In Sum
Concluding his talk, Dr. Hausmann summarized the benefits of using technology for patient engagement, such as the ability to provide patients with real-time feedback about their health, assistance with self-monitoring and self-management of disease, improving care between office visits and the future use of artificial intelligence to process data, identify patterns and alert physicians and patients of developing issues.
Challenges will arise with the use of such technologies, including ensuring patient privacy, upholding informed consent, preventing a deluge of hard-to-interpret data and the concern of disease hypervigilance (i.e., the constant monitoring of disease that may make it hard for patients to focus on anything else). Despite these challenges, Dr. Hausmann made it clear that, with the integration of technology into the patient experience, the future is bright for improving research and clinical care in rheumatology.
Jason Liebowitz, MD, completed his fellowship in rheumatology at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, where he also earned his medical degree. He is currently in practice with Skylands Medical Group, N.J.
References
- Hausmann JS, Vizcaino-Riveros J, Marin AC, et al. Feasibility and efficacy of online strategies to recruit parents of children with rheumatic diseases for research. ACR Open Rheumatol. 2022 May;4(5):410–416.
- Nyman E, Vaughan T, Desta B, et al. Characteristics and symptom severity of patients reporting systemic lupus erythematosus in the Patientslikeme online health community: A retrospective observational study. Rheumatol Ther. 2020 Mar;7(1):201–213.
- Hausmann JS, Berna R, Gujral N, et al. Using smartphone crowdsourcing to redefine normal and febrile temperatures in adults: Results from the Feverprints study. J Gen Intern Med. 2018 Dec;33(12):2046–2047.
