Despite dramatic advances in medication effectiveness, many people with asthma experience episodes of uncontrolled disease, causing them to be at greater risk for acute exacerbations. Historically health care providers have had inadequate tools to understand the severity of a patient's asthma, limiting their ability to predict and prevent serious and costly asthma attacks. To address this problem Asthmapolis developed GPS sensors that record exactly when and where patients use their inhalers and a digital interface to display the information captured. The patient-level data may then help physicians make more informed clinical interventions and help patients track and manage their condition. 

With the support of the California HealthCare Foundation, Asthmapolis has begun a pilot with Woodland HealthCare, a member of Catholic HealthCare West, to determine if the data collected by sensors and presented to physicians and patients results in actions that improve asthma control. This study is being conducted with English- and Spanish-speaking subjects and will include underserved patients in the Sacramento area.

CHCF invested in Asthmapolis because we see the potential for patients to benefit from technology that provides tailored information, allowing them to better understand and manage asthma, which will hopefully lead to fewer serious and costly episodes.