Overweight or obese people with knee osteoarthritis may benefit from a diet- and exercise-focused telehealth intervention, which researchers have shown can improve pain and function over 6 months.

EULAR has put forward “points to consider” that aim to guide the integration of telehealth into rheumatology clinical practice.

Telemedicine might be equally effective to standard in-person follow-up for maintaining disease control in systemic lupus erythematosus patients in the short term, with good levels of patient satisfaction, suggests a 6-month randomized controlled trial.

David Hunter (Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales) explain that their telehealth model was designed to overcome barriers to health service access, such as distance, inconvenience, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Findings from two studies suggest that telemedicine is acceptable to people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases, may improve access to care for those living in resource-limited settings, and is not associated with worse disease activity outcomes.

We talk to the experts about the increasing use of telemedicine in rheumatology during the COVID-19 pandemic, exploring what needs to be considered for different rheumatic diseases and whether telerheumatology is here to stay.

Experts discuss the increasing use of telemedicine in rheumatology during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We asked Aruni Jayatilleke, author on the American College of Rheumatology’s telemedicine position statement, to share her top tips on how to provide the best care via telemedicine (1:09).

We asked Chris Phillips, author on the American College of Rheumatology’s telemedicine position statement, to share his top tips on how to provide the best care via telemedicine (1:09).

We talk to the experts about the increasing use of telemedicine in rheumatology during the COVID-19 pandemic, exploring what needs to be considered for different rheumatic diseases and whether telerheumatology is here to stay.

Since telemedicine was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of rheumatology appointment cancellations and non-attendances have decreased, US research suggests.

The authors of an observational study report “few differences” in quality of care and patient-reported outcomes among people with rheumatoid arthritis who took part in telemedicine consultations compared with those attending in-person appointments only.

Telemedicine is here to stay One of the major ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted clinical practice is through the rise of telemedicine, which both speakers concurred is here to stay in some capacity.

The American College of Rheumatology has issued a position statement supporting the use of telemedicine during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Telehealth is a feasible approach for managing patients with psoriatic arthritis during the COVID-19 pandemic, Italian researchers report.

In addition, Wallace highlights that we need to figure out exactly how and when telemedicine should be used.

Pain, disease activity level, active joint count, and morning stiffness reported by children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis or by their parents are “valid and reliable tools for patient self-monitoring,” report researchers.

Telemedicine and contactless healthcare have been pushed to the forefront during the pandemic, and a lasting shift towards remote patient management and community/home-based drug administration is anticipated.

A learning collaborative has improved adherence to a treat-to-target approach for patients with rheumatoid arthritis irrespective of whether patients are seen virtually or face to face, show findings from an analysis of 18 US clinics.