Hospital Hub: Spotlight Digital Health in CF Outpatient Care - virtually ideal! C Power, G Leen, G Connell, E Kilbride, O Ahmareen, P Greally & B Elnazir Respiratory Division, CHI @ Tallaght University Hospital, Dublin 24.
NA TIONAL C LINIC A L P R OG R AM M E FOR CY ST IC FIB R OS IS
CYSTIC FIBROSIS
A MODEL OF CARE FOR IRELAND
I
reland has the greatest prevalence of Cystic Fibrosis per capita in the world. 42% of the Irish CF population are under 18 years.
According to the national model of care (2019) for CF, 1,377 people with CF (PWCF) were seen in Irish hospitals in 2017 and 16.3% of these attended more than one hospital for their CF care. Regular interaction between patients and their specialist team is an essential part of care in a serious chronic health condition such as CF, however, the burden of this care for the patient is significant; the need for time off education and work, often travelling long distances to attend appointments as well as bearing the costs associated with such visits. Accessing health care has been particularly challenging to those living remotely. The national model of care for CF has acknowledged this burden and states:
“In areas with challenging geographical access, where outreach and virtual clinics could be of benefit, rollout of high-speed broadband to remote areas may facilitate more regular and useful staff / PWCF interactions. This would complement, not replace, the need for regular face to face meetings with the CF team. The development of home testing solutions might further add to this.” There is no better time to implement such solutions. We now live in a digital era. Almost 80% of Irish premises have access to high speed broadband and over 90% of Irish people have a smartphone. The widespread availability of personal technology offers patients and clinicians the opportunity to use real-time virtual communication platforms to enhance access to health care services. In recent months, the process of implementing telemedicine has been fast tracked at an enormous pace. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a sudden explosion in the uptake of digital health tools across the world and has accelerated the adoption of telemedicine. When faced with the risk of contracting or spreading a highly contagious novel virus, it is apparent that in-person outpatient clinic appointments are impractical, and for many patients, concerning and potentially dangerous. Health services have reacted quickly, embracing digital health, to protect patients and to ease the pressure on services by reducing face to face consultations to only when necessary. In Ireland, virtual clinics are now commonplace, with patient consultations carried out via telephone or digital platforms with built in video and audio.
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Spectrum / Winter 2020
