Remote monitoring service
Managing your condition at home
Remote monitoring for rheumatology patients
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 a few questions about how you are feeling. Using a scale from 0 to 10, you’ll be able to rate symptoms such as:
- pain
- ability to complete physical tasks
- fatigue
- coping with daily life, work and leisure
- mood and emotional wellbeing
- how you feel about your condition
If your symptoms have got worse since your last monitoring form, we will ask you to tell us more using a free text box.
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
Your Care Coordinator will review what you tell us each month and look back at your answers from previous months.
If you have told us that you are feeling 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.
When your responses show that your condition is changing
If you do not have an appointment with your rheumatology department within the next 3 months, our Care Coordinator may:
- send you information to help you manage your symptoms
- suggest you contact your rheumatology department
If you do have an appointment within the next three months, we will discuss your responses then.
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
How you can use your responses
Once you’ve completed your form, you’ll see a line chart showing how your responses compare to what you’ve told us in previous forms. This can help you track changes in how you feel.
If you need support now
You don’t need to wait for your monthly monitoring form if you need help.
Contact your rheumatology department if you:
- are ‘in flare’ or your symptoms get worse
- need medical advice about your condition
- need to book or change an appointment
- want to check your appointment date or time
- need to find out when you’ll get your prescription
- want to check the status of a referral
Always call the hospital you usually visit. Teams in other hospitals will not be able to access details of your appointments, prescriptions or your health records.
Rheumatology Guy’s and St Thomas’
Book a telephone appointment
(existing patients)
Helpline: 020 7188 5900
Email: gst-tr.rheumatologynurse@nhs.net
Rheumatology King’s College Hospital
Helpline: 0203 299 1866
between 09:30-11:30 (Monday to Friday)
Email: kch-tr.arthritis@nhs.net
Rheumatology Queen Mary Hospital, Sidcup
Nurse Helpline: 0203 910 7146
between 08:30-16:30 (Monday to Friday)
Email: kch-tr.mskrheumnurses@nhs.net
Rheumatology University Hospital Lewisham
Nurse Helpline: 0208 333 3000
Rheumatology Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich
Helpline: 0208 836 6932
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.