Digital Home-Monitoring of Patients after Kidney Transplantation: The MACCS Platform

Summary

The MACCS platform is a comprehensive telemedicine concept aiming at better outcomes after kidney transplantation by sharing key medical information between patients and physicians. A telemedicine team reviews incoming data to detect potential complications and to improve adherence in kidney transplant recipients to achieve better long-term outcomes.

Abstract

The MACCS (Medical Assistant for Chronic Care Service) platform enables secure sharing of key medical information between patients after kidney transplantation and physicians. Patients provide information such as vital signs, well-being, and medication intake via smartphone apps. The information is transferred directly into a database and electronic health record at the kidney transplant center, which is used for routine patient care and research. Physicians can send an updated medication plan and laboratory data directly to the patient app via this secure platform. Other features of the app are medical messages and video consultations. Consequently, the patient is better-informed, and self-management is facilitated. In addition, the transplant center and the patient’s local nephrologist automatically exchange notes, medical reports, laboratory values, and medication data via the platform. A telemedicine team reviews all incoming data on a dashboard and takes action, if necessary. Tools to identify patients at risk for complications are under development. The platform exchanges data via a standardized secure interface (Health Level 7 (HL7), Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR)). The standardized data exchange based on HL7 FHIR guarantees interoperability with other eHealth solutions and allows rapid scalability to other chronic diseases. The underlying data protection concept is in concordance with the latest European General Data Protection Regulation. Enrollment started in February 2020, and 131 kidney transplant recipients are actively participating as of July 2020. Two large German health insurance companies are currently funding the telemedicine services of the project. The deployment for other chronic kidney diseases and solid organ transplant recipients is planned. In conclusion, the platform is designed to enable home monitoring and automatic data exchange, empower patients, reduce hospitalizations, and improve adherence, and outcomes after kidney transplantation.

Introduction

Kidney transplantation is the treatment of choice for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) as it prolongs life, improves quality of life (QoL), and saves money and resources compared to maintenance dialysis^1,2. QoL is defined as the general well-being of individuals, and health-related QoL (HRQoL) is an assessment of how the individual's well-being may be affected over time by a disease, disability, or disorder³. Recently, QoL, HRQoL, and specific patient-reported outcomes were considered core outcome domains for kidney transplantation, which have become critically important to patients, health professionals, and regulatory agencies^4,5. Kidney transplant recipients (KTR) must change their lifestyle after transplantation, adhere to a complex medication schedule, and perform regular self-assessments⁶. The regular intake of immunosuppressive therapy is of utmost importance to ensure adequate drug blood levels⁷. Extremely low blood concentrations may result in under-immunosuppression, increasing the risk for rejection or the development of donor-specific antibodies (DSA). Acute rejections and DSA are major causes for graft loss. Extremely high blood concentrations of immunosuppressants may result in over-immunosuppression increasing the risk for drug-related side effects, infections, and malignancies. Therefore, strict adherence and regular control of laboratory values is necessary to adjust immunosuppressive therapy within a narrow therapeutic range.

Other frequent complications of immunosuppressive drugs include diabetes and hypertension, which can lead to costly hospitalizations and reduced QoL. To achieve better transplant survival, close monitoring and adherence are essential. Studies in the general population suggest that only ~50% of patients in the Western world are fully adherent to their medication schedule⁸. It has been suggested that approximately 20%-30% of graft losses in KTR are linked to non-adherence^9,10. There are many reasons for non-adherence including insufficient communication, misunderstanding, and forgetfulness¹¹. Key pillars for better adherence are good and clear communication and an unambiguous written medication plan¹⁰. Other important factors for adherence are an individually adapted explanation of the therapeutic concept and the understanding of medication and disease. Patient empowerment, which enables patients to better take care of their health, is the basis for better adherence and behavioral changes¹². Being adherent to medication and to a self-assessment plan is crucial for long-term success after kidney transplantation¹³.

The kidney transplant center at Charité cares for KTR from the metropolitan area of Berlin and Brandenburg. Many patients travel several hours for a consultation. Long travel times are an important problem in the care of KTR¹⁴, especially for elderly and frail patients, and also for those who have to manage a family and are working. Other hurdles are travel costs, inconvenience, and loss of working hours¹⁵. Therefore, the Berlin kidney transplant center and local nephrologists (physicians in private practice) share the care after kidney transplantation, which raises the problem of missing or incomplete information during a consultation. To minimize information loss, automatic and safe exchange of key data is needed¹⁶. However, to date, data have been stored in different data silos with no interoperability. Today, data exchange relies on telephone, letters, fax, or e-mails with limited data protection and is highly dependent on individuals. Thus, loss of information and incomplete data are common problems, and automatic, secure data exchange according to European (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) remains a rare exception.

Several eHealth solutions have been suggested to support patients after transplantation to better utilize the potential of digitalization for the healthcare of this vulnerable patient group¹⁷. Early detection of complications allows early intervention by a telemedicine team, resulting in less severe complications, less hospitalizations, or a shorter length of hospital stay, as shown in other telemedicine projects^18,19,20,21. A high hospitalization rate is observed in the transplant population²². Approximately one-third of KTR are hospitalized annually with average costs of ~6,600 Euro per hospitalization. As a consequence, telemedicine-driven early interventions offer the opportunity to reduce hospitalizations and, by this means, reduce costs and improve QoL. One interesting target is to improve adherence, e.g., with the help of apps or telemedicine concepts. Due to the permanent availability of apps for smartphones, such apps can be included in interventions that aim to increase adherence. DeVito et al. demonstrated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that a user-centered app for lung transplant recipients with regular self-assessments, reminder function, remote vital sign monitoring, and an automatic decision support tool could improve adherence to therapy. But they did not observe significant differences regarding the 12-month hospitalization rate and mortality²³.

Schmid et al. conducted an RCT with a comprehensive telemedicine concept after kidney transplantation. They found a significantly higher adherence rate and a dramatic reduction in hospitalizations and costs^20,21. These results were confirmed by Lee et al. who reported significantly lower readmission rates within the first 90 days after liver transplantation than the standard of care with the use of additional telemedicine support through smart tablets¹⁹. Their telemedicine features consisted of using Bluetooth devices to remotely monitor vital signs, drug reminders, regular self-assessments, as well as access to educational sessions, text messaging and video conferencing tools. Better QoL, general health, and physical function were observed in patients in the telemedicine group. Adherence was excellent (86%) with respect to remote vital signs, but was only 45% for messaging or videoconferencing. However, not all studies could demonstrate positive effects of apps or eHealth solutions^17,19. Han et al. investigated an app with a medication reminder, intake documentation, and shared laboratory values, which also provided information about immunosuppressive therapy. They did not observe any significant difference in adherence between intervention and control groups in KTR, most likely due to high drop-out rates. In this RCT, only 47% used the app after 1 month²⁴.

The secure and interoperable MACCS platform for KTR was developed to address the limitations of current post-transplant care, namely the need for close monitoring, regular self-assessments, decreasing adherence, and loss of information between physicians. The platform enables patients to share vital signs, daily medication intake protocols, blood glucose, messages, and well-being with the transplant center via an app (see the Table of Materials). Well-being is captured by a simple question ("how are you feeling today?") and a 5-point Likert scale with different emojis (smileys) reflecting the current mood of the patient. In the transplant center, all data are stored directly in the electronic health record (EHR) called TBase²⁵. The EHR is tailored for the needs of transplanted patients, is used for regular post-transplant care, and automatically integrates all relevant data from the hospital, outpatient visits, and transplant-specific data such as donor data, ischemia times, and human leukocyte antigen mismatches. A telemedicine dashboard was implemented in the EHR for an easy review of incoming data by the telemedicine team.

The EHR is connected via a secure HL7 FHIR interface with an FHIR server (platform) outside the firewall of the transplant center, which transfers pseudonymized data from the transplant EHR (TBase) to the patient app. This allows the transplant center to send secure messages, laboratory data, and medication plans directly to the patient´s smartphone. Another important partner in the telemedicine project provides specialized software for local nephrologists and has a market share of ~65% in Germany (see the Table of Materials). The software connects to the HL7 FHIR server and allows direct communication between the transplant center and local nephrologists. The shared data include laboratory values, medical letters, test results, vital signs, and medication plans. With the use of an automatic data exchange, the platform aims to eliminate loss of information, as well as manual, incomplete, insecure, or late data transmission. By this means, workload is reduced, and time-consuming tasks and errors are eliminated to create significant efficiency gains. The platform also facilitates communication between physicians through an easy exchange of notes to prevent information gaps. Another advantage is the fact that data are transmitted directly into the software of the physicians to be used for daily routine. Thus, physicians only work with familiar software and do not need to use different software tools (Figure 1).

The concept of the project is GDPR-compliant, and all of the data are protected according to the highest European standards. Individual data are visible for approved medical personnel only. All information is encrypted and transferred according to HL7 FHIR standards. The patient can give and deny access rights to other physicians through the app and can cancel participation at any time. Data are transmitted only after written informed consent and after a complex onboarding process (digital inclusion process). It is important to mention that all services of the platform are offered as an additional service to patients, free of charge. Thus, patients can choose between regular care or regular care plus telemedicine services. The project started to enroll patients in February 2020, and the additional telemedicine services are supported by two large health insurance companies.

In summary, a comprehensive telemedicine platform for KTR was established. Initially, the German Federal Ministry of Economy and Energy (BMWi) funded the project as part of the open call "Smart Service World" to stimulate the growing number of smart services in healthcare. The basic concept is similar to other comprehensive telemedicine systems^{18,19,23,26,27}. Compared to most telemedicine concepts, the advantages of the platform include its interoperability through standardized HL7 FHIR interfaces and GDPR compliance. The platform has no specific hardware requirements. The apps are free of charge and allow straightforward and easy use. The possibility for an easy multi-channel communication with the telemedicine team might also increase the use of the app for home monitoring. Patients use their regular scale and blood pressure device at home, and no costly and complicated Bluetooth devices are needed. Another innovative feature of the platform is the direct involvement of local nephrologists. Patients are usually treated by a combination of tertiary kidney transplant centers and local nephrologists, who already know the patient from dialysis or predialysis times.

As patients frequently visit their local nephrologists, a comprehensive platform for KTR should also automatically incorporate the local nephrologists to prevent information gaps. Importantly, the platform also implements automatic safe data exchange and communication with local nephrologists, who can use their regular software and have a direct added benefit due to automatic data exchange with the transplant center. In contrast to similar eHealth solutions, the platform is fully integrated into the workflow of the transplant center and the local nephrologist. The platform also fully integrates the local nephrologist in the data exchange of key variables and provides extensive, safe, and easy communication tools for physicians and patients. The direct benefits for users should increase acceptance and reinforce regular use. Further improvements of the platform are under development, and after establishment of an advanced stable platform, a prospective RCT on KTR is planned to provide solid evidence for better outcomes and cost effectiveness.

Protocol

The protocol follows the current guidelines of the ethics and data protection committees at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and is in compliance with current EU GDPR. 1. Perspective of the telemedicine team Screening for patients NOTE: Key data of the project are provided in Table 1. Ask the nurse to screen incoming outpatients or patients on the ward for eligibility. Ask the telemedicine team (nurse and physician) to talk to patie…

Representative Results

In the first 5 months between February and July 2020, 172 KTR matched the inclusion criteria and were asked to participate (Table 1). Out of 172 participants, seven needed to borrow a smartphone (four did not own one, three needed a new one); all other patients owned a smartphone. The app does not need wireless access (Wi-Fi) as data can be transferred by mobile phone via regular telecommunication services, and 2/172 patients were equipped with a subscriber identity module (SIM) card for mobile data tran…

Discussion

A comprehensive telemedicine platform was created to improve the care of KTR. The platform was readily accepted by patients with excellent participation in sending vital signs from home. To develop the platform and to provide these services to patients, extensive software engineering was necessary. Critical steps included (a) constant software development with the involvement of all stakeholders from the beginning, and (b) a comprehensive data protection concept, which was achieved with the help of a specialized law firm…

Materials

comjoodoc EASY app	comjoo business solutions GmbH		Patient app for patients to share information with the transplant center
HL7 FHIR standard	Medworxs.io		Provider of MACCS API
FHIR server	Medworxs.io		Host of MACCS patform
NEPHRO7	MedVision AG		Electronic health record of home nephrologists
myTherapy	smartpatient GmbH		Patient app for medication intake and alternative transmission of vital signs and well being
TBase	Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin		Electronic health record of outpatient care center at Charité