Lila - platform for strengthening communication between patients, health services and doctors

• Grant number: 22/05648-8
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: August 01, 2022
• End date: July 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Medical Clinics
• Principal Investigator: Haroldo da Gama Torres
• Grantee: Haroldo da Gama Torres
• Company: Magnitud Desenvolvimento de Talentos Ltda
• CNAE: Desenvolvimento e licenciamento de programas de computador não-customizáveis
• City: São Paulo
• Associated researchers: André Luiz Toyama Carneiro
• Associated research grant: 20/05531-8 - APP to strengthen communications between doctors and cancer patients, AP.PIPE
• Associated scholarship(s): 23/14334-0 - Backend development of Lila's technological solutions., BP.TT; 23/00613-4 - Lila - Platform for strengthening communication between patients, health services and doctors, BP.TT; 22/12162-4 - Lila: platform for strengthening communication between patients, health services and doctors, BP.PIPE; + associated scholarships 22/12088-9 - Lila - Platform for strengthening communication between patients, health services and doctors, BP.TT; 22/10010-2 - Lila - Platform for strengthening communication between patients, health services and doctors, BP.TT; 22/10818-0 - Lila - Platform for strengthening communication between patients, health services and doctors, BP.TT - associated scholarships

Abstract

We developed a platform targeted to improve the communication between patients, health services and healthcare professionals. We want to have a positive impact on professionals' quality of life and patients' clinical evolution. With that we would also reduce costs of health services since we are reducing hospital admissions and emergency room visits. We are an entrepreneurial group engaged in this project since 2019. Initially, we conducted a survey with 83 oncologists (Sep/2020) with the support of the Brazilian Society of Clinical Oncology, and we identified that 48% of them spend more than 50 minutes daily answering messages from their patients. Most use the phone and WhatsApp for this. We started the approach through oncology, as it is a familiar subject to the group. The literature on the subject shows that the prevalence of malignant neoplasms is increasing globally, according to the WHO. Developing countries are particularly vulnerable, as they have fewer resources to implement cancer prevention and control policies. Treatment models involve multimodal strategies combining surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, with adverse effects for patients and high costs for the health system. In this process, symptoms are added: those related to the diagnosis and those derived from the treatment. In fact, demands arise related to the morbidity generated by the treatment (KARSTEN et al., 2018). This makes clinical support essential, especially during chemotherapy. The current consensus assumes that this support also involves good communication between patients, health services and physicians. There is evidence that technologies improve this communication, reducing emergency use and increasing patients' quality of life and survival (BASCH et al., 2017). It is estimated that around 30 to 60% of emergency room visits can be avoided, with substantial savings (PANATTONI et al., 2018). Giving voice to patients, listening to their complaints about toxic diagnoses and treatments is valuable. These are the so-called Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROs), a clinical strategy that is increasingly recognized and recommended (SUTRADHAR; ROSTAMI; BARBERA, 2019). However, communication outside the consulting room environment is not simple. Patients, especially during chemotherapy treatment, are particularly stressed. And doctors find themselves overwhelmed by demands made by WhatsApp messages. Such arguments were validated in the qualitative research we carried out in Oct/2021, within the scope of the PIPE Empreendedor program: in most cases (38 interviews with doctors and health services) there were no formal protocols for communication outside the consulting room. This model prevailed in the public and private systems. Within the scope of PIPE 1, the solution was developed and tested by healthcare professionals in a hospital and in consulting rooms, with preliminary evidence of good patient adherence to the platform, but low adherence by healthcare professionals. This led us to plan an additional version of the APP (for PIPE 2) aimed at supporting triage services (typically nurses accessible by phone). With this objective, negotiations were initiated with a health service that proposed to use the tool in an experimental way. (AU)