Best Health Apps for Remote Asthma Management

The question of how patients can best look after their health, especially if they’re in a high-risk category, and whether patients should be increasing their medication just in case, are all concerns GPs have to deal with on a daily basis.

In today’s newsletter, we share how health apps can help those with respiratory conditions. Dr Tom Micklewright shares how he has been using the COVID-19 App Formulary, and gives his personal, practical view on three apps which can help patients better manage their asthma at home.

With 61.4% of the asthma apps we’ve reviewed scoring below ORCHA’s quality threshold, it’s important to understand which apps are clinically assured and safe to use.

We also share the details of our next webinar in our COVID-19 series, taking place on 6th May, following on from World Asthma Day, where we will be discussing asthma health apps, with guests from some of the top-scoring health app developers.

A view from the front line
In the video below, hear Dr Tom Micklewright discuss the importance of empowering patients to self-manage their health, and the role of digital health.

Click below to watch the video:

myAsthma app demonstration: Dr Micklewright demonstrates the myAsthma app, shares his views, and explores the medication diary, forecasters for mapping out triggers, and personalised action plans which can all be accessed in the app, giving patients more control over their asthma:

Zephyr Guide app demonstration: Dr Micklewright explains why the Zephyr Guide app can be great to signpost patients to for their annual asthma reviews, especially when clinicians can’t actually see the patient. The app trains people to use their inhalers properly through a series of simple animations:

Smart Peak Flow demonstration: For his insight into another top-scoring asthma app, Dr Micklewright demonstrates how the Smart Peak Flow app uses a smaller peak flow device to record peak flow in the app, via Bluetooth, or by connecting to the phone jack of a mobile device. The app allows users to monitor their peak flow over time, and gives recommendations based on their peak flow data: