Doctors Testing App to Manage Chronic Pain

Relief may finally be near for tens of millions of Americans suffering from chronic pain.

Doctors at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Mass., are developing and testing a smartphone app they hope will help patients and clinicians better manage chronic pain, and consequently, help shrink the escalating medical costs associated with the condition.

Chronic pain affects roughly 100 million Americans and can stem from many causes: a long-healed injury, a surgical procedure, or numerous other conditions. A 2012 study in The Journal of Pain estimated that medical costs associated with the condition can reach up to $635 billion annually, making it many times more expensive to manage than other conditions that require long-term treatment, like diabetes or heart disease.

The Brigham app, designed with substantial input from the center’s doctors, is part of a broader trend that uses messaging features and data-tracking tools in smartphones to streamline communication between patients and physicians.

About 70 patients have been testing the “PMC 320” app, which is available in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, according to The Boston Globe. The patients have been using the app in combination with a Fitbit fitness tracker.

“We’re trying to figure out a way to give them support and keep them out of the hospital and prevent unnecessary testing,” Robert Jamison, professor of anesthesia and psychiatry at the Brigham and Harvard Medical School, told the Globe. “We really believe this will improve their ability to manage their condition which unfortunately we just can’t fix.”

So far, about three doctors at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and 12 at the Brigham are using the app with their patients, the newspaper reported.

At least once a day, these beta testers are prompted to answer questions about their pain levels, mood, activity levels and other health metrics. The Fitbit transmits information about steps walked and other activity indicators to the app.

There also is an in-built messaging feature that lets patients send questions to their providers on bad days. Patients then have the opportunity to talk through the event with their doctor using the app, the Globe noted. The hope is that these conversation will help alleviate their symptoms and anxiety. The goal is to avoid office visits, which might trigger expensive and typically unnecessary tests.

“If they’re not doing well and the pain’s increased, the app is a strategy for how to manage particular problems,” Jamison said.

Donny Soares, a 38-year-old Somerville, Mass., resident who underwent surgery for cancer that had metastasized to his lymph nodes in January, is among the first testers of the app. He’s been using the app for one month, and has found it helps his repeat visits. “When I see my palliative care doctor every couple of weeks, I’m able to open it up with her,” Soares told the Globe. “This just helps talk to her about what I need in terms of short-term pain management.”

Though he knew “there were good days and bad days,” Soares never thought to record his daily comfort level. The app has made it more convenient to do so, he said, and he now logs his pain levels two or three times daily and has been working with his doctor to determine whether his activity levels are related to his more painful episodes.

That is one of the associations Brigham’s Jamison is investigating as part of this initial rollout. Besides helping patients manage their condition, he hopes to be able to gather data about their mood and stress levels as well.

“It’s easier to swallow the pain that you’re having when you can put your finger on what it is,” Soares said. “And there’s really no price tag you can put on that.”