Pharmaceutical company Nycomed has launched ‘Doctot COPD’, an iPhone app designed to assist physicians in managing patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Some 90,000 people in Ireland are treated for COPD, however, as it is largely under diagnosed, this figure could be much higher.
The World Health Organisation predicts that by 2030, COPD could be the world’s third leading cause of death.
As such, the app aims to help physicians manage these patients as effectively as possible.
It was developed by a Limerick-based company, Doctot, with an unrestricted education grant from Nycomed, with the help of leading experts in the field.
It includes interactive scales commonly used by physicians in COPD management, such as BODE Index, Goldman Cardiac Risk Index and Modified MRC Dyspnoea Scale.
“Each assessment scale in the app is presented in such a way that the user can easily navigate through the interview components to record patient status,” said Dr Declan Lyons, consultant in Limerick Regional Hospital and founder of Doctot.
“The tool automatically generates the scale total and categorises this score – based on the user input.
“Each scale has an ‘Information’ section to provide the user with background details, so it’s easy to use, as well as being useful,” said Lyons.
“Nycomed is delighted to launch Doctot COPD, a suite of the most widely used clinician-administered assessment scales and lookup tables related to COPD patients,” said Fergal Brehony, general manager of Nycomed Products.
“It affords the medical practitioner a highly efficient and easy-to-use tool to measure important functions of patients suffering from COPD.
“Initial feedback from physicians who have started using the app has been very positive, and we hope that Doctot COPD will further help healthcare professionals manage their COPD patients in an innovative yet cost-effective way,” said Brehony.
The app also includes additional information based on the area of COPD, a help section and patients’ results management.
