Moving forward, the experts favored “digitally supported shared decision making.” They envisioned using technology to collect data and discuss those findings with patients.
Question 4: Is a remote care solution efficient for increasing communication & collaboration within the multidisciplinary team?
Most of the audience said yes. However, many feared that remote care may increase the workload of healthcare professionals.
An expert noted it is currently increasing workload because we haven’t been trained on how to use digital tools properly, and a lot of companies are in the middle. Better training may help address this concern down the line.
Final Words
Dr. De Thurah concluded the presentation with a powerful message. “It’s not easy to implement remote care into daily clinical practice,” she said. “It takes legacy and leadership. We all need to agree that this [change] is the right direction, otherwise it’s impossible.”
She also advocated for a shifting resources and energy away from the development of remote care tools and toward their implementation. “Something works in a study, but does it really work in real life?” she asked. “We need to move on from developing new apps to investigating who these [apps] are for and who they aren’t for.”
Last, Dr. De Thurah spoke about the importance of being intentional with data collection. “If we don’t use the data the patients send us, they’ll stop sending it. But I don’t think it’s healthy for patients to measure, measure, measure. There’s such a thing as too much data. We need to jointly decide with our patients what we’ll measure and how often,” she said.
Samantha C. Shapiro, MD, is the executive editor of Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine. As a clinician educator, she practices telerheumatology and writes for both medical and lay audiences.
References
- De Thurah A, Bosch P, Marques A, et al. 2022 EULAR points to consider for remote care in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. Ann Rheum Dis. 2022;81(8):1065–1071.
- Molina-Garcia P, Mora-Traverso M, Prieto-Moreno R, et al. Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of telerehabilitation for musculoskeletal disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Ann Phys Rehabil Med. 2024 Feb;67(1):101791.
- Withers HG, Glinsky JV, Chu J, et al. Remotely delivered physiotherapy is as effective as face-to-face physiotherapy for musculoskeletal conditions (REFORM): A randomised trial. J Physiother. 2024 Apr;70(2):124–133.
- Hartasanchez SA, Heen AF, Kunneman M, et al. Remote shared decision making through telemedicine: A systematic review of the literature. Patient Educ Couns. 2022;105(2):356–365.
