The observational study included more than 128,000 people with sleep apnea
In a new research study ResMed revealed that people who use a self-management app when treating their sleep apnea with positive airway pressure (PAP) are significantly more likely to stick with their therapy. The study was presented at CHEST 2016 annual meeting.
The observational study included more than 128,000 people with sleep apnea whose devices allow for their therapy to be remotely monitored by their clinician or by the patients themselves via myAir, ResMed’s cognitive behaviour-based patient engagement app for the web and iPhone.
More than 87 per cent of PAP users were compliant on therapy when using ResMed’s myAir and monitored by AirView, compared to 70 per cent compliance for those monitored by AirView alone (a 24 per cent relative increase). While continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, the gold standard in treating sleep apnea, has vastly improved due to innovations in device comfort and ease of use, in general, CPAP adherence may still be as low as 50 per cent without the use of wireless monitoring.
“This new study shows that online self-monitoring tools engage patients and significantly improve their compliance and adherence to treatment,” said Adam Benjafield, Medical Director, ResMed.
myAir is available on the web and via an iPhone app to patients using ResMed’s Air10 devices. myAir allows people to track the progress of their therapy between visits to their clinician, including a simple daily sleep score, details on four key treatment metrics and personalised coaching tips.
As a companion to AirView, ResMed’s cloud-based tool for healthcare professionals, myAir reinforces the efforts of clinicians and helps patients keep themselves informed and motivated, factors long considered to play a role in effective treatment of sleep apnea and other medical conditions.
Clinicians view myAir as a powerful tool for reducing the risks and costs associated with these health problems for their sleep apnea patients. Every day, 1,000 new patients sign up for myAir.
This retrospective, observational study was designed to minimise risks of potential bias due to differences between the myAir and AirView-only groups that affect outcome variables by matching patients on propensity score. There were 128,037 patients in the study cohort. Patients in both groups were effectively treated with PAP therapy over the 90 days.
There was a significant improvement in the per cent of patients that reached Medicare adherence within 90 days, showing an absolute 16.9 per cent improvement (a relative 24 per cent improvement) in adherence. Additionally mean daily PAP usage was also significantly higher in myAir patients compared to AirView-only.
EH News Bureau