Yandex AI Assistant Helps Pediatric Rheumatologists Remotely Monitor Patients with Juvenile Arthritis

The Association of Pediatric Rheumatologists has upgraded its remote monitoring system for young patients. The mobile and web versions of the 'Juvenile Arthritis' app now include an AI assistant developed by Yandex's Center for Technology for Society. The assistant helps doctors respond faster to patient inquiries and provides round-the-clock information to patients across Russia. About 1,500 patients and 32 pediatric rheumatologists are already using the system. The AI assistant, built on the Yandex AI Studio platform, reminds patients to take medications according to their individual treatment plans, helps interpret test results, and answers questions about drugs, side effects, and lifestyle recommendations. For inquiries involving therapy changes or medical interpretation, the assistant drafts responses that doctors review and edit before sending. Critical cases are immediately flagged to physicians. The assistant also collects anonymized data on drug safety and efficacy, enabling doctors to prepare reports for Roszdravnadzor. According to Ekaterina Alekseeva, the assistant reduces overall response preparation time several-fold and increases the number of questions resolved at first contact by 40%. The project uses large language models from Yandex AI Studio, referencing the Russian Ministry of Health's clinical recommendations, drug instructions, and regulatory documents. The approach could be applied to remote monitoring for other chronic diseases, including cardiovascular and oncological ones. In Russia, about 70,000 children suffer from rheumatic diseases, with juvenile arthritis being a common chronic inflammatory condition that can lead to irreversible joint damage if untreated. The project is a collaboration between Yandex's Center for Technology for Society and the Association of Pediatric Rheumatologists, with the development approach published openly on SourceCraft.