Japan Association for Medical Informatics

[AP2-E2-2-01] Implementing eHealth to Complement and Support Achieving Adherence to Growth Hormone Therapy

*Ekaterina Koledova1, David Dixon2 (1. Global Medical Affairs, Merck KGaA, Germany, 2. Connected Health & Devices, Global Healthcare Operations, Ares Trading SA, Switzerland)

Avatars, Connected Device, Gamification, Patient engagement

Despite the development of recombinant growth hormone (GH) treatment and the benefits in long-term clinical health outcomes, evidence has shown that many children with GH-treated growth disorders still fail to achieve their target adult height. Suboptimal outcomes have been largely attributed to treatment non-adherence. Adherence is routinely assessed at clinic visits; however, this provides little information about what is happening between visits, as reported data is frequently over- or underestimated by patients/caregivers. Connected eHealth devices, with automatic recording and transmission of adherence data, provide more accurate insights into individual patients’ management. Our ongoing activities incorporate several patient empowerment tools to connect clinician/nurse and patient/ caregiver to provide a better system of care for GH therapy. These include mobile-based augmented reality (AR) combined with interactive avatars for patient education, and patient support programs with integrated behavior change techniques.