LifePod. The solution for COPD.

COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is one of the most common diseases in the world. In Sweden, between 500 000 and 700 000 persons are affected. LifePod was used in the national COPD-project to monitor and coach COPD-patients remotely. The project is a remarkable example of how using an eHealth-solution improves the patients’ health and quality of life and how it reduces costs at the same time.

The patient and caregiver were constantly connected through a technical solution – this set up made patients feel secure and safe in their homes. For one-third of the patients, an acute exacerbation could be avoided.

LifePod. Remote care tracking.

The National COPD-project, conducted in Sweden in 2016 to 2017, tested a setup where seriously ill COPD-patients used the LifePod-application in their homes. Nurses and other care givers monitored the patient status remotely. Sudden changes and early warnings in the health condition were detected in good time. Traditional care has difficulties to detect those early changes.

RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden) was responsible for the project and conducted it together with Karolinska University Hospital, Swedish Heart and Lung Association and several partners including Cross Technology Solutions. The goal for the project was to test and create sustainable solutions for remote care tracking of patients with chronic disease. The national COPD-project has shown outstanding results, both for the patients and regarding health economics.

Acute exacerbations avoided.

The seriously ill COPD-patients were actively engaged in their health condition and reported different medical values e.g. blood pressure, weight, physical activity and answering a CAT-form at a daily basis through the LifePod-platform. Patients were also connected with the caregiver through a video link. Nurses followed the patients using the prioritized dashboard in LifePod and were at any time informed about their individual health status. Medical interventions e.g. adjustment of medication were applied when needed

For one-third of the patients, an acute exacerbation could be avoided. The patients expressed strongly that they felt secure and safe at home because they were followed by the caregiver remotely. Most of the patients wished to continue with the remote solution when the project had come to an end.

Better informed and secure.

There were many positive effects for patients attending the COPD-project, among the most reported were:
Patients got more and deeper information about their health condition which helped them stay healthier. They felt comfortable with the constant possibility to contact the care giver by video link. Patients also expressed the higher secureness of their individual health situation at home. After the project, most of the patients wanted to keep on using the LifePod platform.

Look at the film below. Carina Levander has COPD and tested the solution at home in Vadstena 2017.

LifePod. Proactive care.

The graphics show the answers of the CAT-form which were reported from a patient at home. A nurse saw the sudden change of the patient’s values in the LifePod dashboard. The patient got contacted right away and medications were adjusted. The patients’ health condition improved quickly. Recognizing early changes and then taking actions is very important to keep COPD stable. In this example, an acute exacerbation was avoided – personal suffering was avoided and significant expenses were also saved.

Study outcome. Economical evaluation.

The analysis is based on around 20 patients which tested the remote care tracking set up in their homes up to ten weeks. Main outcomes are avoided acute exacerbations and reduction in emergency room visits achieved through early medical interventions (proactive care).
50 virtual medical rounds were carried out and 79 medical interventions were done during the study
60% of the patients were treated with a medical intervention which reduced the risk for readmission
37% of the patients avoided an acute exacerbation by recognizing early changes and then taking actions
Between 400 000 to 2 million SEK were saved by avoided readmissions. The early detection of changes in the health condition and early treatment of an exacerbation are the primary reasons for the cost savings.*

* RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden)
The analysis is based on 20 patients who were monitored remotely during six to ten weeks.

How it works.

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CE-approved medical device.

LifePod is a CE-approved medical device where you can combine different health conditions in one interface. It delivers individual care for chronic and multi-chronic patients. The LifePod-platform is scalable and adaptable to various health conditions e.g. diabetes, COPD, CVD as congestive heart failure and myocardial infarction

LifePod. Evolving healthcare, everywhere.