Medical Students’ Idea for Mobile App Receives National Recognition
Drs. Andrew Chu and Samir Haroon’s idea for a smartphone app to support Boston Medical Center’s (BMC) postoperative pulmonary care protocol has received national recognition.
Drs. Chu (BUSM’18) and Haroon (BUSM’17) conceived, designed and implemented this program while still in medical school.
Named the ICOUGH Recovery app, the tool guides patients through the steps of the “ICOUGH” pulmonary care protocol, which focuses on (I)ncentive spirometry, (C)oughing and deep breathing, (O)ral hygiene, (U)nderstanding the value of these actions, (G)etting out of bed at least three times daily, and (H)ead-of-bed elevation.
The app earned BMC the honor of receiving the ECRI Institute 2018 Health Device Achievement Award. Now in its 12th year, the award recognizes innovative and effective initiatives undertaken by ECRI member institutions to improve patient safety, reduce costs, or otherwise facilitate better strategic management of health technology.
“This clever tool is an example of how innovative young minds can re-shape approaches to old challenges,” said Dr. David McAneny, vice chair of the department of surgery and principal investigator of the original ICOUGH study. “When Andrew and Samir proposed the application, we could not have imagined how well patients and staff would receive the app or how effective it might be. The results were especially impressive at BMC, where one-quarter of patients do not speak English and racial and ethnic minorities constitute 70 percent of all patients.”
The app sends notifications to the patients’ phones reminding them to perform certain activities, and incorporates social-support features to promote adherence to the protocol. For example, patients can earn gold stars for getting out of bed to walk around the care area, track how long they have been using their incentive spirometer, and compare their performance to that of other patients. A friend or family member can be designated as a “Care Coach” and receive updates via the app to help the patient stay accountable.
Patients who tried the app during its trial phase said it empowered them to take greater control of their recovery. Clinicians like that the tool helps improve patient compliance without overburdening hospital staff.