Web-based portal Lifepsychol monitors patients' quality of life

Chroma, the UK’s leading national provider of arts therapy services, is to pilot Lifepsychol, an innovative new patient-driven system that could ultimately help up to 14 million people in the UK living with long-term or life-threatening conditions who wish to optimise their quality of life.

Giving users back control of their care, the easy-to-use web-based portal monitors real-time patient-self-reported quality of life indicators. Measuring 12 essential areas that have the biggest impact on how patients view their rehabilitation and recovery, Lifepsychol helps clinicians and next of kin track their loved one’s levels of:

• Anger and frustration
• Energy levels/fatigue
• Independence
• Mobility/physical function
• Mood (anxiety and depression)
• Pain
• Sleep 

Developed by Innervate Ltd, Chroma will trial the system with clients coming through their new Chroma Case Management (CCM) service. CCM is a brain injury case management service which uses bespoke therapy programmes and digital healthcare innovations to enable patients return to normal life and work following a brain injury.

Lifepsychol enables users to record how their quality of life is changing whilst living with a long-term, chronic condition. The system also enables clinicians and case managers to review progress between consultations, so giving a fuller picture of the impact of the treatment users receive.

Daniel Thomas, joint Managing Director of Chroma, said: “Having tested Lifepsychol internally over the last few months, we’ve seen the huge potential the system can offer patients, therapists and our case managers.”

“Lifepsychol places the individual at the heart of quality of life assessment and encourages healthcare professionals to focus on the impact of the symptoms on a person’s life, rather than just focus on the symptoms.”

Used daily, Lifepsychol is a quick and visual approach that shows how actions taken, either by the user or professional, can change a person’s quality of life. Users are more involved and therefore more encouraged to become a partner in the management of their long-term condition. Additionally, it means a more holistic approach to treatment.”

Dr Neil Bindemann of Innervate Ltd, who developed Lifepsychol, added: “The Government has recognised that improving the quality of life of people with long-term conditions is a key outcome for an effective healthcare service. However, our own extensive research identified that existing quality of life measures do not properly assess the impact of a condition on issues that patients often wish to discuss.

“Evidence from over 600 people, which help develop the 12 issues monitored, also provided further evidence that quality of life assessment needed to take a more personalised approach.

Our system helps health professionals to engage in a more meaningful way, making health care more responsive to the quality of life needs and wishes of patients as well as encourages better, communication between healthcare professionals and patients.”

Lifepsychol provides a simple way for a service to assess whether it is improving the quality of life of people with long-term conditions, on an individual and population basis. It is presently a web-based system, but a mobile version with the ability to set up alerts will soon be launched.

For more information on Lifepsychol, see the website.