Spring 2019 (Volume 29, Number 1)
Rheum4U
By Dianne Mosher, MD, FRCPC
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Rheum4U is a bespoke on-line data capture system
designed by a research team in the Division
of Rheumatology at the University of Calgary, in
consultation with clinicians and patients, and developed
by the Epidemiology Coordinating and Research (EPICORE)
Centre. It was implemented in August 2016 and
is now used by patients and clinicians in two Calgary
Rheumatology Clinics. Rheum4U tracks and enables
measurement of patient, clinic, and system outcomes
over time.
Participating patients use Rheum4U to complete online
questionnaires regarding health history, functional assessment,
quality of life, and work productivity up to one week
prior to each clinic visit. Clinicians use Rheum4U to record
patient information including diagnosis, vitals, blood test
results (erythrocyte sedimentation rate [ESR] or C-reactive
protein [CRP]), physician global, swollen/tender joint
counts, and medications. After the visit, patients use Rheum4U
to complete a questionnaire regarding their patient
experience.
From August 2016 to April 2017, 131 patients with rheumatoid
arthritis (RA) contributed data to Rheum4U as part
of a successful pilot study.1 Recruitment and data collection
through Rheum4U now continues in support of an ongoing
quality improvement research project (> 900 participants).
Additionally, Rheum4U has, to date, supported recruitment
or data collection for five other studies led by researchers
from rheumatology, community health sciences, radiology,
and gastroenterology. In Q1 2019, Rheum4U will expand
to actively support data collection for the Precision Health
Registry for Inflammatory Arthritis.
Critical to the ongoing success of Rheum4U is the recruitment
and data collection support provided by dedicated
research coordinator staff and its integration within
pre-established clinic processes.
Reference:
1. Barber CEH, Sandhu N, Rankin JA, MacMullan P, Marshall DA, Barnabe C, Hazlewood GS, Emrick A,
Stevenson M, Then KL, Benseler S, Twilt M, Mosher D. Rheum4U: Development and testing of a
web-based tool for improving the quality of care for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Clin Exp
Rheumatol 2018; [Epub ahead of print].
Dianne Mosher, MD, FRCPC
Professor of Medicine,
Division Head, Rheumatology,
University of Calgary
Calgary, Alberta
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