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Help Patients Navigate Autoimmune Disorders.

Different autoimmune conditions can require very different care plans.

PATHS helps healthcare organizations turn clinical expertise into actionable patient journeys, giving patients and caregivers clear guidance while providing care teams with visibility into engagement, understanding, and progress.

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Autoimmune Care Changes as Needs Change.

Different autoimmune conditions can require very different care plans. Patients need to understand their own diagnosis, recognize changes and know which questions to bring to the team.

  • 15M+1

    People estimated to have a diagnosed autoimmune disease in a U.S. EHR study

  • 4.6%1

    Estimated U.S. population prevalence in that study

  • 34%1

    Of people with autoimmune disease in the study had more than one diagnosis

  1. The Problem

    A study of six U.S. medical systems estimated that more than 15 million people had a diagnosed autoimmune disease, using records from 2011–2022. About 34% had more than one autoimmune diagnosis, adding complexity to the care journey.1

  2. The Cost to Care Teams

    Inflammatory arthritis guidance calls for ongoing education, shared decisions and self-management support. A supporting review notes time pressure, service availability and uncertainty about available resources as obstacles for healthcare professionals. These needs extend beyond a single consultation.2,3

  3. When Daily Needs Are Overlooked

    Inflammatory arthritis can affect pain, fatigue, physical function and emotional well-being. Helping someone manage those effects requires attention to daily life alongside clinical treatment. Autoimmune conditions differ, so no single complication rate describes them all.3

  4. What Better Support Can Do

    The EULAR evidence review found benefits from selected self-management approaches, including education, problem solving and goal setting, for some inflammatory arthritis outcomes such as self-efficacy. Results varied across interventions. This supports tailored support, without claiming that education controls every autoimmune disease or reduces hospital costs.3

Sources

  1. 1.Abend AH, et al. Estimation of prevalence of autoimmune diseases in the United States using electronic health record data. Journal of Clinical Investigation. Published online December 12, 2024. doi:10.1172/JCI178722.
  2. 2.Nikiphorou E, et al. 2021 EULAR recommendations for the implementation of self-management strategies in patients with inflammatory arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis 2021. doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-220249.

Healthcare teams have a critical responsibility to educate and prepare patients for that journey. But once patients leave the clinical setting, how do we know they're ready?

Do they understand their care plan? Can they apply what they've learned? Are they following through? Where do they need additional support?

Preparing patients for the journey is essential. Knowing how they're managing it creates the opportunity to improve care.

Autoimmune Disorders: From Clinical Expertise to Actionable Guidance.

  • Understand

    Education and knowledge

    Explain the person's condition and the treatment information selected by their clinical team.

  • Take Action

    Tasks, decisions, follow-through

    Help patients prepare questions about symptoms, treatment and daily life for their next visit.

  • Manage Care

    Medications, appointments, self-care

    Organize education about the agreed care plan and preparation for follow-up appointments.

  • Demonstrate

    Assessments and engagement evidence

    Use assessments to identify questions or gaps in understanding for the team to review.

Meet Elena.Her First Months With Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Follow Elena through an illustrative seven-Step Path. A hospital could use this structure to share education its rheumatology team selects, support self-management and make infection warning signs easy to recognize.

Understanding My Rheumatology Diagnosis Path

Illustrative person (AI-generated). Illustrative educational Path. Completion does not establish a clinical outcome.

Read the Path Steps
  1. Video: Understand RA

    What rheumatoid arthritis is, why early treatment matters, and how her rheumatology team adjusts care over time.

  2. Document: Know her treatment plan

    Her team’s instructions for her medicines, vaccines and follow-up visits, in one place.

  3. Video: Know infection signs

    Some RA treatments lower the body’s defenses, so fever, chills or other signs of infection mean calling her team.

  4. Audio: Stay active

    Regular physical activity that fits her day, as her team recommends.

  5. Form: Note her symptoms

    Elena notes joint symptoms, morning stiffness, fatigue and questions to discuss at her next visit.

  6. Quiz: Note it, or call today?

    Practice which changes to note for her next visit and which mean calling her team, such as fever, chills, sore throat or cough while on treatment.

  7. Link: Find work support

    Resources on working and parenting with RA, and support programs her rheumatology team suggests.

Download the full story (PDF)

Every Workflow Should Save the Health System Time and Money.

Assign a value to the Understanding My Rheumatology Diagnosis Path and see the results.

Path Value Estimation

minutes
per year

How many times your team already does this workflow each year.

per hour

65.5staff hours saved per year

$2,291estimated value per year

Change the assumptions above to see your estimate of time and money saved.

  1. CREATE

    The care team builds a Understanding My Rheumatology Diagnosis Path once.

    Rheumatology clinicians turn the diagnosis education they repeat with every new patient into a structured Path and assign it a value of 21 minutes of staff education time saved per patient.

  2. ENGAGE

    Patients like Elena learn and act.

    Each year, 187 patients like Elena learn about a new rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis with the Understanding My Rheumatology Diagnosis Path, saving 21 minutes of education time each.

  3. KNOW

    Data shows the impact.

    That adds up to 3,927 minutes (65.5 hours) of staff time, worth an estimated $2,291 a year at $35.00 an hour.

  4. IMPROVE

    Insights improve the next Path.

    Engagement, knowledge checks and questions show where diagnosis education was clear or confusing, so the care team can refine it for the next patient.

Every Autoimmune Disorders Journey Creates an Opportunity to Improve the Next.

Estimates are illustrative and use the assumptions above. They are not measured results.

Elena's Experience Becomes Health System Intelligence.

Elena's care doesn't stop at one Path. After her diagnosis, the rheumatology team provides a Path for each part of her first months: understanding her diagnosis, treatment questions, living with fatigue, joint care, and support at work and home. Each Path Elena completes also shows her care team what she engaged with, what she understood and what she still had questions about.

  • Treatment Questions Path

    Elena prepares to discuss her treatment and monitoring plan. The questions patients bring show the team which parts of treatment education need work.

  • Living With Fatigue Path

    Elena returns to her team's fatigue resources whenever she needs them. The resources patients revisit most show the team where support matters.

  • Rheumatology Review Path

    Elena arrives at her review ready to discuss how her plan is working. That helps the team focus the visit on what matters to her.

The more the health system knows about each patient's experience and journey, the better it can make its workflows. What Elena and every other patient engage with, understand and ask about becomes health system intelligence: the team learns from every patient and refines each Path, so the next patient's experience is better. Clearer Paths mean fewer repeat calls and less time re-teaching the same education, and that saves time and money across the health system.

Explore More Areas of Care.

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Start With One Journey. Learn From Every Experience.

Improving autoimmune care doesn't require changing every workflow at once.

Start with a patient journey that matters to your organization. Build a structured approach, understand how patients and caregivers engage, and use what you learn to improve the experience.

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