Phone App Cuts Cancer Patients' Pain, Related Hospital... : Oncology Times

SAN DIEGO--A novel smartphone app that uses artificial intelligence (AI)-based algorithms significantly reduced pain and pain-related hospital admissions in a group of patients with various metastatic, solid-organ cancers, according to results from a randomized clinical trial reported at the 2018 Palliative and Supportive Care in Oncology Symposium sponsored by ASCO (Abstract 76). The ePAL is a smartphone app that regularly monitors pain and uses AI to differentiate urgent from non-urgent issues in real time. It also collects and assesses patient-reported pain severity three times each day while providing daily tips on pain-reduction strategies. It is one of the first apps to utilize both patient-reported outcomes and AI clinical algorithms, according to the researchers. The app was developed and tested in 56 pain patients and a matched group of 56 control patients who received regular pain management care by investigators at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center, the hospital's Division of Palliative Care, and Partners HealthCare Pivot Labs, which is a new center of excellence that focuses on human-centered preventive care and chronic pain management.