Adaptive Self-Management Supports Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis
February 2nd is Rheumatoid Awareness Day, a day dedicated to recognizing the people living with rheumatoid arthritis or rheumatoid disease, promoting education and awareness about the challenges of living with and managing this lifelong chronic disease.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a complex chronic condition where the immune system attacks itself, causing damage to organs and joint tissues. Rheumatoid arthritis affects approximately 1.3 million individuals in the U.S. – the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation estimates that 1-2% of individuals globally suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, and there is no known cure.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a condition that requires a daily routine to effectively treat. Every day, a patient suffering from rheumatoid arthritis has a central duty to play in their treatment process. This makes communication between patients and clinicians very important for individuals suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. A clinician isn’t there every day to oversee treatment progression – usually, it’s on either the patient or the caregiver to diligently track treatment responses so they may effectively follow up with clinicians. Because treatment protocols vary among individuals suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, a lack of clarity between patients and clinicians can have serious consequences, or cause setbacks. Clear and consistent communication of a patient’s health is necessary to provide to a clinician, otherwise, they may not be fully aware of how a certain treatment is affecting a patient.
The implementation of digital health applications in healthcare has enabled clinicians to continuously monitor patients. By constantly keeping up to date with health metrics and patient feedback, a patient can potentially receive a more proactive and effective treatment plan. For patients with rheumatoid arthritis, the ability to be in constant communication with clinicians is invaluable. Health education within these applications can supplement and clarify information given by a clinician.
In a six-month clinical study, Adhera Health tested the feasibility and acceptance of our own digital health program to support rheumatic and musculoskeletal patients. Built using the Adhera® Precision Digital Companion™ Platform, the Adhera Rheumatology Digital Program had a measurable, positive impact in supporting patients with rheumatoid arthritis and spondylarthritis (SpA) by leveraging an adaptive self-management solution together with electronic Patient Reported Outcomes (ePROs). Adaptive Self-Management is based on offering individuals transdiagnostic interventions, which are a type of health intervention that addresses the three core health dimensions of the person: social, physical, and mental conditions.
Adhera Health’s adaptive self-management solution empowers individuals through highly personalized interventions, recommendations, and contextualized education. By collecting data using wearable sensors and ePROs, the AI-based Adhera Health Recommender System offers recommendations and education most relevant to each specific user. After examining patient responses from our study, we found that most were satisfied with our solution, with 34/35 individuals acknowledging they would recommend it. The study was supported by AbbVie and the Spanish Society of Rheumatology and led by Diego Benevent Nuñez and Dr. Chaimada Plasencia-Rodriguez, Sr., from the University Hospital of La Paz, and Luis Fernández Luque, Adhera Health´s Chief Scientific Officer. Results were presented at the ACR Convergence 2022 Conference and the EULAR 2022 Conference.
By focusing on empowering patients and caregivers through personalized recommendations and education, we can increase patient treatment adherence, thereby improving treatment success rates. And by increasing the number of interactions between clinicians and patients, treatment protocols can be more easily optimized for better health outcomes overall. Our goal is to make living with chronic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis as manageable as possible and to promote better lives and greater health outcomes for these individuals.
The Rheumatoid Patient Foundation envisions a future where no one suffers from rheumatoid disease. We can reach that future with education, awareness, and patient-centered research. To learn more about rheumatoid arthritis, and to find out how you can help, check out the RPF at https://rheum4us.org/
To read more about the results of the study, visit PLOS Digital Health - Monitoring chronic inflammatory musculoskeletal diseases mixing virtual and face-to-face assessments