Outcomes of a Mobile App to Monitor Patient-Reported Outcomes in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Area of Science:

• Rheumatology
• Digital Health
• Patient-Reported Outcomes

Background:

• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) management requires continuous monitoring of disease activity and patient-reported outcomes.
• Smartphone applications offer a potential tool for longitudinal data collection through electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePROs).

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a smartphone application for monitoring ePROs on patient satisfaction and disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Main Methods:

• A 6-month randomized controlled trial involving 191 RA patients compared care coordination with an app (intervention) to care coordination alone (control).
• The intervention group used a smartphone app for daily ePRO data collection.
• Key outcome measures included the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM), Perceived Efficacy in Patient-Physician Interactions (PEPPI) Questionnaire, and Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) scores.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant differences were observed in TSQM, PEPPI, or CDAI scores between the intervention and control groups at 6 months.
• The median TSQM score was 83.3, and the median PEPPI score was 50 in both groups.
• The median CDAI score was 8 in the intervention group versus 10 in the control group.

Conclusions:

• A mobile app for collecting ePRO data in RA did not significantly enhance patient satisfaction or disease activity compared to standard care coordination.
• Despite the lack of significant clinical improvement, 90% of patients using the app would recommend it, and 73% of physicians desired continued use.
• The study highlights positive patient and physician experiences with the RA monitoring app, suggesting potential for future digital health interventions.