01 Jul 2011
To monitor their condition, more than 300 rheumatoid arthritis patients now use the smartphone health diary web application that Singapore General Hospital (SGH) launched in March – the first such app in the country.
The web app, in the form of a questionnaire that patients complete daily, seeks to assess the patient’s overall condition. It asks the patient questions such as the level of difficulty in getting out of bed that day, buttoning his shirt and doing other daily activities. Patients also key in a pain score and an overall health assessment score.
The system then generates a number, which correlates with the DAS 28, an internationally recognised scoring system specifically for the disease, which tells the patient how good or bad the arthritis is at that point. The app also records and trends the results.
“The app helps to fill the gap between patient visits. The patient sees the doctor every three or four months, and may not remember all the details,” said Mr Eugene Sim, Executive, Department of Rhuematology and Immunology between patient visits. gy, SGH, who played a key role in the development of the app.
“With this app, the patient can provide the doctor with more information, helping the doctor manage the condition better." The IT team took about two months to develop the app. Mr Bien Michael Philip Geroche, Systems Specialist, Integrated Health Information Systems, who was also involved in the development of the app, said: “It is accessible via any smartphone, but we designed it especially for the iPhone. Being web-based, it can also be accessed on a desktop.”
The app is offered to all rheumatoid arthritis patients at SGH, as well as non-SGH patients.
“While keeping notes in a diary is an alternative, it is not very practical to carry one around everywhere. Besides, the smartphone penetration in Singapore is incredible,” said Dr Jon Yoong, Consultant, Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, SGH. According to a recent report, smartphones made up 70 to 80 per cent of all mobile phone sales in Singapore.
“If the patient is older and not tech savvy, younger family members can help out, which encourages the family to participate in the patient’s disease management,” he added.
The app is a collaboration between SGH’s departments of Rheumatology and Immunology and Information Technology, and Integrated Health Information Systems. The app can be downloaded at https://mobilecare.sgh.com.sg.
Click here for JPEG format - Pg 1 & Pg 2
« Back to previous
page
back to top