“There are more data available for rheumatology research,” says Dr. Venuturupalli. “Being able to monitor patients and having these objective measures of disease activity may also augment your decision-making capacity.”
Apps & Wearable Sensors
Many health smartphone apps and wearable devices, including shirts with sensors embedded in them, are available to track physical activity, heart rate, sleep and other data, says Dr. Venuturupalli. Some apps allow users to record daily pain or other symptoms that may help rheumatologists track disease activity or potential health problems to be addressed at the next appointment. In a 2016 pilot study of 28 patients with axial spondyloarthritis, sensors to track physical activity reached accuracy levels of 93.5% and, with more development, could offer a viable alternative to patient questionnaires or direct-observation tests.3
“The quality of these sensors has improved a lot in recent years. Previously, information like heart rate was not properly captured by phones, but these wearable sensors work much better. Also, the acceptability of patients to these devices is higher than in the past,” he says. “But healthcare professionals don’t have the capability to process all of these data coming to them.” At his hospital, health data collected through wearable sensors or watches are dumped into a patient’s electronic health record. “But all of these data are overwhelming to us at this point. It’s too much to expect a physician to be able to interpret all these data.”
Although health apps and sensors may dazzle doctors and patients, are they truly useful? This question will be explored at this year’s Annual Meeting, along with results from current studies on digital health, including the utility of biosensors to predict heart attacks in patients with cardiovascular disease, says Dr. Venuturupalli.
“How does adding these data to patient algorithms make patient outcomes better? We want our patients to do better, so maybe this can help. But if it’s a waste of time, maybe not,” he says. “Technology is getting better by the day, and it will be more informative and better quality in the future. We have to figure out where technology fits in for the treatment of our patients on a day-to-day basis.”
‘All of these data are overwhelming to us at this point. It’s too much to expect a physician to be able to interpret all these data.’ —Swamy Venuturupalli, MD
Dr. Internet Is Always In
The Internet has nearly unlimited amounts of information on rheumatic diseases and is always a swipe or click away, but this information is not regulated and may not be evidence based, says Ms. Roth-Wojcicki.
