Objective: The movement disorder DBS team at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, developed‘Get Ready®’ mobile phone app for patients who are candidates for DBS. The app provides condition-specific material designed to inform patients of the assessments they will undergo pre-operatively, as well as providing pre-habilitation exercises/written psychological support. The app allows remote data collection, in the form of patient reported outcome scale, allows images of post-operative wound sites to enable remote visits.It is able to help healthcare providers provide patients with the right information at the right time, improving overall patient experience, supporting risk factor management and lifestyle change, collecting patient generated data such as patient reported outcomes and monitoring patients away from the hospital

Background: Our goals from this app were to

Improve access to written information

Provide pre-surgery advice/ guidance e.g. provide exercise regimes, encouraging medication compliance, which improves patient wellbeing, supportive messaging to improve patients mental health

Improve post-surgerical written advice e.g. wound care, re-charging of implanted devices

Collection of patient satisfaction data

Collection of pre/post-surgery outcome data electronically

Method: We recruited patients referred for DBS surgery for 3 conditions, essential tremor, Parkinson’s disease ,dystonia. We have created a digital pathway for all 3 groups, with information and assessments released at pre-specified time-points following enrolment

Results: The app has enabled the movement disorders team, to capture data at regular intervals pre/post-operatively. This has been completed both by patients at home, prior to their clinic appointment and it has provided clinicians a standardised means of capturing in clinic assessments such as the MDS-UPDRS part III. We have carried out patient satisfaction surveys that will be incorporated into the poster. We have also captured a log of deep brain stimulation assessment queries, prior to utilisation of the app and after utilisation of the app and we are able to demonstrate a reduction in time spent answering queries following introduction of the app.

Conclusion: This project has benefited patient care by improving their access to information at all stages of their patient journey from the initial referral through to post surgery recovery and the first year of assessment. This is supported by patient feedback.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/get-ready-a-mobile-phone-app-a-solution-for-patient-engagement-remote-management/