Abstract
BackgroundWith an aging population and the escalating cost of care, telemedicine has become a societal imperative. Telemedicine alternatives are especially relevant to patients seeking care for sleep apnea, with its prevalence approaching one billion cases worldwide. Increasing awareness has led to a surge in demand for sleep apnea care; however, there is a shortage of the resources and expertise necessary to cater to the rising demand.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to design, develop, and evaluate a telemedicine platform, called Ognomy, for the consultation, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with sleep apnea.MethodsUsing the design science research methodology, we developed a telemedicine platform for patients with sleep apnea. To explore the problem, in the analysis phase, we conducted two brainstorming workshops and structured interviews with 6 subject matter experts to gather requirements. Following that, we conducted three design and architectural review sessions to define and evaluate the system architecture. Subsequently, we conducted 14 formative usability assessments to improve the user interface of the system. In addition, 3 trained test engineers performed end-to-end system testing to comprehensively evaluate the platform.ResultsPatient registration and data collection, physician appointments, video consultation, and patient progress tracking have emerged as critical functional requirements. A telemedicine platform comprising four artifacts—a mobile app for patients, a web app for providers, a dashboard for reporting, and an artificial intelligence–based chatbot for customer onboarding and support—was developed to meet these requirements. Design reviews emphasized the need for a highly cohesive but loosely coupled interaction among the platform’s components, which was achieved through a layered modular architecture using third-party application programming interfaces. In contrast, critical findings from formative usability assessments focused on the need for a more straightforward onboarding process for patients, better status indicators during patient registration, and reorganization of the appointment calendar. Feedback from the design reviews and usability assessments was translated into technical improvements and design enhancements that were implemented in subsequent iterations.ConclusionsSleep apnea is an underdiagnosed and undertreated condition. However, with increasing awareness, the demand for quality sleep apnea care is likely to surge, and creative alternatives are needed. The results of this study demonstrate the successful application of a framework using a design science research paradigm to design, develop, and evaluate a telemedicine platform for patients with sleep apnea and their providers.
Highlights
BackgroundThe National Sleep Foundation defines obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as a chronic condition characterized by involuntary breathing cessation while the patient is asleep
Feedback from the design reviews and usability assessments was translated into technical improvements and design enhancements that were implemented in subsequent iterations
The crux of the problem was the large volume of information, including personal information, medical information, insurance information, and payment information, that patients had to furnish before setting up an appointment with a physician
Summary
BackgroundThe National Sleep Foundation defines obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as a chronic condition characterized by involuntary breathing cessation while the patient is asleep. The diagnosis and treatment of OSA are challenging from an operational perspective because of the limited number of sleep clinics [5]. To compound this problem, there is an acute shortage of clinical expertise for delivering these services, with the ratio of general population to certified sleep specialists being as high as 43,000:1 [6]. Telemedicine alternatives are especially relevant to patients seeking care for sleep apnea, with its prevalence approaching one billion cases worldwide. Increasing awareness has led to a surge in demand for sleep apnea care; there is a shortage of the resources and expertise necessary to cater to the rising demand
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