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

Yvonne C. Lee, Fengxin Lu, Joshua Colls, Dee Luo, Penny Wang, Dorothy D. Dunlop, Lutfiyya N Muhammad, Jing Song, Kaleb Michaud, Daniel H. Solomon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: To examine the effects of a smartphone application (app) to monitor longitudinal electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePROs) on patient satisfaction and disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: We conducted a 6-month randomized controlled trial of care coordination along with an app (intervention) versus care coordination alone (control) in 191 RA patients. Participants in the intervention group were prompted to provide information daily using ePROs. In both the intervention and control groups, a care coordinator contacted participants at 6 and 18 weeks to assess for flares. The main outcome measures were the global satisfaction score from the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM), the score from the Perceived Efficacy in Patient-Physician Interactions (PEPPI) Questionnaire, and the Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) score. Results: Groups were similar at baseline. The median TSQM score at 6 months was 83.3 in both groups, and the median PEPPI score at 6 months was 50 in both groups. The median CDAI score at 6 months was 8 in the intervention group versus 10 in the control group. No statistically significant group differences in the medians of TSQM, PEPPI, or CDAI scores at 6 months were detected. Of the 67 intervention participants who completed the exit survey, 90% rated their likelihood of recommending the app as ≥7 of 10. Of the 11 physicians who completed the exit survey, 73% agreed/strongly agreed that they wanted to continue offering the app to patients. Conclusion: A mobile app designed to collect ePRO data on RA symptoms did not significantly improve patient satisfaction or disease activity compared to care coordination alone. However, both patients and physicians reported positive experiences with the app.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1421-1429
Number of pages9
JournalArthritis and Rheumatology
Volume73
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2021

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Immunology and Allergy
  • Rheumatology
  • Immunology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Outcomes of a Mobile App to Monitor Patient-Reported Outcomes in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Randomized Controlled Trial'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this