Health Innovation North West Coast is supporting the redesign of pulmonary rehabilitation pathways and the adoption of digital solutions to increase access and improve services across the North West Coast.
The programme aims to establish a single pathway for pulmonary rehabilitation across the region. This will provide standardised, high quality care, simple and timely access and long term support for all respiratory patients, delivered with a mixed model approach incorporating digital and non-digital solutions.
This includes facilitation and a coached co-design process; identifying digital solutions which can be used in combination with face-to-face classes; and working with system partners on initiatives to pilot and roll out solutions.
A pilot using Rehab Guru, a digital exercise prescription platform, started in May 2021. Four respiratory services are delivering personalised PR programmes remotely, supplemented by clinician support. Data gathered will evaluate patients’ beliefs and attitudes toward their condition, plus understanding, perceptions and experiences of PR via Rehab Guru. Pilot data will inform a budget impact analysis, evaluating the economic and workforce impact of delivering PR through a digital platform.
In Cheshire and Merseyside we are a partner in the delivery of ‘Breathing Point’, a web-based information portal for patients, carers and clinicians which provides information and signposting and offers a forum for online discussion. The website resources include general and self-management information; a peer support area; and nine place-based subsites containing local service finder capabilities. The website acts as a central portal, signposting users to wider respiratory resources, information and support across the region.
To combat digital exclusion, a pilot project is offering iPads, data, education and technical support to marginalised and excluded groups, to encourage patients with long term conditions to engage with digital health management tools. This will include using the Rehab Guru app, exploring the Breathing Point website and engaging with other online resources.
Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) Insight Tool
We have developed a PR Insight Tool which outlines opportunities to commission digital and other treatment options for people undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), such as remote-monitoring or exercise prescription platforms.
The PR Insight Tool aims to:
- demonstrate an optimal ‘virtual first’ PR pathway that increases self-management and engagement in PR exercise programmes.
- demonstrate mixed-media solutions which can access all patients groups during a pandemic.
- provide information to support a business case for commissioning, service design and implementation.
- support the PR workforce as it faces increased pressures to meet the needs of different patient cohorts.