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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, A pr il 30 ,2 02 0 | 12 A STANDING OVATION Please stay safe! Your friends at globeproductions.ca …for our essential workers! COVID-19 LOCAL IMPACTS For Town-related COVID-19 updates: haltonhills.ca/covid19 For public health-related information: halton.ca/COVID Virtual Town Halls every Thursday at 4 p.m. Live links on haltonhills.ca Kristy Dickinson, the Burlington woman who de- veloped an app to help chronically ill patients manage their medical in- formation, has enhanced Chronically Simple for vul- nerable patients in this time of COVID-19. "We recognized the need to react to the spread of COVID-19 by pivoting and refining our latest version of the app to ac- commodate virtual care, which is becoming a real- ity for the millions of pa- tients living with and managing their illnesses daily," said Dickinson, who battles Ehlers-Dan- los Syndrome. The latest version of the application includes a com- prehensive symptom tracker for temperature, pain, fatigue, cognitive ability and nausea, as well as medication dosage and prescription tracking, which are all key factors in managing a chronically ill patient's progress and treatment, according to a press release accompany- ing the new health-care app's launch. This is how the app, which is being offered at this time for free to first- time users, works: SYMPTOM TRACKING Chronically Simple us- ers can log how they are feeling, what -- if any -- side effects they are experi- encing and how their medi- cation regimen is chang- ing. This is critical for chronic or rare disease pa- tients who, after experienc- ing improved symptoms, may be tempted to discon- tinue treatment, particu- larly if their treatment is complex or difficult (e.g., self-injectable therapies or infusions). FEVER TRACKER As a new function avail- able within the symptom tracking feature created specifically in response to COVID-19, Chronically Simple now allows users to track their temperature. By offering an at-home monitoring tool to record body temperature, a pa- tient's care team will be po- sitioned to act quickly and concisely if the symptom begins to signal an emerg- ing problem. PHARMACY MATCHING Building on its existing functionality, Chronically Simple now allows users to not only add prescriber and script information, but also pharmacy informa- tion, which is incredibly critical during a time where treatments are man- aged virtually. This new feature is particularly helpful for patients or care- givers who manage com- plex therapy regimens and are regularly engaging with multiple physicians, specialists and pharma- cies. The app also offers ap- pointment reminders, so users can review their pre- scription notes before visit- ing their doctor. MEDICATION TRACKER As an update to the cur- rent medication tracker functionality, the solution now accommodates medi- cation that is taken with varying dosages and at dif- ferent intervals. Patients and caregivers can access Chronically Simple's free trial at chron- icallysimple.com or by downloading the app through the App Store or Google Play. NEWS HEALTH-CARE APP ENHANCED TO ACCOMMODATE VIRTUAL CARE NEW FEATURE HELPS #KEEPSENIORSSAFE Kristy Dickinson