Doctors Launch Online System for Kids with Cystic Fibrosis

Children with cystic fibrosis face a lifetime of disease management. The challenge of following this daily grind has led researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford to study whether an online disease management system can help keep such children healthier.

The Web site allows teenagers (on their own) and younger children (with their parents' help) to track their growth, keep a nutrition diary, set goals for healthy changes and access monthly "tips." They can also send secure messages to physicians and nurses at the hospital's cystic fibrosis clinic and experience "virtual office visits" by responding to online questionnaires.

The research is the first to study the use of an online tool to manage cystic fibrosis. Similar systems have proven successful in improving the health of adults with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and AIDS. And the same Stanford research team has used telemedicine to manage asthma in children.

Source: “Stanford and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Doctors Launch Online System for Kids with Cystic Fibrosis” 15 November 2004.
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