Two digital health companies have joined forces to expand access to telehealth services targeted specifically at diagnosing respiratory diseases.
ResApp Health (ASX: RAP) will integrate its acute respiratory diagnostic test ResAppDx-EU into Phenix Health's telehealth smartphone app.
The partnership is a significant step toward accelerating diagnosis and treatment of respiratory diseases considering users of Phenix Health's app no longer have to rely on additional hardware; diagnosis can occur entirely within a single telehealth session.
By using machine learning algorithms, ResAppDx-EU analyses patients' cough sounds to diagnose lower respiratory tract diseases such as pneumonia and asthma exacerbations.
Ultimately, the partnership will enable doctors to determine whether a patient should attend a hospital or clinic for additional care, thus conserving already strained healthcare resources.
With people around the world encouraged to remain at home as much as possible telehealth technology is becoming a vital tool to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, enabling sick patients to see a doctor at a distance, away from those most vulnerable in the broader community.
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According to CEO and founder of Phenix Health Dr Gillian Alexis the company's app is well positioned to provide a valuable service to the Australian community.
"Phenix provides video consultations to patients across Australia and, since the beginning of this crisis, we have seen a 30 per cent month-on-month increase in the number of consultations," says Alexis.
"Our virtual clinic can be accessed nationwide through HealthEngine or directly via our downloadable app, and for patients told to self-isolate for possible COVID-19, these consultations are reimbursable under the MBS scheme."
"Phenix knows that implementing a telehealth service for patients must go beyond the limits of consumer video chat platforms like Skype which is why we are working with ResApp to bring their advanced diagnostic tool to our platform."
Shares in ResApp are up 117.39 per cent to $0.15 per share at 3:11PM AEDT.
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