Ampersand Health CEO Nader Alaghband says AI assistants could reduce acute flare-ups by reducing ‘hidden’ cognitive load for patients with long-term conditions
The ‘next generation’ of digital health must focus on providing practical support to patients with long term conditions to improve their quality of life rather than just gathering data on the assumption it will “automatically lead to better outcomes”, according to a Hale House health innovation leader working with the NHS.
In Ampersand’s latest blog article , Alaghband says “clinical success is still too often defined by what happens in the clinic rather than what happens in people’s lives.“
Patients with IBD who feel unable to “work normally, socialise confidently or plan ahead” are told their disease is “well controlled” which leads to a feeling that the impact of the condition on quality of life is “under-measured” and “under-valued,” he writes.
This means that “early signals of poor [disease] control” remain “largely invisible” to clinicians, and often leads to “avoidable flares, treatment escalation and hospital use,” he continues.
Ampersand currently offers digital health therapeutic support to NHS patients with long term inflammatory conditions.
“We have seen repeatedly that reducing the frequency of IBD flares is not solely pharmacological,” he argues. “It is behavioural, longitudinal, and deeply personal.”
“The challenge is not a lack of data, but a lack of support to interpret change, reduce uncertainty, and act earlier with confidence, “says Alaghband.
There are more than half a million patients living with a form of IBD in the UK, according to government figures, which includes those diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
There has been a reduction in diagnosis and treatment of the condition in recent years due to increased pressure on elective care and surgery since the Covid pandemic, according to NHS England.
In its latest state of the nation report, published last year, the national patient advocacy charity IBD UK called for the NHS to commission “structured self-management programmes focused on wellbeing support” after it found more than half of people with the condition are “not asked about wider health goals.”
Alaghband argues that “this is where the next generation of digital health needs to focus”.
“The role of technology is not surveillance, and it is not simply automation.”
“It’s real value lies in reducing cognitive burden, helping people make sense of what they are experiencing, and supporting better conversations and decisions over time.”
