Patient System to Help Diagnose People in European with Rare Diseases

Rare Daily Staff

A new system developed by Irish health informatics company OpenApp for the European Commission allows secure online consultations with leading specialists across Europe to help diagnose and treat patients with rare and complex diseases.

The Clinical Patient Management System was commissioned as part of the European Commission’s, Health and Food Safety Directorate-General. It is intended to be used by the newly-created European Reference Networks to remotely work across Europe on patients affected by rare and complex diseases. The European Reference Networks are virtual networks involving healthcare providers across Europe established in 2017 to provide high-quality, cost effective care for patients with rare or low-prevalence complex diseases.

The Clinical Patient Management System allows clinicians to create virtual panels and invite experts from more than 900 centers of excellence around Europe.

“Using the secure platform, clinicians can share clinical details, medical images and other patient documents for treatment and diagnosis,” said Con Hennessy, managing director of OpenApp. “Incorporated into the platform are also many of the advanced tools experts would expect to be available in their day-to-day work.”

There is no cure for most rare diseases and many go undiagnosed or do not find the appropriate treatment. For some diseases, there is are just a few patients, and the geographic dispersion as well as the low numbers makes treatment difficult, if not impossible, the company said.

“While this is a game-changer for diagnosis and treatment, it is a new departure for care,” said Hennessy. “Many clinicians across Europe would not use telemedicine or digital technology between hospitals and definitely never before between countries. The clinicians are embracing the technology enthusiastically.”

September 10, 2018
Photo: Pawel Stawarz and Con Hennessy – OpenApp