“There are no previous studies worldwide on a patient-specific, interactive smartphone app for chronic pancreatitis. Working with TUH and Trinity we have the potential to change the delivery of healthcare by integrating mobile technology into existing services,” says Barry
Feeney, Head of the Department of Computing at TU Dublin, Tallaght.
Tallaght University Hospital is to develop the SmartCP app to empower patients with chronic pancreatitis to take control of their condition and improve communication with the hospital team. The app, being created with TUH’s Interdisciplinary Chronic Pancreatitis Service, will allow patients to report red flags like worsening malabsorptive symptoms and signs of new diabetes so that doctors can intervene earlier.
The app will allow TUH to care for patients in their homes aligning with its vision of being a hospital without walls. Dublin is also the only chronic pancreatitis multidisciplinary service in Ireland, many hospital patients
reside outside of the city.
This mHealth solution will enable clinicians to provide a better service for those living outside the capital. The project will be coordinated by TUH Consultant Surgeon and Professor of Surgery at Trinity College Dublin Professor Kevin Conlon and Dr Sinead Duggan, a Senior Research Fellow in Trinity College Dublin.
“This innovation has the potential to change how we provide care to our patients and also to the service we can provide as a hospital,” says Dr Natalie Cole, TUH Head of Innovation.
“It will improve patient engagement as patients will have more direct and timely access to their team and provide clear, accurate and accessible information.” Also involved in the development of the app is the Department of Computing at TU Dublin, Tallaght.
Chronic pancreatitis leads to constant, unmanageable stomach pain, difficult to manage gut symptoms, severe ‘brittle’ diabetes and poor wellbeing. Ireland has among the highest numbers in Europe of those suffering from the condition.
Pictured above is TUH Clinical Nurse Specialist Marie Egan, Consultant Surgeon at TUH and Professor of Surgery at Trinity College Dublin Professor Kevin Conlon and Dr Sinead Duggan, Senior Research Fellow in Trinity College Dublin.
