David Van Sickle, Ph.D.New Prototypes and PilotsA new Asthmapolis medication sensor has recently been unveiled and is in its alpha prototype phase. This new sensor will be piloted in early 2012 in several locations to determine if the data that is collected and presented to physicians and patients will improve asthma control. One pilot in conjunction with the California HealthCare Foundation will take place at Woodland HealthCare, part of Catholic HealthCare West system, and will be conducted with English- and Spanish-speaking underserved patients in the Sacramento area. Another pilot will be in conjunction with the Southern Piedmont Beacon Community in North Carolina to allow about 2,000 asthma patients to enroll in a text messaging program that will follow them after discharge. Another pilot will take place in Louisville, Ky.Van Sickle and his colleagues are currently renovating patient and provider interfaces with new data visualization capabilities and also building out mobile apps. Van Sickle says the challenge so far has been to create systems that are effective and engaging, without adding to the burden of managing the disease for patients. “The same go for clinicians, [we want to] deliver systems that are more efficient and don’t overwhelm them with data, while providing them with new, effective ways to manage and improve the optimum control of their population,” he adds.Beyond asthma, a partnership with VA Puget Sound Health Care System (Seattle, Wash.) is underway to use the Asthmapolis sensor to lower the costs of disease management for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), who generally use the same medications as asthma. COPD, which affects people later in life, has the same unexplained pattern of attacks, Van Sickle says, and when poorly managed, can be extremely expensive.The Asthmapolis sensor has not yet received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, but hopes are to start selling the sensor in 2012 to health systems on a subscription basis, with a monthly fee charged per patient.