HEART FAILURE
For those over 65, heart failure is the most common reason for hospitalization1-3. It is the most rapidly increasing cardiovascular disease and has higher mortality than several of the most common forms of cancer.
Heart failure means that the heart is unable to pump a sufficient amount of oxygenated blood through the body to meet its need, resulting in shortness of breath, fatigue and oedema in the limbs and/or lungs (pulmonary oedema). Heart failure is a chronic disease, which means it can’t usually be cured but given the right treatment its progress can be slowed and to some extent even reversed. It is a difficult diagnosis to come to terms with, as it can be perceived as “fuzzy” and improved patient self-care could potentially reduce 50% of excess hospital admissions4, 5.
OPTILOGG® Start is the only tool on the market with solid clinical data, proving that it enhances self-care behaviour and reduces the risk of hospital admission by 50%.
Our design-protected interface is specially adapted for multi-sick elderly people without previous technology experience and contains no "swipe, pinch" or similar, but only uses one-finger pressure. Instead of icons, we have tab systems that are recognized from phone books and we fold up paper corners, put in paper clips, etc. to make the technology less intimidating.
THE SERVICE
OPTILOGG® Start includes everything the person with heart failure needs to be able to assume an active role in his/her health care, including our unique service organization.
The equipment is made up of a tablet computer locked to our proprietary software application and a weight scale. The system is designed for multi-sick elderly with no prior experience with smartphones, internet or computers. The daily routine takes less than 30 seconds and the user doesn’t even have to press any buttons. Each morning the patient steps up on the weight scale and based on weight trends and the patient specific treatment plan for loop-diuretics, OPTILOGG® calculates the appropriate dose and displays it to the patient on-screen. In addition to this the patient receives short daily tip on how to improve living with heart failure, and our patented distributed expert system ensures that the most relevant information for each specific patient and current circumstances is presented, thereby maximizing knowledge uptake.
Every five days or in connection with a sudden change in symptoms, the patient will answer symptom-related questions. OPTILOGG® continuously adapts to the patients answers and interactions, detects deteriorations and adjusts feedback accordingly.
By selecting the tabs “Learn more” and “History”, the patient can learn more about the specific areas relating to heart failure that he/she is interested in, as well as get an overview of how the health status as evolved over time.
CONTACT
With OPTILOGG® Start there is no need for the health care providers to monitor the patients, instead the patients are coached to a better self-care behavior, and makes sure that they contact the appropriate health care organization if/when the improved self-care is no longer enough. This way OPTILOGG® Start reduces morbidity and ensures that a health care contact is initiated before the health status deteriorates to the point of being acute, and without adding to the already daunting workload of the health care professional.
The patient-initiated contact, mediated by OPTILOGG® Start is made through existing telephone infrastructure, which means that no new points of entry need to be established, but readily available and familiar technology and care pathways are being utilized.
OPTILOGG® Start only stores data in the patient’s local unit, and does not need to be sent anywhere to achieve the desired clinical outcomes, which means that OPTILOGG® Start is a viable option also for organizations where IT-departments or the equivalent thereof, feel hesitant towards transmitting digital patient data.
TECH SUPPORT
OPTILOGG® boasts the highest system adherence on the market, with a mean adherence of 92%. This can be achieved because the solution is specifically designed for the elderly patient who has never used a smart device or computer before, but also because of our accessible tech support that users can call for assistance, something that generates trust and feelings of safety among the users.
We firmly believe that health care providers should provide health care -not tech support, which is why we vow to handle that part. Our service organization is the health care providers’ tech- and maintenance partner throughout the contract term.
After OPTILOGG® has been prescribed to a patient, our service organization handles the rest. Our specially trained staff will contact the patient for a house-call, where the equipment is set-up and the patient is trained on how to use it, and from that day they will always be available through telephone or more house-calls to answer questions and ensure that everything is working the way it should.
OPTILOGG® Start has a clinically proven positive effect on disease management for people suffering from heart failure, hypertension (high blood pressure) and kidney disease. There are several add-on modules available, to customize OPTILOGG® for each unique patient. These add-ons are collectively referred to as OPTILOGG® Plus and include sensors, remote access to patient data, digital care through video link, as well as education- and coaching content for several specific diagnoses.
All customized versions of OPTILOGG® Plus are based on the patented platform OPTILOGG® Start, but with the OPTILOGG® Plus-modules added according to the customer’s requests. The core features leading to the clinically proven enhancement of self-care behaviour and reduced morbidity, is thus also included in OPTILOGG® Plus along with our unique service- and support organization.
SENSORS
The OPTILOGG® platform can receive and process data from MedTech class sensors, which adhere to the relevant Bluetooth standards. Should the health care provider or the patient be in possession of sensors they wish to connect to OPTILOGG® that is possible, otherwise we have a collaboration with Beurer and can offer MedTech class sensor equipment for blood pressure and heart rate, ECG, oxygen saturation and physical activity
The types of sensors the health care provider wishes to connect to OPTILOGG® is regulated in the customer agreement and the platform will be set up with the appropriate sensor modules activated.
Based on this defined array of sensors, OPTILOGG® will be tailored for each unique patient when a new OPTILOGG® is prescribed through our online ordering portal.
DIGITAL CARE
With OPTILOGG® Plus the health care provider can choose to add the OPTILOGG® Connect module. The main purpose of the platform is still to enhance the patients’ self-care behaviour, and coach them to contact the health care provider if and when the self-care is not enough to prevent deterioration. The Connect module does however in addition to that, provide the patient with the option to request a digital care session through his/her OPTILOGG®. Furthermore, patient data, answers to self-assessment forms, automatic- or manual ranking of patients based on severity, as well as the option to initiate chat or video interaction, will be made available to the health care provider through a web interface. The health care provider can also through the same web interface adjust each patient’s digital treatment plan, i.e. limits for sensor values, medication and other settings in the patient’s OPTILOGG® unit. This way the health care provider can make sure that the distributed expert system always has the correct and most appropriate settings for each individual patient.
DIAGNOSES
The foundation of OPTILOGG® is support for enhanced self-care in patients with heart failure. In addition to that application, there is clinical data to support better disease management for patients suffering from chronic kidney disease and hypertension as well. Anecdotal evidence also suggests improvement for management of diabetes.
With the new sensors available through OPTILOGG® Plus, we are also developing self-care support for patients suffering from COPD.
LECTURER/INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKER/MODERATOR
The digitalization of society offers great potential and there are many forks in the road. Sometimes you might find that you need help in sifting through the endless inflow of information, get an overview of what the market landscape actually is like, or just get some inspiration to see things from a new point of view.
If you need some new points of view in your plans or efforts associated with digitalization, we offer both pre-defined bundles as well as tailor made classes, inspirational sessions or lectures. We also assist as moderators for workshops or discussions.
EXPERIENCED DIGITALIZATION AND SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS
Digitalization is revolutionizing field after field, and within the health care sector, the work to define the health care information environment for the future. An efficient and secure IT-infrastructure is the basis of successful digitalization, but the great benefits to the actual health care patients receive, will not happen until clinically validated health care solutions are connected to said infrastructure. It then becomes crucial for any health care organization to implement a digitalization strategy, which maximizes the clinical benefits of every introduced solution. There are many pitfalls in deciding how to evaluate the impact of a new process or solution, and for the results to be meaningful and scientifically sound, scientific methodology and appropriate statistical considerations need to be the starting point.
With an experience from working with medical technology for both the providers and the patients, spanning over three decades, we can offer services such as statistical analyses, pilot- or evaluation planning/design, data analyses, analysis of quality of the provided care, digitalization planning, change management etcetera.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
Do you offer solutions and/or services based on modern technology to elderly, without the same tech-proficiency as younger people?
Technology in society is evolving at record speed, and elderly citizens to a greater extent also use digital solutions. However, the majority of people above 76 years old, are not digitally active and by the end of 2019 only 3% had ever used a digital care solution. This changes rapidly, especially in the light of the corona-pandemic, but to get widespread adoption in that segment, a calm, personal introduction to the technology is needed, as well as continuous support to manage it. We cannot simply disregard from the huge part of the population aged 76 and over and laconically state that “in a few years today’s 60-year olds will be 76 and they know technology”. First because it is not ethical to simply abandon those in most need of our help, and secondly because that in 15 years from now technology will have changed so much that what the then 76-year olds were familiar with from back when they were 60, is no longer around and hopelessly obsolete.
Modern technology will always age faster than people do!
This is why the elderly of tomorrow will also be needing support to make tomorrow’s technology available to them.
Our unique service organization, which is already an integrated part of OPTILOGG®, can also be offered as a stand-alone service for those who are providing tech-solutions to elderly and who are currently either struggling with poor adherence or need to outsource tech support.
Ambrosy AP, 2014,. The global health and economic burden of hospitalizations for heart failure
Farmakis D, 2015. Acute heart failure: epidemiology, risk factors, and prevention
Stromberg A, 2003, Nurse-led heart failure clinics improve survival and self-care behaviour in patients with heart failure
Desai AS, 2012, Home monitoring heart failure care does not improve patient outcomes
Internetstiftelsen, 2019, Svenskarna och internet 2019
