Case studies
Using a Digital Health Passport to improve asthma care
July 2, 2026
We supported Tiny Medical Apps to evaluate their Digital Health Passport app, designed to improve and support asthma care for children and young people.
The challenge
The UK has the worst asthma mortality in Europe for 10-24 year olds, accompanied by one of the highest prevalence and emergency admission rates. Around one million children and young people in the UK are receiving treatment for asthma but less than 25% have a personalised asthma action plan in place.
What we did
The Digital Health Passport is an asthma/allergy self-management app for teenagers, young adults, and the parents/carers of pre-teens. Co-designed with patients, it aims to improve the delivery of asthma care, patient experience, and outcomes at scale. The app supports asthma reviews by covering key educational elements and keeping the plan on the patient’s phone. By improving asthma control, it is anticipated that fewer face-to-face annual reviews and fewer out of hours and emergency appointments will be needed for people using the app.
We independently assessed the app’s impact, effectiveness and value by acting as an evaluation partner to Tiny Medical Apps during an initial regional rollout.
We also ran a real-world service evaluation of its clinical outcomes and economic value. Find out more.
Impact
Our evaluation found a clear improvement in users knowledge, skills and confidence in managing their asthma. This can predict an improvement in asthma outcomes such as admissions and exacerbations. Find out more in our report.
“Robust evaluation is crucial for the success of any healthcare innovation. This evaluation shows that using the Digital Health Passport for asthma has a positive impact on the experience and outcomes of young people and provided learning for Tiny Medical Apps on the methods used to build patients knowledge and confidence in managing their condition. I’m excited to see what’s next for the Digital Health Passport as this innovation develops”.
Kate Cheema, Director of Evaluation and Insights, UCLPartners