Benefits of the Propeller Platform
Since day one, Propeller has insisted on outcomes.
The effectiveness of Propeller has been demonstrated across diverse geographies, settings and patient populations.
See our peer-reviewed research
60+
clinical studies
4500+
study participants
40+
peer reviewed studies
Outcomes for Patients with Asthma
Improved Medication Adherence
Propeller provides consistently higher levels of medication adherence. Improved medication adherence may lead to a reduced risk of asthma exacerbations.1
Over six months, patients using Propeller had 58% higher adherence than those in the control group.2
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Study design
Randomized controlled trial
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Participants
125 adults with asthma
Based on objectively collected sensor data, controller-to-total medication ratio improved from 0.66 to 0.82, reflecting a shift towards higher adherence.3
Study design
Pre-post quality improvement program
Participants
224 patients with asthma
Reduced Rescue Inhaler Usage
Propeller has demonstrated reductions in rescue inhaler use in a number of studies and populations. Reductions in rescue inhaler use can be associated with better asthma control, more days without symptoms and a better quality of life.
In a clinical setting, mean daily rescue inhaler use was reduced by 84% over 12 months.4
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Study design
Randomized controlled trial
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Participants
495 adults and children with asthma
Propeller users experienced a 78% reduction in rescue inhaler use over 12 months.5
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Study design
Population based observational study
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Participants
497 adults and children with asthma
Return on Investment
Research shows that uncontrolled asthma is expensive for patients, employers, payers and clinicians.6
$1,349per patient
Estimated annual excess direct costs associated with uncontrolled asthma
12.7%
Amount of work time lost compared with a person with controlled asthma
6.6 weeks
Lost productivity during a year
72% of participants using Propeller achieved asthma control (as defined by the Asthma Control TestTM 7) including 63% of adults who were initially uncontrolled.4
Study design
Randomized controlled trial
Participants
495 adults and children with asthma
Reduced Healthcare Utilization
As Propeller users improve their medication adherence and asthma control, they may experience fewer hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits resulting in reduced healthcare costs.
Over 12 months, ED visits were reduced by 53% and ED visits and hospitalizations were reduced by 57%.3
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Study design
Pre-post quality improvement program
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Participants
224 children and adults with asthma
Outcomes for Patients with COPD
Reduced Rescue Inhaler Usage
Reductions in rescue inhaler use may indicate more days without symptoms and a better quality of life.
At 12 months of use, Propeller users saw8:
absolute improvement in rescue inhaler-free days
reduction in mean rescue inhaler puffs per day
reduction in nighttime rescue inhaler use
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Study design
Quality improvement program
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Participants
190 Medicare-eligible adults with COPD
Identification of COPD Patients at High Risk
Data from the Propeller platform may help identify patients at greater risk of a COPD exacerbation, allowing clinicians to intervene to prevent a hospitalization or ED visit.
Over three months, 48 exacerbation events were observed in 29 participants. During these moderate-to-severe exacerbation days, average daily rescue use increased by 14.1%. A doubling in rescue inhaler use was associated with 54% increased odds of a moderate-to severe exacerbation. In another analysis, rescue inhaler overuse was associated with greater disease severity and more dyspnea.9,10
Study design
Prospective cohort study
Participants
35 patients with moderate-to-severe COPD
Reduced Healthcare Utilization
In 2010, the cost of COPD in the USA was approximately $50 billion. This included $20 billion in indirect costs and $30 billion in direct health care expenditures, with hospital stays accounting for the majority of these costs.11
In conjunction with disease management, COPD-related healthcare utilization was reduced by 35%.12
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Study design
Pre-post quality improvement study
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Participants
39 patients with COPD who had at least one healthcare utilization (ED visit or hospitalization) in the past 12 months
Patient Satisfaction
Patients with asthma and COPD expressed high levels of satisfaction with the Propeller experience.
Upon completion of a randomized controlled study of adults and children with asthma, 89 participants who received the intervention completed a satisfaction survey.
Of these 89 participants, 79% reported being very satisfied with the inhaler sensor device, while 20% reported being somewhat satisfied.13
In addition, 93% expressed satisfaction with the reports, 90% found the information from the reports useful for learning about their asthma and 72% reported that they were interested in continuing to use the sensor and platform beyond the study.13
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In a retrospective study of participants with COPD, 84% (16/19) reported being highly satisfied or satisfied with the inhaler sensor device and monitoring.12
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In a 3-month prospective study of participants with moderate-to-severe COPD, 74% (23/31) of participants reported satisfaction with the inhaler sensor device.9
Contact Us
If you have a proposal for research collaboration, email [email protected].
If you'd like to learn more about Propeller for your patients or members, complete the form below.
1 Delea, T. E., Stanford, R. H., Hagiwara, M., & Stempel, D. A. (2008). Association between adherence with fixed dose combination fluticasone propionate/salmeterol on asthma outcomes and costs. Current medical research and opinion, 24(12), 3435-3442.
2 Van Sickle, D., Barrett, M., Humblet, O., Henderson, K., & Hogg, C. (2016). Randomized, controlled study of the impact of a mobile health tool on asthma SABA use, control and adherence.
3 Merchant, R., Szefler, S. J., Bender, B. G., Tuffli, M., Barrett, M. A., Gondalia, R., ... & Stempel, D. A. (2018). Impact of a digital health intervention on asthma resource utilization. World Allergy Organization Journal, 11(1), 1-4.
4 Merchant, R. K., Inamdar, R., & Quade, R. C. (2016). Effectiveness of population health management using the propeller health asthma platform: a randomized clinical trial. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, 4(3), 455-463.
5 Barrett, M., Combs, V., Su, J. G., Henderson, K., Tuffli, M., & AIR Louisville Collaborative. (2018). AIR Louisville: addressing asthma with technology, crowdsourcing, cross-sector collaboration, and policy. Health Affairs, 37(4), 525-534.
6 Yaghoubi, M., Adibi, A., Safari, A., FitzGerald, J. M., & Sadatsafavi, M. (2019). The projected economic and health burden of uncontrolled asthma in the United States. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine, 200(9), 1102-1112.
7 The Asthma Control TestTM (ACTTM) is a five-question patient survey used to measure asthma control. The survey measures the elements of asthma control as defined by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
8 Chen, J., Kaye, L., Tuffli, M., Barrett, M. A., Jones-Ford, S., Shenouda, T., ... & Stempel, D. A. (2019). Passive monitoring of short-acting beta-agonist use via digital platform in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: quality improvement retrospective analysis. JMIR formative research, 3(4), e13286.
9 Sumino, K., Locke, E. R., Magzamen, S., Gylys-Colwell, I., Humblet, O., Nguyen, H. Q., ... & Fan, V. S. (2018). Use of a remote inhaler monitoring device to measure change in inhaler use with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations. Journal of aerosol medicine and pulmonary drug delivery, 31(3), 191-198.
10 Fan, V. S., Gylys-Colwell, I., Locke, E., Sumino, K., Nguyen, H. Q., Thomas, R. M., & Magzamen, S. (2016). Overuse of short-acting beta-agonist bronchodilators in COPD during periods of clinical stability. Respiratory Medicine, 116, 100-106.
11 Guarascio, A. J., Ray, S. M., Finch, C. K., & Self, T. H. (2013). The clinical and economic burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the USA. ClinicoEconomics and outcomes research: CEOR, 5, 235.
12 Alshabani, K., Attaway, A. A., Smith, M. J., Majumdar, U., Rice, R., Han, X., ... & Hatipoğlu, U. (2019). Electronic inhaler monitoring and healthcare utilization in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 1357633X19850404.
13 Merchant, R., Inamdar, R., Henderson, K., Barrett, M., Su, J. G., Riley, J., ... & Stempel, D. (2018). Digital health intervention for asthma: patient-reported value and usability. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 6(6), e133.