World Allergy Organization Journal (Jul 2022)
Digital tools in allergy and respiratory care
- Elisabeth Verhoeven, MD,
- Philip Rouadi, MD,
- Eliane Abou Jaoude, MD,
- Mohamed Abouzakouk, MD,
- Ignacio Ansotegui, MD,
- Mona Al-Ahmad, MD,
- Maryam Ali Al-Nesf, MD,
- Cecilio Azar, MD,
- Sami Bahna, MD,
- Lyda Cuervo-Pardo, MD,
- Zuzana Diamant, MD,
- Habib Douagui, MD,
- R. Maximiliano Gómez, MD,
- Sandra González Díaz, MD,
- Joseph K. Han, MD,
- Samar Idriss, MD,
- Carla Irani, MD,
- Marilyn Karam, MD,
- Ludger Klimek, MD,
- Talal Nsouli, MD,
- Glenis Scadding, MD,
- Brent Senior, MD,
- Pete Smith, MD,
- Anahí Yáñez, MD,
- Fares Zaitoun, MD,
- Peter W. Hellings, MD
Affiliations
- Elisabeth Verhoeven, MD
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospitals Leuven, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Corresponding author. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 33, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
- Philip Rouadi, MD
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Eye & Ear University Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon
- Eliane Abou Jaoude, MD
- Department of Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington DC, USA
- Mohamed Abouzakouk, MD
- Department of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, USA
- Ignacio Ansotegui, MD
- Department of Allergy and Immunology, Hospital Quironsalud Bizkaia, Erandio, Spain
- Mona Al-Ahmad, MD
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Kuwait
- Maryam Ali Al-Nesf, MD
- Allergy and Immunology Section, Department of Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar
- Cecilio Azar, MD
- Clinical Associate, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon; Consultant Gastroenterologist, Clemenceau Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon
- Sami Bahna, MD
- Department of Allergy and Immunology, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, Shreveport, USA
- Lyda Cuervo-Pardo, MD
- Department of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, University of Florida, Florida, USA
- Zuzana Diamant, MD
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Institute for Clinical Science, Skane University Hospital, Lund, Sweden; Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology, UMCG, Groningen, the Netherlands; Department of Respiratory Medicine, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Thomayer Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic
- Habib Douagui, MD
- Department of Pneumology and Allergology, University Hospital of Benimessous, Algiers, Algeria
- R. Maximiliano Gómez, MD
- Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, School of Health Sciences, Catholic University of Salta, Argentina
- Sandra González Díaz, MD
- Department of Allergology and Immunology, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Monterrey, Mexico
- Joseph K. Han, MD
- Department of Rhinology Head and Neck Surgery, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA
- Samar Idriss, MD
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Eye and Ear Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon; Department of Audiology and Neurotology, Edouard Herriot Hospital, Lyon, France
- Carla Irani, MD
- Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Immunology. Hotel Dieu de France, St Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon
- Marilyn Karam, MD
- Department of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, American University of Beirut, Lebanon; Department of Internal Medicine, American Hospital Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Ludger Klimek, MD
- Center for Rhinology and Allergology, Wiesbaden, Germany
- Talal Nsouli, MD
- Department of Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington DC, USA
- Glenis Scadding, MD
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, RNENT Hospital London, London, UK; Division of Immunity and Infection, Medical Sciences UCL, London, UK
- Brent Senior, MD
- Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA
- Pete Smith, MD
- Department of Allergology, Clinical Medicine Griffith University of Queensland, Griffith, Australia
- Anahí Yáñez, MD
- Department of Allergy and Respiratory Medicine, InAER, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Fares Zaitoun, MD
- Department of Allergy and Otolaryngology, Lebanese-American University Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon
- Peter W. Hellings, MD
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospitals Leuven, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; EUFOREA, European Forum for Research and Education in Allergy and Airway Diseases, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 15,
no. 7
p. 100661
Abstract
Patient care in the allergy and respiratory fields is advancing rapidly, offering the possibility of the inclusion of a variety of digital tools that aim to improve outcomes of care. Impaired access to several health care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic has considerably increased the appetite and need for the inclusion of e-health tools amongst end-users. Consequently, a multitude of different e-health tools have been launched worldwide with various registration and access options, and with a wide range of offered benefits. From the perspective of both patients and healthcare providers (HCPs), as well as from a legal and device-related perspective, several features are important for the acceptance, effectiveness,and long-term use of e-health tools. Patients and physicians have different needs and expectations of how digital tools might be of help in the care pathway. There is a need for standardization by defining quality assurance criteria. Therefore, the Upper Airway Diseases Committee of the World Allergy Organization (WAO) has taken the initiative to define and propose criteria for quality, appeal, and applicability of e-health tools in the allergy and respiratory care fields from a patient, clinician, and academic perspective with the ultimate aim to improve patient health and outcomes of care.
