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Aetonix, ProResp, and Quinte Healthcare Collaborate to Bring aTouchAway® to Patients Living with COPD

Michel Paquet, COO of Aetonix, was joined by Derek Damron of Quinte Health Care, and Dave Jones of ProResp Inc, to discuss what their collaboration meant for patients living with COPD in Quinte and the Quinte sub-regions.

Having identified in 2017 that the region was being challenged with above-average levels of respiratory disease and hospital utilization, it was clear that the aTouchAway® platform could provide an optimal solution to combat admission rates. Damron goes on to describe the process of introducing remote patient monitoring and virtual care, through both a centralized and decentralized approach.

Utilizing an app that requires high levels of engagement, Jones explains the steps the team took to introduce aTouchAway® to patients that were identified as needing some form of virtual care. Patients were given a thorough demonstration and explanation of how to use tablets outfitted with aTouchAway®, to ensure they were able to benefit from the resources at their disposal and answer daily screening questions.

You can read Quinte Health’s article to learn more about the project, and the success it garnered. Paquet and the entire Aetonix team are pleased with the success of this project and look forward to future collaborations with the aTouchAway® platform.

COPD Education – Continuous Maintenance

Objective
To cover in depth all the necessary elements of self-management education as per the LWWCOPD, with priorities based on patient goals and identified treatable traits

Actors
Patient, Educator (Nurse, RT or Physician)

Timelines
A number of “Core” educational modules have been identified which cover the basic COPD education from the LWWCOPD program. Additionally, optional modules can be used to respond to patient needs. The timeline (frequency, number of modules to be covered at a given education session) is fully customizable, although we recommend to have education sessions every 2-weeks during the “active” phase of education. Once this is completed, the patient continues to the Maintenance Mode (see below).

Description

Launched at the onboarding protocol
Provide basic overview of COPD self-management based on LWWCOPD (medication adherence, inhaler techniques, PLB technique & energy conservation) up to the development of an Action plan for early exacerbation recognition and management.
Prioritize self-learning by the patient (e.g. watching videos, reading educational materials, completing homework) in addition to live sessions with the Educator. Educational materials are sent to the patient directly via the platform, and become the patient’s own library. The Educator can customize which “homework” the patient receives.
Educators have access to “User guides” to standardise their educational intervention. These user guides include: objectives, interventions, suggested questions, evaluation of self-efficacy, and learning contracts for each module.
Once the core education is completed, the patient can continue to the Respiratory Status Follow-up Workflow (run in parallel)

The Maintenance Mode

As soon as the maintenance mode is engaged, the frequency of visits Educator/Patient is reduced to once every 6 months.
During the Maintenance Mode sessions, the educator has access to all the education modules and can choose any piece of content that needs to covered with the patient.
A streamlined evaluation (similar to the initial eval.) is done during each “maintenance” visit to identify any substantial changes on the patient’s needs that will require some adjustment. The patient could come back to an “active” education mode (more frequent education sessions, e.g. every 2 weeks).