Remote at home spirometry during COVID pandemic

Written by Matthew Reyes

Spirometry is one of the most common Pulmonary Function Tests that is ordered, and has origins as far back as the 1840’s. For patients with unexplained breathing problems, or chronic conditions such as asthma or COPD, spirometry can be an essential diagnostic tool informing their care plan. But, many people are unfamiliar with spirometry and it is quite unique from other medical tests, so what is it exactly? How do the results from this test affect your care plan? What is the future of spirometry, and how does the remote spirometry Keva Health offers differ from office or laboratory spirometry?

Spirometry has evolved over the years – currently, it’s a test performed by a patient using a mouthpiece, typically in an office or laboratory setting. The patient is asked to first breathe normally through their mouth, then to take a full breath in, then to blow it out as hard as they can, until they’ve expelled all the air they can. Imagine blowing out 100 tough birthday candles as quickly as you can! This test can be difficult to perform, so many clinics might have patients perform it with the coaching of a doctor, respiratory therapist, or trained technician. It can take a long time for patients to get scheduled in a lab to perform this test. However, recent advances in technology now allow patients to use platforms like Keva Health to perform spirometry from home using just their smartphone and a mobile spirometer. When providers and clinics sign up with Keva Health, their enrolled patients are provided with an at-home spirometer, and the Keva Health app helps the patient produce high-quality, reproducible flow-volume data.

With Covid-19 and vulnerable patient populations, performing spirometry at home can be a safe, convenient, and cost-effective alternative for both provider and patient. Knowing if a patient has deteriorating symptoms coincident with poor at-home spirometry results can prompt a telehealth or clinic visit that can help keep them out of the emergency room. The Keva Talk app on your smartphone will record the spirometry test results of how much air you inhale, how much you exhale and, how quickly and forcefully you exhale.The data is monitored by the nurses and it helps the physician to promptly get alerts and change medications and care plans as needed. The Keva Health platform notifies clinics of spirometry results, patient symptoms, and helpfully reminds patients of their medications and action care plan.

About Keva Health:

Keva Health’s platform is integrating innovative remote monitoring functionality with evidence-based self-monitoring programs for patients with chronic respiratory diseases to improve outcomes and reduce cost. Please contact us at [email protected] for more info.