Purdue Pharma and Geisinger launch wearable tech study of chronic pain patients

Purdue Pharma and integrated health company Geisinger Health Systems said today they launched a joint study looking to evaluate the effect of wearable health tech on treating patients with chronic pain.

Through the study, the companies hope to explore the use of wearable health tech by chronic pain patients at a specialty clinic and evaluate how the tech improves patient and healthcare outcomes, Stamford, Conn.-based Purdue Pharma said.

The prospective, non-randomized, non-blinded 12-month trial aims to enroll 240 multidisciplinary pain-program patients being treated by Geisinger and includes a wearable device designed to guide patients towards non-pharmaceutical treatments including stretching, mindfulness and thermotherapy, the company said.

“The goal of this technology is to improve patient function and quality of life while reducing the need for analgesic medications. It provides objective measures of numerous aspects of pain, function and treatment effectiveness so that information can be gathered for the patient and the healthcare provider in between visits. We are pleased to partner with Geisinger on this important initiative and believe real-time data may have the potential to support an improved understanding of chronic pain patients’ experiences and needs,” Purdue Pharma medial affairs strategic research head Dr. Tracy Mayne said in a press release.

Wearable tech undergoing analysis will include an Apple Watch designed to measure physical activity, patient-reported pain, disability, sleep quality, depression, medication use and heart rate. The pain-rating app is being developed specifically for the study, and will include a healthcare provider dashboard and integrate with Geisinger’s electronic medical records.

The study aims to assess whether the addition of the wearable health therapy has an impact on pain scores, medical depression scores and pain medication reductions for multidisciplinary pain program patients. Secondary endpoints include change in physical function and disability overtime, Purdue Pharma said.

“We are incorporating advanced technology into the traditional healthcare setting to redirect and empower the patient to take more control of their own well-being. The proposed multi-level integrated platform will facilitate and accelerate the speed of communication between the patient and healthcare providers, thereby allowing quicker patient access to appropriate care. Furthermore, it is hoped providing more education as well as alternative, non-opioid treatment options and coaching to promote a long-term sustainable healthy lifestyle will improve patient function and quality of life,” Geisinger pain medicine dept. director Dr. John Han said in a prepared statement.

A secondary trial will look to analyze whether patients in the program experience statistically significant improvements over time to their sleep hours, activity level and daily pain scores after undergoing wearable health therapy, Purdue said.

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