What is the significance of the photo function in the ALS app?

The ALS app has a photo function. It can be used to take photos of things that are relevant to the treatment, care or medical documentation of ALS. These photos can be sorted into different categories in the ALS app (e.g. living environment, aids), given their own labels and uploaded. All photos in the app are also synchronized with the user account on the ambulance partner care platform. There, the photos are stored in the “document center” and made accessible to everyone involved in the care process who has access to the patient’s account. In this way, ALS-related photos can be saved in a defined location (ALS app) and stored in compliance with data protection regulations.

It should be borne in mind that doctors and other medical facilities and providers are not allowed to process photos of patients received by email under data protection regulations. Therefore, providing photos via the ALS app and the password-protected Outpatient Partner platform is an approved way for medical facilities and providers to receive image information from patients. The photos can be seen by coordinators, ALS outpatient clinics, ALS pharmacies, medical supply stores, assistive technology providers and nutrition and respiratory teams involved in the care of the specific patient. Photos from the patient’s own living environment, especially of stairs, thresholds, doors, bathrooms, showers and bathtubs, are of particular interest to assistive technology providers.

With knowledge of these photos, aid providers can get an impression of the living environment in which the care will take place before the first on-site visit. This can be helpful when selecting assistive products and taking them with them on their first visit to the patient’s home. For coordinators of ambulance partners, photos of aids already delivered are of interest in order to compare them with the documentation of aids on the platform. For example, there may occasionally be discrepancies between the aids requested and those delivered. These discrepancies can be identified very effectively using the photos. It is therefore recommended that patients photograph and save all aids and medical devices supplied via the ALS app.

Another scenario for photos of assistive devices concerns technical faults and defects, some of which can be photographed. Error messages on displays or mechanical defects (e.g. of an orthosis or wheelchair) can be photographed and communicated via the app. This information can be very helpful for the aid provider to better assess the defect from a distance and to better decide and plan the repair (or replacement) of the defective product.

Documentation of the medical devices supplied is also useful for nutritional products, ventilators and cough assistants. The saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” can also apply in the medical field. According to this basic principle