Patients will be able to monitor health parameters using a mobile phone application.
A total of 50 citizens will be part of the community health program with which the City Council intends, in a first phase, to promote the monitoring of hypertensive patients through a computer application that will monitor parameters such as blood pressure, weight, heart rate.
With a public presentation scheduled for next Monday, the program provides for the availability of a computer application, “Polis – Healthy Smart Cities”, in which users will have a greater ability to individually manage their chronic health condition. .
It is an application, available on IOS and Android, compatible with any mobile phone, in which patients, in a preventive logic, have access to the evolution of their health markers, such as blood pressure, weight, heart rate.
The application collects all the information and sends it to the clinical team of the health program. When inappropriate clinical parameters are recorded, the patient is alerted to the need to consult a medical professional.
According to the municipality, the application also allows the user to have various contents such as chronic disease management, nutrition tips and physical exercise.
“With the implementation of this program, Santa Maria da Feira becomes a national pioneer in a health system of preventive medicine. In this way, we will help to prevent many users from rushing to the SNS, clogging up emergencies and aggravating the chaos that is already a reality in many hospital units”, said Emídio Sousa, president of Feira’s City Council.
The mayor also mentions that the aging of the population in Portugal and the evolution of chronic diseases, “require joint work between health professionals and the local government”.
“We are taking the lead and leading a process that will increase the quality of life of older people, who will enjoy more years without limitations due to illness”, he said.
Saying he is “committed” to “leading a strategy for the promotion of healthy people and lifestyles”, he promises to “work with health authorities in order to know the burden of disease associated with the main chronic pathologies and monitor the evolution of the burden disease over the next few years”.
Ana Luís Pereira, physician and CEO of the company HSC – Healthy Smart Cities, the entity responsible for the IT application, adds that “this application aims to promote health and manage disease in self-care and was developed from the base to be a community project ( …) that seeks to be as less invasive as possible, respecting the privacy of each patient”.
This application marks the first phase of the community health project that the municipality of Feira intends to extend to more citizens and to other possible areas of health.
of the oldest
Portugal is one of the oldest countries in Europe and one of the worst records at the OECD level, in terms of years of quality life (free from limitations due to illness) after the age of 65.
Mortality associated with the prevalence of chronic diseases and cancer registers the highest values among European countries, as well as the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases. 50% of the population over 65 years old has at least one chronic disease and 17%, at least two.
The causes of these pathologies result largely from behaviors throughout life. In Portugal, around 57.8% of Portuguese aged between 25 and 74 have at least one chronic disease, with hypertension being the most frequent. Many patients are still undiagnosed and many have difficulty controlling their pathologies.
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