The Singapore General Hospital (SGH) has introduced a Smartphone for patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, to help patients in managing their diseases.

The Smartphone help patients in tracing their level of pain, by answering a questionnaire about their daily activities. The main idea of launching this Smartphone is to make it easy for doctors to manage patient’s condition effectively.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systematic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks synovial joints. The disease causes pain in joints, stiffness and swelling. Women get three times more affected by rheumatoid in contrast to men. Around 45,000 people in Singapore are suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, which needs proper care.

"The application also allows patients to enter any comments or questions that they have for their doctors. So it actually helps to give patients a good sense of their condition, tracks it over time, and so that hopefully will empower patients to have better understanding of their condition and improve their outcome", asserted Associate Professor Julian Thumboo, Head of Rheumatology and Immunology Department at SGH.

Dr Chong Yoke Sin, CEO of Integrated Health Information System, said that the Smartphone application’s trend has been increasing, but the application is just not for the confident younger generation.

He further added that Smartphone’s should not be restricted to patients only, but also should be provided to the patient’s family. If an aged patient cannot operate it, caregiver’s should be given permission to use it for them.