# Transforming Rheumatoid Arthritis Care: A Scoping Review of the Role of Digital Health

## TL;DR

This paper reviews how digital health tools like telemedicine and apps may help manage rheumatoid arthritis, but more research is needed to confirm their effectiveness.

## Contribution

The study provides a scoping review of digital health interventions in rheumatoid arthritis, highlighting current evidence gaps and heterogeneity.

## Key findings

- Half of the RCTs showed improved outcomes with digital health interventions.
- Systematic reviews revealed significant heterogeneity across interventions.
- Digital health shows promise but requires more robust studies for validation.

## Abstract

This review explored the role of digital health in managing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), assessing interventions such as telemedicine, mobile apps, artificial intelligence, and electronic health records. A search of PubMed and the Cochrane Library yielded 976 articles, of which 10 met the inclusion criteria (six randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and four systematic reviews). Half of the RCTs showed improved outcomes, while the others found no significant benefit, and the systematic reviews highlighted substantial heterogeneity across interventions. Overall, digital health shows promise in RA care, but the mixed evidence underscores the need for larger, methodologically robust studies to clarify its effectiveness and guide integration into clinical practice.