Development of a pain journal for chronic pain management and remote monitoring

Abstract

Chronic pain is a global health problem, having a tremendous effect on the quality-of-life (QoL) of patients. Monitoring the outcome of a specific therapy and the condition of the patient is of utter importance for effective pain management. A smartphone application was developed for comprehensive pain management in chronic pain patients. It allows patients to enter and keep track of their health related QoL, pain, and medication intake in an easy, fast, and regular daily routine. The app was built based on standardized questionnaires and the needs of pain specialists and patients assessed via a brief survey in a small target group. The survey showed an unmet need for applications in clinical practice, which enable comprehensive monitoring of QoL, pain, therapeutic progress, and thus allow for patient engagement and overall improved pain management. Beneficially, patients can share their reported outcome measures gathered via the app with their pain specialist via PDF exports for remote monitoring. The smartphone app has been realized and is currently evaluated in beta tests. The easy, comprehensible, and routine assessment of the patient’s condition, combined with a future integration into an online therapy management system, may further advance pain management in chronic pain patients.

Keywords

• telemedicine
• chronic pain
• quality of life