[Feasibility and effectiveness study of a simplified mobile self-education and self-monitoring application for...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and its exacerbations cause a deterioration in quality of life and a significant consumption of medical resources. Patient empowerment supported by education and self-monitoring practices can improve quality of life and reduce the number of hospital admissions. With the development of telemedicine, a lot of digital applications have been studied. Many are considered too complicated to use. So, we partnered with an IT company in Liège named «COMUNICARE» to develop a simplified application that is managed autonomously, without the support of a health professional. In addition, we conducted a prospective pilot study including patients with severe COPD with exacerbations. We observed an excellent rate of use despite low comfort with a smartphone. The primary objective of reducing the number of hospitalizations was not achieved. Nevertheless, we observed interesting results concerning the symptomatology, overall satisfaction and help with therapeutic compliance.