A decade ago, I became the CEO of my own health after growing frustrated with conventional medicine’s fragmented approach. I was bounced from one specialist to another—internal medicine, orthopedics, rheumatology, endocrinology, chronic pain—each insisting, “It’s just stress from working on Wall Street with four kids.” The time, money, and emotional toll of those endless appointments, and the gaslighting I experienced along the way, still astonish me.
Everything changed when I assembled my own care team: professionals who recognized that my systemic symptoms (including chronic musculoskeletal pain, joint pain, GI disturbances, and poor sleep) were interconnected. With their support, I regained my zest for life.
Since then, I’ve conducted more than 500 patient interviews. From my early work as a patient advocate at Medx to co-founding Rheumission as a Chief Patient Officer, I can attest that my experience is far from unique.
These recurring experiences point to a larger pattern within our healthcare system: many patients struggle to find coordinated, comprehensive care. It became clear that we need better solutions—one of the most promising being the use of care team models.
Care team models aren’t new. Oncology has long used multidisciplinary tumor boards, and the AHN Autoimmunity Institute pioneered a similar approach before virtual care became mainstream. What’s different today is how digital health enables collaborative, integrative teams that bring together mental health providers, nutritionists, and other specialists to partner with patients wherever they are.
That’s why I’m so proud of the care team we built at Rheumission, a care model that used lifestyle medicine as the first line of defense to deliver the whole-person care autoimmune patients deserve. Our team included an Integrative Rheumatologist and Nurse Practitioner, as well as a Lifestyle Medicine NP, Autoimmune Dietitian, Psychologist, and Care Coordinator, all working together to help patients heal rather than just manage symptoms.
From there, my focus shifted to understanding how patients experienced our model in practice. As co-founder and Chief Patient Officer of Rheumission, I stayed closely connected with our initial beta patients and others, using their real-time feedback to refine and strengthen our approach. Again and again, we saw that patients thrive when supported by a dedicated care team, as shown below.
Our experience is part of a growing movement proving that better outcomes from coordinated, patient-centered care. Congratulations to all the digital health companies demonstrating that virtual care teams can deliver meaningful outcomes for autoimmune patients—Welltheory, Oshi, Ayble, Swing, and many others.
Authors: DrBonnie360, Sen Meng
We approach these thought leadership posts from our multi-lens perspectives.
- DrBonnie360: Strategic advisor, venture-funded startup co-founder, former Wall Street equity researcher, clinical dentist, patient, and advocate.
- Sen Meng: Digital health equity research intern, Ecology, Behavior, Evolution Undergraduate Student at the University of California, Los Angeles.
