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Instruments of change: Exploring technological advancements and their use in healthcare

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In this article, François Feig, head of Global General Medicine and Endocrinology, Merck, explores technological advancements in healthcare and how they can be used to improve patients’ lives.

A 2014 report from the World Health Organisation into eHealth and innovation in women’s and children’s health described the internet, smartphones and wearable devices as ‘instruments of change’ and talked of a ‘quiet revolution’ in healthcare. The report describes how technological advancement, and eHealth specifically, is already helping people to live longer, healthier lives, largely through access to accurate medical information and advice, and better recording of patient data.1

This quiet revolution is continuing apace, with a move towards a more patient-centric approach, seeking to make patients an active partner in their own disease management, and the instruments of change now include ‘smart’ medical devices that can send real-time data to a healthcare provider to aid clinical decision-making.

At Merck, we are focused on several areas tailor-made for eHealth technology such as chronic childhood diseases, in particular growth hormone deficiency (GHD). The quality of treatment that we give to our children can have a lasting effect for the rest of their lives — reflected in their educational achievement and employment prospects as well as long-term health outcomes in adulthood.2 Today’s children have grown up with technology permeating almost every aspect of their lives. It helps them to learn, to play and to communicate with their friends — it seems a natural extension to use it to help them to manage their illnesses.

Living with a chronic disease introduces numerous challenges and stresses whatever your age, whether due to the effects of the disease, the burden of treatment, or feelings of uncertainty and lack of control. These stresses can contribute to emotional and behavioural problems among children and adolescents with chronic diseases and can compromise treatment adherence.3 Giving children a feeling of control is important in helping them to cope with their illness. Traditionally, medicine has been something that has been done to children. Through eHealth technologies we can make children active participants in their treatment, handing them that feeling of control and ownership.

eHealth technologies can help to normalise treatment for children — educational apps and games can teach children about their disease in a fun way — encouraging engagement and motivation. As long ago as 1997 a study in children with type 1 diabetes showed a 77% drop in emergency-room visits among children who had played a video game which involved managing characters’ diabetes while saving a summer camp from marauding rats and mice.4

An example from my own experience, is an educational smartphone app that we have developed at Merck, for children with GHD. As the treatment of GHD requires daily injections, and most patients are young children, medication adherence can be a real and ongoing struggle for all those involved in the treatment process. Our app combines gaming with facts and practical advice so it allows children to have fun whilst learning more about their condition and treatment.

Parents and children want these resources and it is the healthcare and pharmaceutical communities’ responsibility to provide them. Only then can we ensure that the information within them is accurate, reliable and based on real medical knowledge. To maximise uptake and subsequent use, the interface must be user friendly and appealing and the content must be fun and relevant to the target age group, otherwise the all-important content will not get through.

eHealth technology also offers benefits for the physician. New smart medical devices record and submit accurate, real-time data, allowing the physician to build a fuller picture of the patient’s symptoms and intervene when necessary. This may be particularly useful for paediatricians, whose young patients may be less able to describe their symptoms or recognise when a treatment is not working as it should.

At Merck, we strongly believe in the power of innovative digital technologies to improve the treatment experience, and ultimately the outcomes, of our patients. The instruments of change are becoming more numerous, more sophisticated and more effective. We should be proud of the impact this is having — forget the quiet revolution, we should be shouting this from the rooftops!

References

  1. eHealth and innovation in women's and children's health: A baseline review. Available at: https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-d/opb/str/D-STR-E_HEALTH.06-2014-PDF-E.pdf
  2. Wijlaars, L.P.M.M., et al., Arch. Dis. Child, 2016;101(10):881–885.
  3. Compas, B.E., et al., Annu. Rev. Clin. Psychol., 2012;8:455–480.
  4. Brown, S.J., et al., Med. Inform. (Lond.), 1997;22(1):77–89.
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