Beyond the Inhaler: Why the Future of COPD Care is Digital, Continuous, and Predictive
September 25th, 2025
Inhalers: life-saving, but not enough
For decades, inhalers have been the cornerstone of COPD care. They improve symptoms and prolong life. But adherence is low — often less than 50% — and monitoring is sporadic. Patients are frequently left unobserved for long stretches, during which their health can deteriorate silently. Too often, the first sign of trouble is an ambulance ride.
"COPD is underdiagnosed, misdiagnosed, and too often recognised only after a hospital admission."
Delayed diagnosis, fragmented care
Millions of people live with COPD for years without a confirmed diagnosis. Even after diagnosis, care remains fragmented. Spirometry offers only intermittent snapshots, missing the subtle signals that precede exacerbations. Patients live with fear, clinicians lack continuous data, and health systems carry the cost.
NHS and pharma pressures
• NHS and payers: COPD is one of the most common causes of emergency hospitalisation. Each exacerbation drives cost and readmission risk, consuming billions annually.
• Pharma and medtech: Drug development is becoming more expensive. Regulators and payers require real-world evidence to justify the value of treatments. Differentiation demands richer, continuous datasets.
electronRx: laying the groundwork
At electronRx, we are building towards a new paradigm: digital, continuous, predictive COPD care. Our smartphone-based spirometry studies demonstrate that daily changes in lung function can be accurately tracked. Feeding this into AI-driven models enables early warning of declining lung function, shifting care from reactive to proactive.
"The proof of concept is secured, and scaling is underway."
Why this matters
• For patients: Reassurance that their health is continuously monitored and early support is within reach.
• For the NHS and payers: Fewer hospitalisations, lower costs, and alignment with value-based care.
• For pharma and medtech: Adaptive trials, faster evidence generation, and stronger negotiation power with regulators and payers.
Where we are
We are still in the pilot research stage. Clinical adoption will follow, with a clear pathway. Within 18 months, we aim to expand validation and move towards broader integration.
An invitation
The burden is colossal, but so is the opportunity. With seven billion smartphones, the infrastructure for change already exists. We invite pharma, medtech, and payers to partner with us to make COPD care digital, continuous, and predictive.
Download electronRx's ERS 2025 poster here.
