The National Health Service (NHS) in Wales has launched, On behalf of the Government of Wales, A smartphone app that provides support to patients with long-term symptoms caused by COVID-19 infection. The application, developed by the Authority’s Respiratory Health branch, provides a dedicated tool to provide medical information and advice and a platform that allows patients to monitor their condition and the extent of their recovery from symptoms.
Health experts define the case of “long-term COVID-19” as the signs and symptoms that a patient appears during or after being infected with the Corona virus, Which lasts for more than 12 weeks. If the vast majority of people recover completely in a few weeks or less, If some people recover or stabilize their symptoms, it may take up to three months. or more. This situation is hitherto inexplicable. Doctors are still in the process of conducting research and identifying the factors that lead to some people developing long-term symptoms but not others. But until scientists can identify these factors, Long-term cases put pressure on hospital and clinic services, Because of the increase in the number of visits to medical centers until they fully recover from these symptoms. The NHS-Wales believes that a large part of tackling this challenge is helping patients outside medical centres to rehabilitate them physically and provide psychosocial support. Rehabilitation plays a vital role in relieving pressure on health and social care services. As the primary tool in managing the flow of patients to hospitals, and provide bed use to increase the capacity to treat more critically ill patients.
To this end, As part of a comprehensive national approach by the Government of Wales to support people with long-term COVID-19 symptoms, The Respiratory Health branch of the National Health Service Wales (NHS) has developed, A smart app called COVID-19 Recovery, It aims to reassure users suffering the long-term effects of the coronavirus that there is support available to them when needed. The app gives these patients a dedicated platform to help them on their journey to recovery. At the same time, health professionals are supported in identifying and diagnosing symptoms. Most of all, that patients can follow up on their condition and obtain reliable medical information from the comfort of their homes, Without the need to visit medical centers.
To encourage people to use the app, Doctors have been asked to recommend that patients who may benefit from health and moral support in their homes download and use this application. By recording and tracking their symptoms and managing their condition at home while they are supported by the concerned health workers.
In order for the largest segment of users to benefit from this application, The Respiratory Health Chapter was keen to serve as a free bilingual platform (English and Welsh) available to the public, More than 100 educational videos were incorporated into it, As well as providing many important links that provide medical advice from a selection of therapists, psychologists, dietitians and consultants.
As for the options offered by the COVID-19 Recovery app to patients, The application allows the user to set health goals based on their clinical symptoms so that they can set their recovery goals. The app also offers an opportunity to educate users about COVID-19 and its long-term symptoms. By learning more information about symptoms, Watch educational videos on symptom relief, rehabilitation exercises, etc.; The application allows the patient to monitor the progress of his health condition over time, By updating their activity log daily, And follow his recovery journey over time. As for the feature that makes this application unique in the opinion of those in charge of it, It provides him with the opportunity to communicate with experts, including doctors, mental health specialists and nutritionists, In order to provide personalized support to each individual patient, Designed to support him step by step in his recovery until he reaches the stage of full recovery, All in proportion to its own clinical symptoms.
The importance of implementing COVID-19 Recovery lies in providing support and protection to segments of society that are considered most at risk. Older patients, And those with chronic diseases such as heart disease or diabetes, More likely to develop long-term symptoms of COVID-19 infection. As the application benefits the rest of society, It is estimated that about 1 in 10 people who contract coronavirus experience some long-term symptoms. That is, one-tenth of those infected with COVID-19 will experience long-term symptoms, It lasts for more than 12 weeks, They need continued support on their journey to recovery.
The working group overseeing the application expects that its use will reinforce the idea of self-management of health conditions. In order to reduce the burden on hospitals and health centers, It reduces significant health, social and economic damage to individuals with long-term COVID-19 symptoms.
References:
https://www.nhsconfed.org/articles/rehab-reablement-and-recovery
https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2021-03/technical-advisory-group-long-covid-what-do-we-know-and-what-do-we-need-to-know.pdf https://healthhub.wales
