Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affect millions of people across the UK, yet many still experience delayed diagnosis, variable management and avoidable poor health outcomes.1,2 This is driven in part by continued reliance on dated and time‑consuming tools for diagnosis and management, placing unnecessary burden on clinicians and making it harder to deliver consistent, high‑quality care.
Technology can support earlier diagnosis, more effective patient reviews and improved long-term management of respiratory disease. Digital solutions offer an opportunity to modernise respiratory pathways, supporting more accurate diagnosis, streamlined reviews and better ongoing self‑management. This aligns with the NHS 10‑Year Health Plan’s ambition to shift from “analogue to digital” and create a more accessible, efficient health system.3,4
Exploring how technology can strengthen respiratory care - from diagnosis through to ongoing management - is a key step in improving outcomes for people living with asthma and COPD.
Discover how we’re using technology to improve asthma and COPD care below.
Digital Peak Flow Meter Assisted Asthma Care Clinic (DAACC)
Asthma remains a significant public health challenge in the UK, with mortality rates rising despite decades of clinical advances. Every day, four people in the UK die from asthma, while thousands more experience severe asthma attacks requiring hospital treatment each year.5
Blackpool has high levels of deprivation, being among the 20% most deprived areas in England, which can exacerbate asthma prevalence and outcomes. Factors such as low income, poor housing and reduced access to resources contribute to worse health outcomes, while life expectancy remains below the England average.6,7 Together, these factors highlight the need for targeted interventions to address problems such as asthma management in this community.
The Digital Peak Flow Meter Assisted Asthma Care Clinic (DAACC) was a collaborative working project between Chiesi and Bloomfield Medical Centre, exploring how digital tools could support personal asthma management in this setting. By using digital peak flow meters, patients could identify triggers, recognise early signs of worsening symptoms, and provide their healthcare professionals with data-driven insights into their lung function, enabling more personalised and effective care. The project demonstrated that patients reported improved understanding of their condition and greater involvement in shared decision‑making.
The DAACC project is now complete.
Read the DAACC output report
Please click here to read the executive summary of the project.
MISSION
Greater Manchester has high asthma and COPD prevalence and poor respiratory outcomes, with emergency hospital admissions due to these conditions 30% higher than the national average.8
MISSION (iMprovIng outcomeS in reSpIratory acrOss Greater MaNchester) is a collaborative working project between Chiesi and Health Innovation Manchester, launched to help address critical gaps in asthma and COPD care.
The project is introducing the clinically-validated LungHealth software in up to 150 GP practices across Greater Manchester over a two-year period. The software incorporates existing digital technology such as embedded algorithms aligned to national and international guidelines, alongside the patients’ medical records, to support computer-guided asthma and COPD annual reviews either remotely or face-to-face.
The MISSION project is currently under way.
Read more about the project by visiting the executive summary and check back regularly as we will update this section as further insights become available.
Please click here to read the executive summary of the project.
References
- Asthma + Lung UK. COPD in the UK: Delayed diagnosis and unequal care. 2022. Available at: https://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-03/delayed-diagnosis-unequal-care.pdf
- Royal College of Physicians. Why Asthma Still Kills: the National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD) Confidential Enquiry Report. London, RCP, 2014. Available at: https://www.rcp.ac.uk/media/i2jjkbmc/why-asthma-still-kills-full-report.pdf
- Chan AHY, Drummond D, Ramakrishnan S, et al. Digitally mapping the asthma journey—from diagnosis to remission. eClinicalMedicine. 2025;83:103204. Available at: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(25)00136-1/fulltext
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Digital technologies to support self-management of COPD: early value assessment. 2024 Dec. Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/htg736/chapter/2-The-technologies
- Asthma + Lung UK. “Asthma care is in crisis” - charity sounds the siren as asthma death toll rises | Asthma + Lung UK [Internet]. www.asthmaandlung.org.uk. 2024. Available from: https://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/media/press-releases/asthma-care-crisis-charity-sounds-siren-asthma-death-toll-rises
- Public Health England – Blackpool. Available at: https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/static-reports/health-profiles/2019/e06000009.html?area-name=blackpool
- Life Expectancy at Birth (1991-93 to 2018-20). Office for National Statistics (ONS), Life expectancy at birth (years). Data summarised on the JSNA Blackpool Joint Strategic Needs Assessment web page. Available at: https://www.blackpooljsna.org.uk/Blackpool-Profile/Life-Expectancy.aspx#:~:text=Life%20expectancy%20for%20men%20in,in%20the%20most%20deprived%20areas
- Respiratory disease data OHID. Available at: https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/respiratory-disease/data#page/3/gid/8000003/pat/221/par/E54000057/ati/66/are/E38000016/iid/93575/age/1/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1
UK-CHI-2600291 | July 2026