Background: The department’s rheumatology advice line, established 20 years ago for patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs), experienced exponential growth in demand, averaging 1200 calls and emails per month. Initially, it included a telephone voicemail system and an email service, managed by rheumatology specialist nurses and admin staff with support from consultants, specialist registrars, and the multidisciplinary team. The increasing volume of patient inquiries led to significant pressure on the department, resulting in clinic cancellations and increased the risk of staff burnout.

Objectives: The primary objective was to address the inefficiencies and high demand of the existing rheumatology advice line service, and to improve staff well-being and resource allocation. Additionally, we aimed to incorporate patient feedback to ensure the changes met their needs effectively.

Methods: To achieve these objectives, we transitioned the advice line to our rheumatology department’s website. This involved continuous improvement and updating of the website, increasing the availability of information including “frequently asked questions” (FAQ) sections, and introducing an online form for patient inquiries. The online form submitted by a patient with RMDs needing advice was uploaded by the admin staff onto the patient’s electronic record and triaged by the specialist nursing team. The online form was only accessible during active working hours. Prior to implementing these changes, we conducted a pilot with a patient group to gather initial feedback and ensure the proposed changes were patient-centred.

Results: Since the advice line email service and telephone voicemail system were switched off, we have observed significant improvements in rheumatology advice line in terms of service efficiency, a reduction in call volume, and enhanced staff morale. Feedback from the patient experience group following these changes was very positive, indicating that the new system met their needs effectively and efficiently.

Conclusion: Transitioning the rheumatology advice line to a digital platform, with substantial input and feedback from patients, has significantly improved efficiency, reduced the volume of inquiries, and enhanced staff well-being. This model offers a sustainable solution to managing high patient demand and can be adapted by other departments facing similar challenges.

REFERENCES: NIL.

Acknowledgements: Rheumatology advice line working group.

Disclosure of Interests: None declared.

© The Authors 2025. This abstract is an open access article published in Annals of Rheumatic Diseases under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ). Neither EULAR nor the publisher make any representation as to the accuracy of the content. The authors are solely responsible for the content in their abstract including accuracy of the facts, statements, results, conclusion, citing resources etc.