Virtual Care for Heart Failure Partially Supported by & quot; Virtual Medicus & quot;

This month, the current version of a virtual nurse named Molly is set to Structurally works in the treatment of heart failure in Maastricht

] One million grants to raise the level of online health to a higher level
Researchers in the field of insufficiency will work on a digital application that can make remote decisions, such as prescribing drugs and providing medical advice. The UMC + Maastricht and a number of international partners receive a total of more than 4.5 million euros in European grants to develop the system. At the end of the project (after 3.5 years), the first prototype must be operational. Dr. Hans-Peter Brunner-La Rocca, Project Manager and Cardiologist, is convinced that such forms of eHealth can in the future provide an answer to the ever-increasing demand for care and costs.

version of a virtual nurse named Molly, implemented structurally in the treatment of heart failure Maastricht. Molly is a so-called avatar care and focuses on monitoring patients who also provide medical information. At any time, a "real" nurse always reviews the data remotely. Research has shown that this type of care is effective: the number of visits to the hospital has decreased and patients feel comfortable. But to face future challenges, researchers want to go further and allow the patient to heal.

Long-Term Vision
"If we continue in this direction, we will no longer be able to provide quality care that health care professionals expect from health professionals," said Brunner-La Rocca. "While the demand for care is only growing, care should be cheaper, but with quality and safety, and the development of new treatments is costly." Now the cardiology professor is considering a solution for eHealth applications, such as Molly, but where Molly currently monitors and provides information, a new version needs to be able to do much more and be able to counsel patients about treatment, diagnose and prescribe medication.

Prerequisites
For the Project To succeed, different prerequisites must be taken into account.For example, the virtual doctor must self-learn and be able to adapt to situations.The application must also be user-friendly. and stimulating for all target groups, regardless of their level of education, age and gender.Legally and ethically there is also problems that require an answer. For example, who is responsible if something is wrong with health care? At the end of the project, the virtual doctor must make decisions that are entirely medically responsible. "When in doubt, you will always be referred to a health care provider," said Brunner La Rocca. "Now, the application is specifically developed for the care of heart failure, but it can also theoretically be used for other specialties, so that we can eventually make health care more effective in together. "

The project will be implemented by several people over the next three and a half years. knowledge institutions with the cooperation of specialists in serious gaming, artificial intelligence and remote monitoring