About Gouthelper
What is Gouthelper
Gouthelper is a web application to inform patients and providers about gout and contains a suite of tools that answers common clinical questions in gout management like:
- Flare: Are the symptoms (joint pain, etc) due to gout?
- FlareAid: If so, how should the gout flare be treated?
- Ult: Does someone need urate lowering therapy (ULT)?
- ULtAid: If so, what is the best choice of ULT?
- GoalUrate: What's the goal uric acid?
- Ppx: Is prophylaxis for gout flares needed?
- PpxAid: If so, what is the best choice of prophylaxis?
How was Gouthelper developed?
Gouthelper is a hobby project developed by Dr. David Ewart, a rheumatologist in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The project started during COVID-19 in 2019 as a way to learn Python and web development and to try to improve gout and the lives of patients with gout along the way. The project is open source and is available on GitHub. The project is written predominantly in Python and uses the Django web framework. Please check the readme on GitHub for more information on the project, including how to contribute.
Why Gouthelper?
Gout is pretty common and can be quite disabling. People miss activities, time with family, and work because of gout. The treatments for gout a VERY effective, but they are not used as often as they should be and are often used incorrectly. Further, there are a lot of misconceptions about gout that are a detriment to getting it treated. Gouthelper is an attempt to help patients and providers get the most out of gout treatment.
Why the disclaimer?
Gouthelper is a computer program, and a very early testing version at that. It is not a substitute for medical advice, so please do not use it as such.
Privacy
DO NOT ENTER ANY PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION INTO GOUTHELPER. GOUTHELPER IS NOT HIPAA COMPLIANT AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE USED TO STORE OR TRANSMIT ANY PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION.