Evaluation of an online system for health, called Healthy.me, in patients with asthma

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The aim of this project is to assess the efficacy of an online system designed for patients and health care consumers, called Healthy.me, to support health management. Healthy.me provides patients and consumer condition specific information, as well as online tools to manage their care including a personal health record. Our primary hypothesis is that use of Healthy.me for patients with asthma will increase possession and uptake of a written asthma action plan. This randomized controlled trial will also specifically test whether system use is associated with the following secondary outcome measures: i) significant improvement in asthma control, ii) increased compliance according to written asthma action plan, iii) reduced unplanned utilization of health services, iv) reduced frequency of exacerbations, and iv) improved quality of life over 12 months. Patients and consumers are increasingly using online systems to make health decisions and manage their health but we still know little about their patterns of use and impact. This study will make a specific and significant contribution to our understanding of the effectiveness of online systems for patients and healthcare consumers.