Several hundred million citizens suffer from allergic diseases, ranging from watery eyes to life-threatening anaphylactic shock. In addition to the individual reduction of quality of life, allergies have an impact on workplace efficiency and healthcare budgets. Although new developments of diagnostic assays are advancing quickly, their implementation in clinical routine is challenged by several barriers. This is very evident in the EU, where the gap between technological progress and modern diagnosis is rapidly growing. Digital Health tackles this challenge by providing novel tools, supporting allergy diagnosis and treatment through internet platforms, medical devices, smart-phone apps, telemedicine tools, etc. The integration of Digital Health procedures and tools in the management of allergic diseases will allow personalized diagnostic and therapeutic approaches with 24/7 interactivity between patients and professional healthcare. It will enable the delivery of faster, relevant healthcare support via real-time accessibility of key information for specialists, at primary health care centers, pharmacies and the patient s home.
"Digital Allergology: From Theory to Practice" is unique in comprehensively approaching "Digital Allergology", starting with the general frame to more specific parts on specific allergic diseases, public health as well as research and perspectives from several countries. Allergology being transversal, and covering dozen sub-specialty areas, the list of authors, each one with specific expertise in Digital Health applied to his/her sub-area of interest, is heterogeneous: same sub-areas will be seen from different perspectives. Built for allergists and other clinicians with a strong interest in allergic diseases, it will be a stimulating read for allied health professionals, insurance companies, public health administrators, manufacturers in allergen immunotherapy, IT developers, and clinical scientists.
Paolo Maria Matricardi is a senior scientist at the Department of pediatrics, division of pneumology and immunology, and at the Institute of allergology, both at Charité Medizinuniversität in Berlin, Germany. He has pioneered and promoted studies in the area of the hygiene hypothesis, molecular allergology, and, since 2009, digital health for allergic diseases. He contributed to the development of first e-Diaries and clinical decision support systems for pollen allergy, and investigated their usability, reliability, and diagnostic impact in patients with recurrent wheezing, allergic rhinitis, and asthma.
Stephanie Dramburg, MD, is a research fellow at the Department of Pediatric Respiratory Care, Immunology and Intensive Care Medicine at Charité Universitätsmedizin - Berlin, Germany since 2016. Before, she trained at the Institute of International Health and several pediatric departments at Charité Universitätsmedizin - Berlin. Since 2022, she leads a working group on Allergy and Climate Change as well as a multicenter project on the implementation of digital health technologies for patients with atopic dermatitis. At the same time, she sees patients at a primary care outpatient clinic and is a board member of the Interest Group Allergy Diagnosis at the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. She further leads a task force on digital health in allergology at the German Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and the German Society of Allergology (AeDA). For the latter, she acts as an advisor in eHealth.
