New technology allows patients to add daily symptoms to their health record

In a trial is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and Versus Arthritis, patients with rheumatoid arthritis will be able to send their daily symptoms securely to their health record, in a first for the NHS. The Remote Monitoring of Rheumatoid Arthritis (REMORA) system allows patients to download a symptom tracking app to their smartphone or tablet and sign in at home via NHS login.

The system could revolutionize the care of people living with a long-term condition, who are often asked by doctors to describe their symptoms since they were last seen.

The trial will allocate patients at random to symptom tracking or not, and will run in 16 hospitals across Greater Manchester and North West London during 2024–25 with the results expected in 2026.

This trial will test not only whether patients benefit from symptom tracking, but will also examine whether it is value for money, how to ensure certain patient groups are not ‘left behind’ because of the technology, how to get around the barriers for setting up this new technology in the NHS, and how the data generated can be re-used to support research as well as patients’ direct care.

The researchers will conduct interviews with patients, clinicians and other staff within the NHS to understand how to optimise symptom tracking in the future NHS. Areas they will consider include the views of older patients, those with dexterity problems, and those with lower digital access. The study is also learning how best to allow patients to control who will have access to their data using an electronic consent system from home.

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