New mobile health tool increases safety and empowerment of dialysis patients

• Mobile World Capital Barcelona, Bellvitge University Hospital and IDIBELL launch the ERCA project to improve the autonomy and work-life balance of patients and communication with the medical and nursing team without leaving home.
• Technology and digitalisation, tools to improve patient health.
• 100% of chronic kidney patients on dialysis who have tried this mobile health solution are satisfied with its use. Chronic kidney disease affects 15% of the population and up to 35% of people over 70 years of age.

March 1, 2023

Mobile World Capital Barcelona, the Bellvitge University Hospital (HUB), the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), in collaboration with the Hospitalet City Council and Vodafone are launching a telemedicine pilot project for dialysis patients. This mHealth (mobile health) project aims to improve the experience of patients who are undergoing dialysis treatment remotely, accompany them in this process and strengthen communication with the medical team and nurses. As a result of this collaboration, healthcare professionals will be able to resolve any doubts or incidents that patients may have directly from home using a tablet.

Mobile health for medical follow-up

The project, launched four months ago, was born during the pandemic. Mobility restrictions due to Covid-19 and the risk of exposing chronic patients when travelling in hospitals led to the creation of a tool that would facilitate interaction between patients and medical professionals and reduce the number of journeys.

The operation of the teleconsultations has been designed to be very simple and to facilitate the day-to-day life of patients. When a patient has a question about their treatment or home dialysis machine, they request an appointment to be seen by HUB professionals. At the time of the appointment, he or she will be able to send any doubts and problems to the healthcare professionals via the tablet, which is equipped with the necessary tools and a high resolution camera image, allowing them to send images of the details of the machine. In this way, professionals can know in real time what is happening, and with this information make informed decisions and, ultimately, explain to the person at home the steps to solve the situation.

Dialysis, a feasible treatment at home

The dialysis digitalisation project is being launched to improve the agility of the medical team’s response when a patient has a doubt or an incident in their dialysis treatment from home. Dialysis treatment is a safe process, but in some cases, it may involve doubts or require feedback from professionals to resolve problems. “The use of technology and mobile health now make it feasible,” said Dr Josep Maria Cruzado, head of the Nephrology Department at Bellvitge University Hospital.

Very positive reception from patients and professionals

Four months after the start of the project, the impact assessment of the project carried out among patients and doctors shows that 100% of them are very satisfied with the tool. During the session ‘Digitising dialysis tele-treatment’, which was held at the Mobile World Capital Barcelona space within the framework of MWC Barcelona 2023, the project’s protagonists explained their impressions from different perspectives.

As explained by Dr. Inés Rama, nephrologist and head of the Dialysis Programme at the HUB, “this is an innovative tool to speed up the application of home dialysis treatment as it allows us to respond quickly to the needs of patients, saving on travel, empowering the patient, and at the same time improving their safety and accompaniment”.

Montse Guardia, director of strategy and head of the society area at Mobile World Capital Barcelona, said that “this project responds to the challenge that we at MWCapital are promoting, i.e. using technology as a tool to improve the quality of life of citizens. Thus creating a direct channel between the patient and the team of health professionals and enabling hospitals and other health services to enjoy the benefits that technological solutions such as these offer society”.

Nuria Marín, Mayoress of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, recognises that “as a City Council, we are committed to supporting this type of innovation projects and to promoting them with a clear vocation for service and a high impact on citizens”.

And from the company Vodafone, provider of the technology needed to connect patients and doctors, the commercial director of Catalonia and Aragon, Diego Presa, says that “the ERCA project is another example of how the application of technology to personalise different medical treatments has a positive impact on patients, increasing their autonomy and motivation”.

Dr Montserrat Figuerola, territorial manager of the Southern Metropolitan Area of the Catalan Institute of Health (ICS) Bellvitge has indicated that “at Bellvitge Hospital and the Southern Metropolitan Territorial Management we apply an open model of innovation in which the generation of a collaborative network with innovative entities and institutions is key to provide ideas, technological tools and valuable solutions, always with the patient as a compass and with a vision of care integration. Projects such as the one we share with MWC Barcelona allow us to meet health needs such as those of our chronic renal patients”.

Collaboration agreement Mobile World Capital Barcelona, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge and IDIBELL

This pilot programme is launched within the framework of the collaboration agreement between Mobile World Capital Barcelona, Bellvitge University Hospital and the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute Foundation (IDIBELL). This alliance seeks to put technology, digitisation and smart connectivity at the service of the health sector. The overall objective is to implement innovative products and services, with global projection, that generate real value for society by taking advantage of existing telecommunications networks and all connectivity technologies. In this case, the projects are focused on the digital transformation of the health sector and the application of technology to improve people’s quality of life.