Smartphones to help deliver care for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) patients

The HRB Clinical Research Facility (CRFG) at NUI Galway is supporting research utilizing smartphones for the care of patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Professor Laurence Egan, gastroenterologist at University Hospital Galway and Head of the Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics at NUI Galway is the Principle Investigator for this research study.

 Prof. Laurence Egan (left) and IBD research nurse Aine Keogh

The research aims to assess a new smartphone application or ‘app’ in the care of patients with IBD (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis) to see if patient care can be improved by using this smartphone application. Patients record their IBD symptoms daily on the ‘app’.  This information is then sent securely to the clinical research team at HRB Clinical Research Facility, Galway. 

Previous studies have demonstrated that using static telephones to follow up IBD patients improves patient satisfaction with their care. However, the use of smartphones to help deliver more personalised health care has not been tested in a scientific setting. This study will test the technology and explore if patients using a smartphone software application to record their daily symptoms will help prevent flare ups of their condition through close monitoring by clinicians and therefore reduce hospitalizations and improve their health and well being.

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