Evaluation of Remote Monitoring of Long Term Conditions in South East London

This evaluation focuses on the use of the Doctaly Assist platform by both patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and staff from One Health Lewisham (the GP federation for Lewisham). It was commissioned by the London Digital team at NHS England and is part of a wider pan London evaluation looking at the use of remote monitoring in supporting the management of long-term conditions across a number of clinical pathways.

Doctaly Assist uses the WhatsApp messaging platform to facilitate the collection of patient information and the completion of clinical assessments and annual reviews. Clinicians can assess and interact with patients remotely. Patients without access to smartphones or WhatsApp can be supported through remote telephone consultations.

The data collected highlighted some clear benefits of remote monitoring solutions from patients’ and staff perspectives (such as convenience and flexibility, and ease of use), although staff views around efficiency and productivity were more mixed.

Overall, patients with long term conditions who registered to the service found using Doctaly Assist acceptable and they engaged with the platform to complete remote assessments successfully.  The evaluation has also shown that the platform managed to reach some patients with typically low engagement. However, it has not been able to quantify the impact of Doctaly Assist has had on healthcare utilisation.