Lessons on Telemedicine in Rheumatology: Thinking beyond the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically altered the provision of rheumatology patient care globally, prompting the rapid rise of telemedicine. Suddenly, rheumatology practices were forced to adopt new telemedicine practice patterns to provide care for patients of all ages across the full spectrum of rheumatic diseases and disease activity levels. In a matter of weeks after COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (March 11, 2020), reports estimated 40-90% of outpatient rheumatology encounters worldwide were being conducted using telemedicine (1-4). This abrupt change in the delivery of rheumatology patient care spurred intense interest in establishing best practices for telemedicine, such that rheumatology telemedicine publications increased by more than 300% in the four years from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2023) compared to the four years prior to the pandemic (2016-2019) (5). Clearly, telemedicine has emerged as an essential component of rheumatology care delivery (6). This narrative review outlines central aspects of telemedicine in rheumatology. Specifically, we will review the available rheumatology telemedicine modalities, discuss telemedicine appropriateness in outpatient rheumatology encounters, explore ways in which telemedicine could be used to expand access to rheumatology care, summarize telemedicine initiatives in medical education, and highlight key factors that may determine the future of rheumatology telemedicine moving beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.