Remote monitoring service
Managing your musculoskeletal health at home
Remote monitoring for physiotherapy patients
Research tells us that most musculoskeletal conditions (such as back, shoulder and knee pain) are best managed with exercise, quality sleep, good nutrition and reduced stress.
We are using remote monitoring with Guy’s and St Thomas’ physiotherapy service for patients with musculoskeletal joint pains such as back pain or post-operative knee pain.
Remote monitoring makes it easier to manage your care at home and get support and treatment when you need it. You should complete your form every month, even if you are feeling well. This helps us give you more flexible care and arrange appointments when you need them.
Getting your monitoring form
If you are eligible for remote monitoring, we’ll send you a link to your monitoring form by text. You can complete the form using your smartphone. Most people complete it in less than 2 minutes.
We’ll send a new link around the same time each month. We’ll send a couple of text reminders if we haven’t received your form.
Completing your form
We’ll ask you to answer 15 questions about how you are feeling. Using a 5 point scale from 'not at all' to 'very severe', you’ll be able to rate symptoms such as:
- pain and stiffness
- ability to complete normal daily tasks such as getting dressed, walking, work and physical activity
- ability to take part in social activities
- fatigue and difficulty sleeping
- coping with daily life, work and leisure
- mood and emotional wellbeing
- how you feel about and understand your condition
When you’ve answered all the questions, you’ll see a summary of what you’ve told us. If you’ve completed more than one form, this summary will show an average of your responses over time.
What happens when you submit your form
A physiotherapist will review what you tell us each month and look back at your answers from previous months.
If your responses show that you are not managing or your symptoms are worsening
If you don’t have an appointment with the physiotherapy department within the next 3 months, the physiotherapist may:
- send you information to help you manage your symptoms
- ask you to book a new clinic or telephone appointment to discuss your symptoms or treatment with your clinician
If you do have an appointment within the next three months, we will discuss your responses then.
Please note remote monitoring isn’t an urgent service. If you need help now, contact the Physiotherapy Helpline on 020 7188 5094.
If you have told us that you are doing well
We won’t make any changes to your care plan.
If you have an appointment coming up, we may suggest that you defer your appointment. Some patients prefer not to come in when they are feeling well. At some hospitals, you can change your appointment to a telephone or video consultation.
It is up to you whether you defer your appointment.
How your care team uses your monthly monitoring information
Everything you tell us each month helps us to track your condition over time. Your responses form part of your record. We don’t compare your responses to anyone else’s.
For example, if you tell us that your pain is low, you might rate it as 1 or 2 on your scale. In the following month, you might rate your pain as 4. This tells us that your pain has got worse, because it has changed on your scale.
This makes it easier to:
- give you treatment and support when you need it
- help you manage your symptoms without having to come into clinic
If you need support now
If you are an existing patient and need to book or change an appointment, want to check your appointment date or want to check the status of a referral, contact us:
Helpline: 020 7188 5094
Email: gst-tr.physioadmin@nhs.net
If you want to opt out of remote monitoring
Reply ‘STOP’ to any of our texts to opt out at any time. We’ll stop sending monthly monitoring forms to your smartphone.
Your normal care will continue if you choose not to use remote monitoring. You can still contact us at any time using the contact details above.
Help us improve this service
We are always listening to what patients tell us about our services. Your feedback helps us improve the service for everyone. There are lots of ways to give feedback, including:
- focus groups
- by telephone
- by email
Tell us about your concerns, suggestions or how the service has made it easier to manage your condition.
If you’d like to share your experience, contact Emily Smith, Care Coordinator at
gst-tr.sel.rheumremotemonitoring@nhs.net
How we look after your information
As part of remote monitoring, we collect and store some of your personal information. This includes your:
- name
- NHS number
- mobile phone number
- responses to the questions we send each month
- incoming and outgoing text messages between you and the remote monitoring service.
The only people who can access this information are clinicians and the care coordinator directly involved in your care. They use a secure login process. All of your information is stored in line with best practice for health data security.
Your data will be accessible via your NHS Electronic Patient Records by health professionals. All data is stored within the UK and isn't transferred elsewhere.
You can ask your clinician to share the information we hold about you at any consultation.
If you would like your information to be removed from this service, or if you would not wish for your anonymised data to be used in our research, please email our Care Coordinator, Emily Smith at
gst-tr.sel.rheumremotemonitoring@nhs.net.