solution
Randomised controlled trial (RCT) data presented today shows that use of the patientMpower digital health solution can facilitate a more patient-centric and cost-effective approach to care after lung transplantation.
The research, conducted at the NHS England lung transplant unit in Manchester, demonstrates that use of patientMpower to enable a hybrid approach to follow-up care of lung transplant patients (n=76) resulted in an 80% reduction in clinic visits versus standard care (p<0.01). Health economic analysis showed a 92% reduction in service costs versus clinic-based care (p<0.01). Hybrid care was associated with significant reductions in service delivery time, and there was an average six-hour travel time saving per patient.
There were no differences in patient symptoms, lung function, adverse events or unscheduled visits between the groups, indicating that the reduction in clinic visits and resulting service efficiencies observed in the hybrid care arm were achieved without impacts on care quality.
The results were presented today at the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplant (ISHLT) in Toronto, Canada, by Principal Investigator Dr John Blaikley, Honorary Consultant in Lung Transplantation at the University of Manchester. Seventy-six lung transplant recipients were randomised to clinic-based care plus home spirometry (standard care) versus digitally-enabled hybrid care. At the start and end of the study all patients were seen in the clinic. At the intervening scheduled visit patients in the control arm attended the clinic as normal, whilst in the hybrid care arm this appointment was substituted with clinician review of home spirometry and bespoke questionnaire data collected by the patientMpower platform and integrated with the electronic health record (EHR, Epic).
Unlike home spirometry alone, the patientMpower solution enables comprehensive remote monitoring of multiple clinical parameters, including patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) and bespoke questionnaires, effectively replicating the assessments and clinical questioning that occur during a standard outpatient appointment. EHR integration further simplifies clinical processes, driving service efficiency.
The validation of a digitally-enabled approach to lung transplant care, which can reduce patient and service burden yet maintain care quality, has been welcomed across the international transplant community. Commenting on the findings, Dr Michelle Murray, Consultant Lung Transplant Physician and Clinical Lead for Lung Transplantation at Ireland’s National Lung Transplant Centre, Mater Hospital, Dublin, stated:
“This study highlights how remote monitoring from patientMpower can streamline lung transplant care, delivering meaningful reductions in time, cost, and resource use without compromising lung function or patient outcomes.”
This randomised controlled trial, considered to be the gold-standard in evidence-based healthcare, further extends the impressive respiratory evidence base for the patientMpower solution. Other RCTs, prospective trials and published real-world audits have similarly reported positive findings regarding the use of the solution, in relation to patient outcomes, care access and service efficiency. A recently published 12-month RCT, for example, demonstrated an 82% reduction in hospitalisations and an 80% reduction in GP visits amongst patients using the patientMpower solution to support self-management of COPD versus those receiving standard care. With the addition of today’s pivotal findings, this comprehensive evidence base provides the validation required to inform broader transformation of respiratory care services.
