Our digital rheumatology service is designed to improve patient access to clinics and speed up diagnosis of rheumatology conditions.

The challenge

With NHS rheumatology services under growing pressure from rising demand and workforce shortages, this digital programme offers a timely and effective solution.

Key aims

By digitising patient monitoring, the service helps free up clinic capacity — allowing healthcare professionals to prioritise urgent cases while continuing to support other patients between hospital visits.

The programme also aims to accelerate the diagnosis of rheumatological conditions, ensuring patients receive the right care sooner.

It supports people living with a range of conditions, including axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS).

How the service works

The platform integrates digital health tools that allow patients to track their symptoms, share relevant health data with clinicians based on their individual circumstances, and access valuable educational resources. This approach aims to empower patients to take an active role in managing their condition. It also allows patients on Patient Initiated Follow-Ups (PIFU) pathways to be regularly in contact with their clinical team.

Case study: Royal United (RUH) Bath

The digital rheumatology service has been designed with the rheumatology team Royal United Hospitals (RUH) Bath, led by Dr Raj Sengupta, Consultant Rheumatologist.

With 12,000 rheumatology patients under their care, Royal United Hospitals (RUH) Bath needed a digital solution to manage a growing caseload of patients with chronic rheumatology and pain conditions, whilst seeing new patients who need a rapid diagnosis and treatment plan.

Since September 2024, more than 5,100 patients have been enrolled on the service, across six conditions.

The digital rheumatology service enables clinical teams to:
Efficiently managing the patient load, reducing unnecessary visits and identifying the right patients to be seen at the right time.

Where appropriate, patients can be treated at home, reducing the volume of routine face-to-face appointments. The system allows patients to track symptoms and submit readings from home, meaning only patients that are in need of support are highlighted for clinical follow-up. This allows HCPs to prioritise the case load and reduce waiting times for new patients.

View holistic patient data in an easy-to-use digital hub

The service highlights patients that need a follow-up, ensuring timely interventions and reducing the risk of under-treatment or missed diagnosis. The ability to view holistic patient data in an easy-to-use digital hub.

Improve insights to facilitate research

Insights from aggregated patient cohort data can help to better understand disease burden, facilitate research, and potentially uncover new treatment pathways for patients, helping to treat patients more efficiently.

Support patient empowerment

Patients have access to a wide range of trusted support resources and educational materials throughout their treatment journey, empowering patients to take a more active role in their health and care.

We have been excited by this pilot, which not only improves our ability to monitor patients remotely but also offers tools to help them manage their condition day-to-day. This is a game changer for our department and will ultimately improve patient outcomes.

Prof. Raj Sengupta, Consultant Rheumatologist, RUH Bath

The Inhealthcare platform has significantly improved how we collect and manage patient and clinical reported outcomes. From a research prospective, it provides timely, structured and high-quality data that enhances our ability to track disease activity and measure the impact of interventions. Administratively, it has streamlined processes, reduced manual data entry, and improved patient engagement, enabling us to deliver more efficient and responsive care.

Mrs Charlotte Cavill, Senior database manager, RUH Bath

I think this is a very user-friendly and easy platform for patients to use. The prompts were clear and the options simple and easy to follow.

Mel. patient

I can access and fill out all the digital questionnaires via the platform and it means when I go to visit the doctor, they can already see how I’ve been coping. That gives me more time to discuss how we move forward…and I can contact the rheumatology department to ask for help. That to me is a key component to feeling safe, knowing there’s somebody who will contact me when I’m struggling.

Poppy, patient
Improve access to clinics and enhance patient care with our digital rheumatology service.