European Respiratory Society Clinical Research Collaboration CONNECT. Moving multiple digital innovations towards connected respiratory care: Addressing the over-arching challenges of whole systems implementation
Hilary Pinnock
The University of Edinburgh, Doorway 3, Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK
Summary
Digital health is a priority for the European Respiratory Society (ERS) that can offer patients tailored, seamless (self-)management support including remote access to clinical advice; enabling clinicians to monitor and tailor care; providing healthcare systems with data to target resources and monitoring/intervening in health events. Accelerated by the pandemic, the focus is shifting from pilot and effectiveness studies in specific clinical contexts to sustainable implementation of digital healthcare. However, successful implementation is complex requiring consideration of implications for patients, professionals and organisations, as well as an understanding of the political, regulatory, socio-economic context. The Clinical Research Collaboration CONNECT, launched by ERS in April 2023, has developed a global multidisciplinary network of 900 colleagues in 80 countries focussed on implementing digital respiratory healthcare.
We aim to bridge the gap between disease and/or location-focussed digital initiatives and implementation of sustainable, equitable, connected digital healthcare in routine clinical respiratory practice within European (and global) healthcare systems. CONNECT will enable knowledge exchange, create a repository of available respiratory technologies, promote standardised approaches to implementation research in digital healthcare, publish position paper(s) on barriers and enablers to deployment at scale, and plan research that will inform, develop and evaluate implementation of digital respiratory healthcare.