The cell phone continues to expand its job description: camera, alarm clock, bargain hunter, restaurant finder, interactive map, and, oh yes, a phone. Turns out your patients’ phones might also help them get the most from their rheumatoid arthritis treatment, according to data from a study of a new mobile phone text messaging program. The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology.
Dr. Tuulikki Sokka of Jyväskylä Central Hospital in Finland, and colleagues, assessed how RA could be more effectively controlled if patients received monitoring messages via their cell phones.*
Central Hospital in Finland, and colleagues, assessed how RA could be more effectively controlled if patients received monitoring messages via their cell phones.
Louise Koenig/IMNG Medical Media
The idea of remote monitoring is appealing to many people because it can cut down on visits to a clinic that might not be right down the street (especially in Finland, where it might be a long, snowy drive away).
The Finnish team developed an automated system called SandRA (Showing any need for Re-Assessment). The program sends text messages to enrolled participants every 2 weeks for the first 6 months of their treatment. The first two questions relate to medication use: "Have you used the prescribed drug treatments?" and "Have you experienced any problems with the drug?" Patients have the option to respond with a simple Y or N. At 6 weeks, patients are asked to rate their RA severity on a scale of 1-10 as a global assessment measure. A positive response generates a confirmation that the message was received. A negative response prompts a message saying that the patient will get a phone call from a rheumatology nurse within 2 working days to discuss the problem. The nurses can determine whether a patient needs to make that extra trip to the clinic, said Dr. Sokka. "We think this system will allow us to direct our resources in the clinic to the patients who really need it," she said.
Dr. Tuulikki Sokka
Data from 137 consecutive patients showed that a majority achieved their treatment goals, as measured by the patient’s global assessment scores. Patients were scheduled for regular clinic visits 3 and 6 months after the initial visit. At 6, 10, 18, and 22 weeks, SandRA identified 34%, 31%, 29%, and 31% of the patients for assessment outside of their regularly scheduled appointments. Lappeenranta Central Hospital sponsored the research.
By Heidi Splete
(on Twitter @hsplete)
*CORRECTION: 11/14/12: The original version of this story misidentified the hospital where Dr. Sokka works. The sentence should have read: "Dr. Tuulikki Sokka of Jyväskylä Central Hospital in Finland, and colleagues, assessed how RA could be more effectively controlled if patients received monitoring messages via their cell phones."