MADISON, Wis., April 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today
Propeller Health and peer-reviewed healthcare journal, Health
Affairs, published results from a cross-sector partnership in
Louisville, KY, that successfully
reduced the burden of asthma. AIR Louisville, one of the largest studies of
asthma conducted in a real-world setting, was a collaboration among
25 public, private and philanthropic organizations to use digital
health technology to improve asthma. Partners and paper co-authors
included representatives from city government such as the Mayor and
agencies including Civic Innovation and Public Health, local
business leaders and clinical providers, and nonprofit partner, the
Institute for Healthy Air Water and Soil. The program deployed
inhaler sensors and a digital health platform to monitor where and
when local residents used their inhaled medications for asthma,
assessed the environmental conditions that might have influenced
asthma symptoms, and shared those findings with participants and
city decision-makers.
The authors found that participants experienced several positive
clinical outcomes, including a 78% reduction in rescue inhaler use
and a 48% improvement in symptom-free days. The hundreds of
thousands of crowdsourced real-world data points on inhaler use,
combined with environmental data, also informed municipal policy
recommendations, including enhancing tree canopy, tree removal
mitigation, zoning for air pollution emission buffers, recommended
truck routes, and development of a community asthma notification
system.
"AIR Louisville demonstrated the value of crowdsourced health
data, influencing positive outcomes from an individual level up to
the policy-making level," said Meredith
Barrett, VP of Research at Propeller Health and co-author of
the paper. "We think the potential for this collaborative approach
is huge, and Propeller is committed to using the data we collect
across thousands of patients to better understand where, when and
why respiratory symptoms happen so that we can help people live
healthier lives."
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) funded the successful
study, with additional funding from the American Lung
Association. "AIR Louisville is the
first-in-the-nation-test we've seen of an end-to-end process that
started with patients, people, and citizens, generating real-world,
real-time data in an effort to identify opportunities to improve
the public's health," said Paul
Tarini, Senior Program Officer at RWJF. "This is
a developing important trend, one we think will make big
contributions to how we understand and improve health by focusing
on upstream factors in our communities."
The authors noted that participants reported joining the program
for two key reasons: to improve their own health; and also to
contribute to a larger community effort to combat chronic
respiratory disease. This trend suggests that many residents may be
open to contributing their data to something bigger.
"Cities exist to provide citizens the opportunity to reach their
full human potential — no matter their race, gender, sexual
orientation, or ZIP code," said Greg
Fischer, Mayor of Louisville. "No city can do this alone, which
is why we're committed to working with citizens, businesses, and
nonprofits to undertake innovative projects like AIR Louisville
that can positively impact the lives of citizens. This project is a
citywide show of compassion for citizens who live here with asthma,
and an example of how citizens can contribute their own data to
help inform city decisions, and in so doing reignite their civic
engagement."
About Propeller
Propeller empowers people with asthma and COPD to live
measurably better lives. In 2010 Propeller set out to modernize
respiratory medicine, empower people to minimize the impact of
asthma or COPD on their daily lives, and connect them to their
physicians, environment, and community. Propeller's
information-powered approach to respiratory management guides
physicians and patients to the optimal path of therapy for each
individual. With connected inhalers, digital interfaces, and
personalized insights, participants receive personal guidance and
expert direction anytime. Backed by 3M Ventures (NYSE: MMM), SR One, Hikma Ventures
(LON: HIK), Safeguard Scientifics (NYSE: SFE), Social Capital and
other investors, Propeller has been used by patients with asthma or
COPD in over 65 commercial programs across the US at major
healthcare systems, payers, employers and other commercial
partners, and clinical outcomes have been demonstrated in over 46
papers and abstracts in the peer-reviewed literature. The company
has been recognized as the recipient of the American Telemedicine
Association's 2016 President's Award for Innovation in Remote
Healthcare, as one of the world's Most Innovative Companies by Fast
Company, and as one of the top "Fierce 15" medical device companies
in 2015 by FierceMedicalDevices.
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SOURCE Propeller Health