P.O.E.P. app

Personalized Obstipation Evaluation Program application

The P.O.E.P. app is a medical device that is currently part of scientific research (‘investigational device’). This allows the app to be installed only with a code.

Personalized Obstipation Evaluation Program

The app is part of the Personalized Obstipation Evaluation Program (P.O.E.P.).

This program has the following functions:

1. With the P.O.E.P. app, patients can keep track of their stools themselves. To do this, the patient makes a choice from one of the seven chair types in the Bristol Stool Scale that best suits their own stool. Each stool can be recorded in the app. This gives the patient an overview of his own stools over time.

2. When dispensing an opioid (or another drug with a risk of constipation), pharmacists and other health care providers can agree a period with the patient. If desired, the patient can request a follow-up consultation from the app.

A good time for a follow-up consultation with the providing healthcare provider is when the patient receives a notification from the app. This notification is issued by the app if the patient has registered bowel movements '1' or '2', or no bowel movements for two days in a row. For example, the app reminds the patient to enter a forgotten stool.

If there are signs of constipation, the app facilitates sending an email to the healthcare provider's email address to request a follow-up consultation.

3. The registrations of stools, any notifications and e-mail contact with care providers are anonymized and stored encrypted in the secure data environment of the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC). This data is used for scientific research. This research is necessary to determine the P.O.E.P. to register the app as a medical device in accordance with current legislation. For the storage of the data, the patient must give permission for this in the app. The patient can also use the app for the first two functions without this permission.