Consultant creates online patient tool

A consultant at the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases has created an online patient assessment tool that could be launched abroad.

In collaboration with health care company Abbott, Dr Raj Sengupta has created ‘Talking AS’, a tool for patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis, a chronic, inflammatory spinal condition, to monitor and record their symptoms securely online.

The tool could now be launched internationally. Dr Sengupta told eHealth Insider he was thrilled about the possibility.

“I’m really excited because Abbott has decided to possibly take it abroad. A rheumatologist from Australia followed me on Twitter and seemed really keen, so there’s the possibility it will be launched over there too.”

The online tool prompts patients to fill in questions regarding their health, which are then sent securely to the N3 Network, where clinicians can log-in and view their patients’ results.

Dr Sengupta, who’s a self-declared “anti paper person”, said the paper system involved filling out forms and filing them away in a cupboard.

“In clinic, the forms would be filed away and no one would be looking at them. I thought there must be a better solution,” he told eHealth Insider.

He added that the tool saved a lot of time and made it easier to know what to focus on when seeing a patient.

By having patients record their symptoms and how they affect everyday life, clinicians and patients together can plan the best treatment plan.

“If you get the patient to do it at home they can take their time with filling out the questions instead of rushing through it during clinic.”

‘Talking AS’ launched at the beginning of the year and Dr Sengupta said 100 hospitals across the country have registered with the tool.

This includes 110 patients at the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, who are using it regularly.

The system, which won two awards at the Pharmaceutical Marketing Society Digital Media Awards recently, is specific for patients with AS, but Dr Sengupta told EHI he would like to see it used to enhance patient care for other conditions too.

“I really believe that you can apply a similar model to any patient with a long term condition with great benefits.”