A Comparative Look at 7 Rheumatoid Arthritis Apps : What I Discover & Learn

Managing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) often requires more than just medication. With the rise of digital health tools, several apps have been developed to support patients in tracking symptoms, finding community, and better understanding their condition. Here’s a closer look at seven RA-related Apps, each designed with unique goals and user groups in mind.

1. Bezzy RA

A dedicated online community for individuals living with rheumatoid arthritis.

• Target users: RA patients globally (registration requires phone number verification)
• Key features: Live social feed, patient matchmaking, forums, direct messaging, expert Q&A sessions, including one-on-one chats.
• Profit model: Owned by RVO Health, Bezzy RA remains free for users, supported by advertising revenue.
• App downloads: App Store | Google Play

2. Versus Arthritis

A comprehensive journal app supported by a UK-based charity.

• Target users: RA patients, primarily in the UK (community events are location-specific).
• Key features: Daily mood and symptom logging, personal data aggregation, in-person and online events.
• Profit model: Donation, online shop.
• App downloads: App Store | Google Play

3. MojRA

*Due to location restrictions, failed to login the app. The above screenshots are from the App Store.

A focused app for tracking joint health during treatment.

• Target users: RA patients
• Key features: Visual tracking of symptoms across all joints, with clickable pain reports for each hand and joint group.
• Profit model: Created by the Association of Rheumatic Diseases of Serbia, likely used to support patients without aiming for profit.
• App downloads: App Store | Google Play

4. My Arthritis

All-in-one platform for multiple arthritis conditions.

• Target users: A wide range of people with inflammatory arthritis.
• Key features: Symptom tracking, medication reminder, educational resources/courses, linked health accounts (e.g., Apple Health).
• Profit model: Clinical systems subscription for access to messaging, symptom data tracking, and dashboard integration. (Developed in collaboration with King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the UK’s National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society.)
• App downloads: App Store | Google Play

5. Arthritis+Patient

A personalized symptom-tracking platform.

• Target users: Not limited to rheumatoid arthritis — also for patients with psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.
• Key features: Medications tracking, daily pain/mood levels records, and disease-related research.
• Profit model: Developed by Dr. Manisha Mulgund, a community rheumatologist in Hamilton, there’s no confirmed revenue model.
• App downloads: App Store

6. RA Monitor

A visual health dashboard for patients and their care teams.

• Target users: RA patients and healthcare providers
• Key Features: Mood, medication and symptom tracking, climate data, doctor visit logs, monthly health summaries (exportable as PDF), online forums.
• Profit model: Operated by parent company RPM Healthcare, likely monetized through providing platforms and services to clinics and health systems.
• App downloads: App Store | Google Play

7. RheumaHelper

A clinical toolkit supporting diagnosis and ongoing care.

• Target users: Healthcare professionals, pharmacists, and long-term care staff.
• Key features: Assessment tools (e.g., CDAI and pain simulators), image diagnostics, patient data storage, news updates.
• Profit model: Sponsored news tabs and likely support from medical institutions or industry sponsors.
• App downloads: App Store | Google Play

★ shows the standout features, △ for features that are worth mentioning but not fully defined.

Each app begins with a different mission and method to assist patients, yet hands-on experience shows that some features still fall a bit short — here are some practical suggestions:

1. Long sign-in process

• Issue: Users must enter detailed data — medical history, symptoms — right from the start, which is a setup chore that drives people away.
• Solution: Allow quick sign-in via Google/Apple account, add a friendly tutorial, rewards or feature unlocks to motivate medical history input, and simplify the input with drop-down lists.

2. Scattered features

• Issue: Outdated visuals— charts and numbers are spread across different tabs, making data hard to read and compare.
• Solution: Restructure data with priority-based sections, integrate pie/line graphs for readability, and connect to external health data sources (if possible). Also, simplify the tab structure with clear, bright UI design.

3. Content update lag

• Issue: Some content isn’t updated in real-time, requiring manual maintenance.
• Solution: Connect APIs for live updates to reduce manual work, ensuring source accuracy and securing proper access permissions.

4. Unregulated Community Management

• Issue: Some content isn’t updated in real-time, requiring manual maintenance and server upkeep.
• Solution: Redirect community discussions to established platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp or LINE for better engagement and lower cost, or embed external links to verified RA support groups.

If you have any feedback, please leave a comment! In the next post, I’ll explore further that may bring the features and patient community even closer : )

*By the way, there’s an RA App from Sweden by ***Elsa Science*** that I really admire. It gets so many things right, I honestly feel like it’s the arthritis tool I’ve been dreaming about. But region support is missing in Taiwan, so full testing isn’t possible yet. Still worth a peek!