Digital check-up enables faster care for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases

Ida Maria Kapusta, Olof Grip, and Johanna Holmgren are working on the SmartClinic project, which seeks to improve care for IBD patients by making it...
Living with IBD, a group of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, can mean dealing with digestive issues, pain, and periods of acute worsening. At Skåne University Hospital, digital tools are being introduced to improve IBD care by reducing unnecessary hospital visits and giving patients better control over their health.

IBD includes conditions such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, often affecting young adults aged 15 to 35. This lifelong bowel inflammation occurs in flare-ups, meaning patients may feel well at times but then experience symptoms like pain, diarrhoea, and weight loss. As a result, they often require frequent hospital visits, tests, and treatments.

The gastroenterology unit in Malmö at Skåne University Hospital treats over 5,000 IBD patients. Previously, patients were called in for annual check-ups regardless of their current health status.

“These check-ups put significant strain on our capacity, leading to long waiting times. They were also inconvenient for patients, many of whom are working or studying. Having to take time off for a hospital visit—even when feeling well—was a challenge”, says Johanna Holmgren, senior consultant at the Gastroenterology department.

Senior consultant Olof Grip treats patients with IBD, inflammatory bowel diseases.

Digital health questionnaire

The EU-funded SmartClinic project aims to simplify and improve IBD care using digital tools. A sub-project involving 700 patients is currently underway at Skåne University Hospital. Instead of annual check-ups, patients now complete a digital health questionnaire twice a year. They assess their health and well-being, and they also receive home test kits to measure inflammation levels in their blood. These samples can be submitted at their nearest healthcare centre.

“This reduces unnecessary physical visits for patients with stable conditions while allowing us to focus on those who need urgent care. It also helps us prioritise patients with moderate disease who we previously struggled to accommodate”, says Olof Grip, senior consultant at Skåne University Hospital.

More emergency appointments

Research nurse Ida Maria Kapusta monitors questionnaire responses and test results daily. If a patient’s results indicate a flare-up or worsening condition, action is taken promptly.

“This system allows us to provide better care to those who need it most”, says Ida Maria Kapusta.

Johanna Holmgren, senior consultant, and Ida Maria Kapusta, research nurse.

Johanna Holmgren highlights a key improvement: previously, emergency appointments for IBD patients were scarce because annual check-ups occupied most of the doctors’ time. Now, with four doctors in the project no longer conducting routine annual check-ups, availability has improved.

“Our appointments are now scheduled based on patient needs, using the digital tool’s data. This enables us to offer emergency appointments within a week—an enormous improvement for both patients and our team.”

While the digital approach offers many benefits, it is not suitable for all patients. Individuals with language barriers or psychological difficulties may struggle with the system, notes Olof Grip.

“We are currently testing it on a small scale, selecting patients who are likely to benefit from this type of care. Our experience so far has been very positive, but we will continue to offer traditional annual check-ups for those who need them.”

In Short: SmartClinic

  • The SmartClinic project, supported by Interreg Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak, runs until 2026. The goal is to develop new care models that can be applied to other chronic diseases. A research study within the project will also examine healthcare staff’s working conditions before, during, and after implementation.
  • The project aims to create a general model for digitalised care pathways for patients with chronic diseases.
  • IBD is being used as a case to develop and test a model for digital treatment pathways, which could later be adapted for other medical specialities dealing with chronic conditions.
  • Project partners include Sjaelland University Hospital in Denmark, the company Visikon, Skåne University Hospital, and the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg. More information: www.projectsmartclinic.eu.

In short: IBD

  • IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Diseases) refers to chronic inflammatory bowel conditions, including Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and unclassified IBD (IBD-U).
  • IBD affects approximately 0.8% of Sweden’s population.
  • Typical symptoms include diarrhoea, urgent bowel movements, and blood in the stool (especially in ulcerative colitis), as well as abdominal pain (particularly in Crohn’s disease).
Last updated: 2025-02-19