Monitoring and Improving Compliance and Asthma Control: Mapping Inhaler Use for Feedback to Patients, Physicians and Payers

Increasing emphasis on the assessment of asthma control and risk has renewed interest in the ability of technology to capture patient-reported outcomes and real-time histories of symptoms and medication use. Ambulatory monitoring of physiological parameters and medication use, together with online interfaces and applications which allow patients to complete composite questionnaires of asthma control and report quality of life indicators, are expanding opportunities for individual and population management of asthma. A robust, accurate and timely picture of asthma control can be developed and used to improve asthma management and outcomes. This article describes the technical development and operation of a medication monitoring system, Asthmapolis, and accompanying smartphone and web interfaces to help patients and physicians manage asthma. The potential utility of this technology to influence day-to-day medication taking and disease management is reviewed including results from a published pilot study designed to evaluate whether asthma control can be improved. Disease management tools provided for physicians and public health to help address the burden and management of asthma are also described.