mAIcare: AI for Self-Management of Chronic Illness

长期疾病占英国医疗总支出的70%，在美国高达90%。随着人口迅速老龄化，成本势必会上升。除非改变管理长期疾病的方式，否则医疗保健将变得更难获得，成本也会更高。一个解决方案可能是自我管理，患者或他们的护理人员识别症状并学习如何迅速采取行动。我们将开发一种创新的方法，使用智能算法帮助患者更好地自我管理。首先，我们将重点关注慢性阻塞性肺疾病(COPD)--一种进行性肺部疾病，是全球第三大死亡原因。在许多国家，COPD已经超过慢性心脏病，成为住院的主要原因。大约30%的COPD患者入院后在180天内死亡，约50%的患者在两年内死亡。慢性阻塞性肺病导致的死亡人数超过第二大致死性癌症，它导致英国女性死亡的人数与最致命的癌症一样多。虽然其他主要原因的死亡率正在下降，但慢性阻塞性肺病的死亡率正在上升。对一个COPD患者有效的警告标志和自我管理计划可能对其他人无效，现在人们普遍认识到，COPD的自我管理需要对每个患者进行个性化的持续过程，才能取得成功。不幸的是，初级保健提供者经常超负荷工作，没有足够的时间和资源来提供量身定制的持续支持，这将自我管理方案减少为一次性的、一刀切的“东西”给病人。我们的项目将开发人工智能(AI)，以适应患者并帮助他们更好地自我管理。患者将能够全天候接收关于他们自我管理技术的算法反馈，而不必去医院或等待预约。如果医疗专业人员收到来自算法的警告，他们将能够对自我管理计划进行调整。该项目的一部分将帮助COPD患者应对焦虑。我们的方法将使公民能够控制疾病，并鼓励他们参与临床医生批准的基于证据的风险规避策略。这可能会改善患者的预后，并使医疗保健更可持续。如果我们的方法成功，它可以扩展到许多其他长期疾病。

Long-term conditions account for 70% of total medical spending in the UK, and up to 90% in the US. The costs are set to rise as the population is ageing rapidly. Unless there is a change in how long-term conditions are managed, healthcare will become less accessible and more expensive. A solution to this may be self-management, where patients or their carers recognise symptoms and learn how to act on them promptly. We will develop an innovative approach that uses intelligent algorithms to help patients to self-manage better. Initially, we will focus on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) - a progressive lung disease and the third leading cause of death worldwide. In many countries, COPD has already surpassed chronic heart disease as the main cause of hospital admissions. About 30% of patients discharged after a hospital admission for COPD die within 180 days, and about 50% die within two years. COPD kills more people than the second deadliest cancer, and it kills as many UK women as the deadliest cancer. And while death rates from other major causes are declining, COPD is on the rise. Warning signs and self-management plans that work for one person with COPD may not work for others, and it is now widely recognized that self-management of COPD needs to be an ongoing process individualised to each patient in order to be successful. Unfortunately, primary care providers are often overworked and have insufficient time and resources to provide tailored continual support, which reduces self-management programmes to one-off one-size-fits-all "things" given to patients. Our project will develop artificial intelligence (AI) that will adapt to patients and help them to self-manage better. Patients will be able to receive algorithmic feedback on their self-management techniques 24/7, without having to go to hospital or wait for appointments. Healthcare professionals will be able to make adjustments to self-management plans if they receive warnings from algorithms. A part of the project will help COPD patients to cope with anxiety. Our approach will put citizens in control of the illness, and encourage them to engage in evidence-based risk avoidance strategies approved by clinicians. This may both improve patient outcomes and make healthcare more sustainable. If our approach is successful, it can be extended to many other long-term diseases.