C19-YRS

The C19-YRS outcome measure is a clinically validated screening tool recommended for use by NHS England to routinely capture the severity of symptoms that persist longer than 4 or more weeks after contracting COVID-19.

The original format was developed by clinical academics at The University of Leeds, Leeds Community Healthcare, and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trusts based on clinical research across the West Yorkshire region. It has now been adopted across the UK in the NHS and globally, with significant supporting evidence and references in the literature.

The digital platform has been developed by the digital health company, ELAROS, in a partnership with The University of Leeds, and both Leeds NHS Trusts. The digital system has been:

  • Recommended by NHS England
  • Funded by the National Institute for Health Research
  • Recognised by NICE
  • Developed with several NHS Trusts and is currently live across the UK
  • Endorsed by the British Society for Rehabilitation Medicine
  • Featured on BBC North West, ITV News, Daily Mail online and more, to demonstrate its success with patients and clinics
This is a not for profit initiative for all NHS organisations.
Sarah Bleasdale - Salford patient

Photo credit: ITV News

‘Ground-breaking’ new app to help Long Covid patients first used in Salford

Long Covid: The Challenge

Long COVID is a term used to describe a new and emerging condition faced by patients presenting with symptoms that develop during or after contracting COVID-19 and persist for more than 4 weeks according to NICE. The complex condition affects people in different ways, with symptoms of breathlessness, cough, and severe fatigue being amongst the most prevalent symptoms. It is a new problem overwhelming clinics following the peak of the pandemic due to the lack of validated tools to effectively assess and manage the sheer numbers of patients seeking support.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates there to be 1.1 million people suffering from Long Covid, and as of January 24th 2021 the World Health Organisation estimates there have 97.4 million confirmed cases of (acute) COVID-19, with the Office for National Statistics estimating that:

  • Around 20% of patients testing positive for COVID-19 exhibit symptoms for a period of 5 weeks or longer

  • Around 10% of patients testing positive for COVID-19 exhibit symptoms for a period of 12 weeks or longer

C19-YRS: The Solution

Elaros’ C19-YRS boasts a secure web portal for clinicians to set up and manage patients to assist with the initial triage, assessment and short-to-long-term monitoring process using graded scores for a spectrum of symptoms and grouped scores for symptom severity, functional disability and overall health. Extensive reporting tools help support health organisations better deploy, evidence and account for the complex mix of resources used for long COVID patients.

Patients can access the questionnaire following referral from their healthcare professional, available on iOS and Android or any internet web browser, allowing them to track their condition with a quantitative assessment of improvement or deterioration. The platform seeks to improve patient outcomes, clinical intervention methods and help to understand long COVID as a condition by providing The University of Leeds’ research team with anonymised data to further validate the scale and develop a robust measure of the condition.

Scoring of symptom severity and functional disability performance

Easy to use, secure and scalable platform to oversee patients

User friendly with visual aids for patients to monitor recovery progress

The system is free to purchase for all 
NHS Organisations

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Features

Features of the clinical web portal

  • Report of symptoms severity score and functional disability score generated for clinical decision making
  • Covers all components for the WHO International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework
  • Online web portal to oversee patients for remote monitoring and rehabilitation
  • Easy to use, secure and scalable platform
  • Extension reporting tools to support health organisations better deploy, evidence and account for the complex mix of resources used for long COVID patients

Features of the patient app

  • Clinically validated C19-YRS questionnaire recommended by NHS England and NICE
  • Dedicated profile for patients
  • Secure, discrete and automatic entries with encrypted data
  • Easy to use and convenience for patients
  • 15-item questionnaire to assess core problems relating to long COVID with opportunity to add more symptoms
  • Compare multiple assessments to track recovery trajectory over time
  • Accessible on smartphone, web-link or via telephone with a HCP
  • 20 minutes to complete at home