Preface
Peter M.A. Calverley
We live in a digital age. For some of us, this is still something of a
shock, given the speed and scope of change in the last 20 years.
We carry powerful computers called smartphones in our pockets,
ask smartspeakers about the weather and bank online rather than
queuing up in person. It is not surprising that these changes have
affected respiratory medical practice. We no longer carry bundles of
heavy X-ray films with us or write prescriptions by hand on a
paper chart. It is now possible to consult remotely with our
patients, deliver care at a distance and electronically encourage
treatment adherence. Yet each of these promising developments
carries the risk of disenfranchising some of our most disadvantaged
patients and diminishing the human interactions that have such
therapeutic power in medicine.
What we need is an authoritative, up-to-date and balanced account
of how the new field of digital respiratory health is developing.
This is exactly what Hilary Pinnock, Vitalii Poberezhets and David
Drummond have given us in this superb new issue of our
Monograph. By combining reviews of general principles with
specific examples, their contributors show us both the potential and
the challenges of this exciting field. Digital medicine is moving
from being a technology in search of a problem, to providing novel
solutions to the challenges of expanding healthcare need. This issue
is an essential guide to this new world, and it will repay your
careful study.
Disclosures: P.M.A. Calverley reports receiving grants, personal fees and
non-financial support from pharmaceutical companies that make medicines to
treat respiratory disease. This includes reimbursement for educational activities
and advisory work, and support to attend meetings.
Copyright ©ERS 2023. Print ISBN: 978-1-84984-172-6. Online ISBN: 978-1-84984-173-3. Print ISSN: 2312-508X. Online
ISSN: 2312-5098.
https://doi.org/10.1183/2312508X.10017023 v
Peter M.A. Calverley
We live in a digital age. For some of us, this is still something of a
shock, given the speed and scope of change in the last 20 years.
We carry powerful computers called smartphones in our pockets,
ask smartspeakers about the weather and bank online rather than
queuing up in person. It is not surprising that these changes have
affected respiratory medical practice. We no longer carry bundles of
heavy X-ray films with us or write prescriptions by hand on a
paper chart. It is now possible to consult remotely with our
patients, deliver care at a distance and electronically encourage
treatment adherence. Yet each of these promising developments
carries the risk of disenfranchising some of our most disadvantaged
patients and diminishing the human interactions that have such
therapeutic power in medicine.
What we need is an authoritative, up-to-date and balanced account
of how the new field of digital respiratory health is developing.
This is exactly what Hilary Pinnock, Vitalii Poberezhets and David
Drummond have given us in this superb new issue of our
Monograph. By combining reviews of general principles with
specific examples, their contributors show us both the potential and
the challenges of this exciting field. Digital medicine is moving
from being a technology in search of a problem, to providing novel
solutions to the challenges of expanding healthcare need. This issue
is an essential guide to this new world, and it will repay your
careful study.
Disclosures: P.M.A. Calverley reports receiving grants, personal fees and
non-financial support from pharmaceutical companies that make medicines to
treat respiratory disease. This includes reimbursement for educational activities
and advisory work, and support to attend meetings.
Copyright ©ERS 2023. Print ISBN: 978-1-84984-172-6. Online ISBN: 978-1-84984-173-3. Print ISSN: 2312-508X. Online
ISSN: 2312-5098.
https://doi.org/10.1183/2312508X.10017023 v