PCRS Position Statement - Respiratory Data and Digital Care

PCRS welcomes the opportunity that digital respiratory healthcare and the collection and analysis of respiratory data could bring. However, new technology for use in primary care must be interoperable with current patient consultation and management systems, should not be mandated for patients and should be an option as part of shared decision making. New respiratory digital health interventions must, as well as being clinically and cost effective also preferentially attend to the factors that currently maintain respiratory health inequality. As with prescribing medicines, any HCP advising patient use of digital technology should check its provenance and current status first and expect this information to be easily available from the commissioning authority they work within. New technology initiatives must come with formative and continuous training for HCPs, patients and carers. New technology should not be introduced until all primary care sites have access to standard digital healthcare resources e.g. spirometry and FeNO that is appropriate for infants, CYP and all adults.