Table Info

Table 2.

Randomized control trials (RCT) and systematic review of RCTs

Authors	Type of study	N (RA patients/apps reviewed)	Monitoring device	Outcome/Remarks
Bernard et al. [39] (2022)	RCT	89	SATIE-PR app (monitoring interface connected to a smartphone)	Higher QALY, more economical during monitoring
El Meidany et al. [40] (2016)	Double-blind RCT	211	ePROM	ePROM equivalent to standard PROM, aided in compliance to treatment
Doumen et al. [41] (2022)	Meta-analysis	9,694	Any app/wearable	All chronic arthritis assessed
Li et al. [42] (2023)	Multicenter, pragmatic RCT	2,197	Smart system of disease management group (SSDM) app	Digital health app translated to increased disease control rate
MacIver et al. [43] (2021)	Systematic review of RCTs	791	Tele-health including digital health interventions	Telehealth monitoring translated to improved medication adherence, disease activity, good self-management

ePROM: electronic PROM; QALY: quality-adjusted life years

Declarations

Author contributions

PM: Data curation, Formal analysis, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing. SA: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing. DD: Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, Writing—review & editing.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

Not applicable.

Consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent to publication

Not applicable.

Availability of data and materials

Not applicable.

Funding

Not applicable.

Copyright

References

Misra DP, Agarwal V, Negi VS. Rheumatology in India: a bird’s eye view on organization, epidemiology, training programs and publications. J Korean Med Sci. 2016;31:1013–9. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

Ahmed S, Grainger R, Santosa A, Adnan A, Alnaqbi KA, Chen YH, et al. APLAR recommendations on the practice of telemedicine in rheumatology. Int J Rheum Dis. 2022;25:247–58. [DOI] [PubMed]

Sebri V, Savioni L. An introduction to personalized eHealth. In: Pravettoni G, Triberti S, editors. P5 eHealth: an agenda for the health technologies of the future. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2020. pp. 53–70. [DOI]

Grainger R, Townsley H, White B, Langlotz T, Taylor WJ. Apps for people with rheumatoid arthritis to monitor their disease activity: a review of apps for best practice and quality. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2017;5:e7. [PubMed] [PMC]

Azevedo R, Bernardes M, Fonseca J, Lima A. Smartphone application for rheumatoid arthritis self-management: cross-sectional study revealed the usefulness, willingness to use and patients’ needs. Rheumatol Int. 2015;35:1675–85. [DOI] [PubMed]

Arksey H, O’Malley L. Scoping studies: towards a methodological framework. Int J Soc Res Methodol. 2005;8:19–32. [DOI]

Kloda LA, Boruff JT, Cavalcante AS. A comparison of patient, intervention, comparison, outcome (PICO) to a new, alternative clinical question framework for search skills, search results, and self-efficacy: a randomized controlled trial. J Med Libr Assoc. 2020;108:185–94. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, Boutron I, Hoffmann TC, Mulrow CD, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. Syst Rev. 2021;10:89. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

Page MJ, Moher D, Bossuyt PM, Boutron I, Hoffmann TC, Mulrow CD, et al. PRISMA 2020 explanation and elaboration: updated guidance and exemplars for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ. 2021;372:n160. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

10.

Barlas N, Barlas SB, Basnyat S, Adalier E. Telemedicine in rheumatoid arthritis: a review of the PubMed literature. Mediterr J Rheumatol. 2023;34:16–23. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

11.

Chevallard M, Belloli L, Ughi N, Adinolfi A, Casu C, Di Cicco M, et al. Use of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic in patients with inflammatory arthritis: a retrospective study on feasibility and impact on patient-reported outcomes in a real-life setting. Rheumatol Int. 2021;41:1253–61. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

12.

Colls J, Lee YC, Xu C, Corrigan C, Lu F, Marquez-Grap G, et al. Patient adherence with a smartphone app for patient-reported outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2021;60:108–12. [DOI] [PubMed]

13.

Cozad MJ, Crum M, Tyson H, Fleming PR, Stratton J, Kennedy AB, et al. Mobile health apps for patient-centered care: review of United States rheumatoid arthritis apps for engagement and activation. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2022;10:e39881. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

14.

Dixon WG, Michaud K. Using technology to support clinical care and research in rheumatoid arthritis. Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2018;30:276–81. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

15.

Doumen M, Westhovens R, Pazmino S, Bertrand D, Stouten V, Neys C, et al. The ideal mHealth-application for rheumatoid arthritis: qualitative findings from stakeholder focus groups. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2021;22:746. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

16.

Fedkov D, Berghofen A, Weiss C, Peine C, Lang F, Knitza J, et al. Efficacy and safety of a mobile app intervention in patients with inflammatory arthritis: a prospective pilot study. Rheumatol Int. 2022;42:2177–90. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

17.

Ferucci ED, Holck P, Day GM, Choromanski TL, Freeman SL. Factors associated with use of telemedicine for follow‐up of rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2020;72:1404–9. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

18.

Ferucci ED, Day GM, Choromanski TL, Freeman SL. Outcomes and quality of care in rheumatoid arthritis with or without video telemedicine follow‐up visits. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2022;74:484–92. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

19.

Heiberg T, Kvien TK, Dale Ø, Mowinckel P, Aanerud GJ, Songe-Møller AB, et al. Daily health status registration (patient diary) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a comparison between personal digital assistant and paper-pencil format. Arthritis Rheum. 2007;57:454–60. [DOI] [PubMed]

20.

Foti R, Amato G, Dal Bosco Y, Longo A, Gagliano C, Falsaperla R, et al. Telemedicine in the management of patients with rheumatic disease during COVID-19 pandemic: incidence of psychiatric disorders and fibromyalgia in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19:3161. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

21.

Yun H, Nowell WB, Curtis D, H Willig J, Yang S, Auriemma M, et al. Assessing rheumatoid arthritis disease activity with patient‐reported outcomes measurement information system measures using digital technology. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2020;72:553–60. [DOI] [PubMed]

22.

Austin L, Sharp CA, van Der Veer SN, Machin M, Humphreys J, Mellor P, et al. Providing ‘the bigger picture’: benefits and feasibility of integrating remote monitoring from smartphones into the electronic health record: findings from the remote monitoring of rheumatoid arthritis (REMORA) study. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2020;59:367–78. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

23.

White KM, Ivan A, Williams R, Galloway JB, Norton S, Matcham F. Remote measurement in rheumatoid arthritis: qualitative analysis of patient perspectives. JMIR Form Res. 2021;5:e22473. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

24.

McBeth J, Dixon WG, Moore SM, Hellman B, James B, Kyle SD, et al. Sleep disturbance and quality of life in rheumatoid arthritis: prospective mHealth study. J Med Internet Res. 2022;24:e32825. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

25.

Mollard E, Michaud K. Self-management of rheumatoid arthritis: mobile applications. Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2021;23:2. [DOI] [PubMed]

26.

Morales-Ivorra I, Narváez J, Gómez-Vaquero C, Moragues C, Nolla JM, Narváez JA, et al. A thermographic disease activity index for remote assessment of rheumatoid arthritis. RMD Open. 2022;8:e002615. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

27.

Müskens WD, Rongen-van Dartel SAA, Vogel C, Huis A, Adang EMM, van Riel PLCM. Telemedicine in the management of rheumatoid arthritis: maintaining disease control with less health-care utilization. Rheumatol Adv Pract. 2021;5:rkaa079. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

28.

Radin M, Arbrile M, Cecchi I, Di Nunzio P, Buccarano N, Di Gregorio F, et al. Tailoring tofacitinib oral therapy in rheumatoid arthritis: the TuTOR app. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19:5379. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

29.

Schougaard LMV, Knudsen LR, Grove BE, Vestergaard JM, Hjollund NH, Hauge EM, et al. Socioeconomic, disease‐related, and personal factors associated with participation in remote follow‐up in rheumatoid arthritis: a cross‐sectional study. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2023;75:2044–53. [DOI] [PubMed]

30.

Seppen BF, den Boer P, Wiegel J, Ter Wee MM, van der Leeden M, de Vries R, et al. Asynchronous mHealth interventions in rheumatoid arthritis: systematic scoping review. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2020;8:e19260. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

31.

Shenoy P, Ahmed S, Paul A, Skaria TG, Joby J, Alias B. Switching to teleconsultation for rheumatology in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic: feasibility and patient response in India. Clin Rheumatol. 2020;39:2757–62. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

32.

van der Leeuw MS, Messelink MA, Tekstra J, Medina O, van Laar JM, Haitjema S, et al. Using real-world data to dynamically predict flares during tapering of biological DMARDs in rheumatoid arthritis: development, validation, and potential impact of prediction-aided decisions. Arthritis Res Ther. 2022;24:74. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

33.

Vodencarevic A, Tascilar K, Hartmann F, Reiser M, Hueber AJ, Haschka J, et al.; RETRO study group. Advanced machine learning for predicting individual risk of flares in rheumatoid arthritis patients tapering biologic drugs. Arthritis Res Ther. 2021;23:67. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

34.

Haschka J, Englbrecht M, Hueber AJ, Manger B, Kleyer A, Reiser M, et al. Relapse rates in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in stable remission tapering or stopping antirheumatic therapy: interim results from the prospective randomised controlled RETRO study. Ann Rheum Dis. 2016;75:45–51. [DOI] [PubMed]

35.

Bayoumy K, Gaber M, Elshafeey A, Mhaimeed O, Dineen EH, Marvel FA, et al. Smart wearable devices in cardiovascular care: where we are and how to move forward. Nat Rev Cardiol. 2021;18:581–99. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

36.

Cowie MR, Lam CSP. Remote monitoring and digital health tools in CVD management. Nat Rev Cardiol. 2021;18:457–8. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

37.

Kakria P, Tripathi NK, Kitipawang P. A real-time health monitoring system for remote cardiac patients using smartphone and wearable sensors. Int J Telemed Appl. 2015;2015:373474. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

38.

de Thurah A, Bosch P, Marques A, Meissner Y, Mukhtyar CB, Knitza J, et al. 2022 EULAR points to consider for remote care in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. Ann Rheum Dis. 2022;81:1065–71. [DOI] [PubMed]

39.

Bernard L, Valsecchi V, Mura T, Aouinti S, Padern G, Ferreira R, et al. Management of patients with rheumatoid arthritis by telemedicine: connected monitoring. A randomized controlled trial. Joint Bone Spine. 2022;89:105368. [DOI] [PubMed]

40.

El Miedany Y, El Gaafary M, Youssef S, Bahlas S, Almedany S, Ahmed I, et al. Toward electronic health recording: evaluation of electronic patient-reported outcome measures system for remote monitoring of early rheumatoid arthritis. J Rheumatol. 2016;43:2106–12. [DOI] [PubMed]

41.

Doumen M, De Cock D, Van Lierde C, Betrains A, Pazmino S, Bertrand D, et al. Engagement and attrition with eHealth tools for remote monitoring in chronic arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. RMD Open. 2022;8:e002625. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

42.

Li C, Huang J, Wu H, Li F, Zhao Y, Zhang Z, et al. Management of rheumatoid arthritis with a digital health application: a multicenter, pragmatic randomized clinical trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6:e238343. Erratum in: JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6:e2316007. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

43.

MacIver A, Hollinger H, Carolan C. Tele-health interventions to support self-management in adults with rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review. Rheumatol Int. 2021;41:1399–418. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

44.

Pickles T, Macefield R, Aiyegbusi OL, Beecher C, Horton M, Christensen KB, et al. Patient reported outcome measures for rheumatoid arthritis disease activity: a systematic review following COSMIN guidelines. RMD Open. 2022;8:e002093. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

45.

Guimarães MFBR, Pinto MRDC, Resende GG, Machado CJ, Vargas-Santos AB, Amorim RBC, et al. Discordance between the patient’s and physician’s global assessment in rheumatoid arthritis: data from the REAL study—Brazil. PLoS One. 2020;15:e0230317. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

46.

Matcham F, Hotopf M, Galloway J. Mobile apps, wearables and the future of technology in rheumatic disease care. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2019;58:1126–7. [DOI] [PubMed]