With support from Allergan, the Aesthetic Society is developing a Patient App to facilitate two-way doctor-patient communication and acquire essential data related to breast implant patients. The app is meant to serve the needs of the entire spectrum of stakeholders including breast implant patients, surgeons and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Development of the app comes as a result of a March 2019 meeting of the FDA General and Plastic Surgery Devices Panel discussing the safety and risks of breast implants. The Panel heard from members of The Aesthetic Society, patient advocates and manufacturers. Findings emphasized that improved patient monitoring and collection of critical data are vital steps to keep patients informed so they better understand risks associated with breast implants.
The HIPAA-compliant Patient App will provide patient feedback via surveys as well as provide a digital safe that securely and permanently holds an electronic copy of the patient’s implant record and procedure summary. Other key features will include:
- Safety Alerts
- Messaging between patient and implanting physician
- Information sharing between patient, physician and regulators
- Surveys to collect safety and outcomes data after implant procedure
- Procedure information
- Pre and post-operative instructions
The Patient App is currently in development and will be available in 2020. For more information, visit www.surgery.org
Image: Pexels/ Porapak Apichodilok
