Severe back pain can be wearisome and unpleasant. The conventional treatment route combines physiotherapy, physical exercise and medication. But patients often stop the treatment prematurely because treatment processes are inadequately organized and the patients are poorly informed – they do not know precisely what they are expected to do. This is where the AMME information system can help. “Through AMME, we can provide patients undergoing long-term intensive therapy with information about correct behavior and thus contribute toward a durably successful outcome,” says Britta Schmitz of the Fraunhofer-Institute for Software and Systems Engineering ISST. “This optimizes processes and improves communication between patients and medical staff.” The researchers have developed a version of the information platform for back patients of the health insurance company, BIG, and will be presenting it in public for the first time at CeBIT.

AMME stands for “ambient medicine”. This means the system can adapt intelligently to each stage of the patient’s prescribed treatment. AMME was developed on the basis of innovative IT technologies. The platform consists of three parts: docAMME is employed by the physician, myAMME and homeAMME by the patient. Treatment processes can be modeled by the physician on the docAMME portal. Any changes made by the physician, such as a rescheduled appointment, can be communicated to the patient via myAMME and homeAMME. Important communication regarding treatment is also sent directly to the patients, for example, with the instruction, “Please be aware that you should attend this appointment without eating beforehand.” The guaranteed quality of the information supply strengthens the bond between the physician and the patient. For the patient, the mobile assistant system “myAMME” provides more security, transparency and individual responsibility. myAMME can transmit personalized advice and information from the health insurance company to patients via iPhone. The system explains which treatment steps should be carried out next and why they are necessary. This helps patients to adapt their conduct in everyday life in order to improve their recovery process. Furthermore, they can optimally prepare for the upcoming examination procedures without having to visit the physician each time.

The third part of the application, homeAMME, provides long-term home recovery care for elderly patients. Using the patient’s TV set, the portal provides exercise videos, a record of the patient's own physical exercise, reminders about appointments and taking medication, or help with finding physiotherapists. Certain exercises are an essential element of therapy, for instance in the case of for back pain, but only if done correctly. homeAMME offers video footage with an introduction and information about back exercises as well as tips on dealing with the illness. A young patient being treated for back pain after a sporting accident receives different information from an older patient who is slowly recovering mobility with the help of a wheeled walker after a hip operation. Health insurance companies and care institutions can also use homeAMME to offer their own rehabilitation programs.