Introducing the NHS Scotland COPD Digital Support Service
Key messages
- The COPD digital support service (https://support.nhscopd.scot) is available to all NHS GG&C patients with COPD who have access to the internet.
- Patients who wish to enrol in the service can register their details at https://support.nhscopd.scot.
- Interim results from an evaluation of the service indicate a reduction in hospital admissions and face-to-face community reviews.
- All healthcare professionals in NHSGGC, including community pharmacists, should highlight the service to COPD patients.
What is it?
- A web-application accessible to patients through smart phone, tablet or computer to support their COPD management.
- Managed by hospital and community respiratory teams in NHS GG&C.
- Patients get a daily text message to complete a symptom diary to help structured reflection on COPD symptoms, access to standardised self-management advice (‘traffic lights’) and patient-clinician messaging service for non-urgent advice regarding COPD/self-management.
- Clinical summary data created at new patient setup is shared with primary and secondary care teams via SCI store and Clinical Portal upload. COPD management will be optimised at virtual/telephone setup consultation and MDT discussion as required.
- Patients can message COPD clinical team for support with self-management. COPD clinical team additionally use messaging to support scheduled care.
- Further information, including patient registration and COPD support resources can be found at https://support.nhscopd.scot.
Background
The COPD digital support service was co-designed with patients. Evaluation has been in the ‘RECEIVER’ clinical trial and results obtained so far include sustained patient usage, positive qualitative patient feedback including system usability, reduction in hospital admissions and reduction in required face-face community reviews.
As part of the Scottish Government funded ‘DYNAMIC-SCOT’ project, this digital support service is being scaled-up across NHS GG&C and to other health boards. The data collation, service model and asynchronous messaging facility will support future developments to improve COPD care-quality. Planned quality-improvement and clinical trial directions include cohort-based stratified interventions to optimise guideline-based care delivery, and feasibility testing of AI-based COPD clinician alerts for proactive input to high-risk patients.
Once patients have registered, the COPD clinical team will review and progress to set patients up with the app and the digital service over the following weeks. Links to additional COPD related information provided by pulmonary rehabilitation, dietitian and community rehabilitation teams from NHS GG&C can also be found through the ‘Manage my COPD section’ of the support service website.
For more information:
Dr Chris Carlin, Consultant Respiratory Physician christopher.carlin@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
Jacqueline Anderson, Project Manager jacqueline.anderson@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
Published 05/02/2021. Medicines Update blogs are correct at the time of publication.