Patient adherence to a doctor’s advice, suggestions and even prescriptions is among the oldest challenges in the practice of medicine. Educating patients about the importance of sticking with treatment regimens and changing behaviors, however, holds considerable promise for bolstering such adherence.
So it follows that a growing number of modern applications and devices are targeting both communication and adherence to a range of health practices, whether taking medications, exercising, monitoring signs including blood pressure and glucose levels or even simpler tasks that can have long-term payoffs, like drinking water and eating enough fruits and vegetables.
The National Institutes of Health is hoping to push those types of solutions to the mainstream with a pair of grants designed to “simulate research utilizing mobile health tools aimed at the improvement of effective patient–provider communication, adherence to treatment and self-management of chronic diseases in underserved populations.” The grant application process is due to open on May 16.
“The evolution and vitality of the biomedical sciences require a constant infusion of new ideas, techniques and points of view. These may differ substantially from current thinking or practice and may not yet be supported by substantial preliminary data,” the NIH explained in a grant description. “By using the (grant) mechanism, the NIH seeks to foster the introduction of novel scientific ideas, model systems, tools, agents, targets and technologies that have the potential to substantially advance biomedical research.”
The first grant, to be awarded by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), focuses on adherence, communication and self-management. A companion grant funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering aims to catalyze research into “citizen-driven approaches to engaging and retaining people in improving their health,” decision support systems, imaging technologies for point-of-care diagnosis and tools to enhance visualization of complication health data, as well as telemetry for tracking biomedical information.
Broadly, the NIH is looking to enhance doctor-patient communication via education, goal setting, reminders and feedback on progress, the institute noted, adding that comparative effectiveness of mHealth-based interventions is encouraged — all with an eye on improving treatment and health outcomes.
“With the rapid expansion of cellular networks and substantial advancements in smartphone technologies, it is now possible, and affordable, to transmit patient data digitally from remote areas to specialists in urban areas, receive real-time feedback and capture that consultation in a database,” the NIH explained.
Perhaps thinking along similar lines — particularly in terms of public health techniques — British biotech firm QuantuMDx unwrapped this week a prototype handheld DNA lab that potentially could pinpoint drug-resistant mutations of infectious diseases within 15 minutes and send that data to public health officials who, in turn, would then be able to send the correct anti-infective to treat patients at that disease’s place of origin.
The maximum project period for the NIH’s latest grants is two years; the combined budget for direct costs may not exceed $275,000; no more than $200,000 may be requested in a single year; and “the number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.”
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