Rheumatology
Aim
To adopt a chronic disease model of care, to facilitate “the right person, right place, first time” approach to the patient with rheumatic disease
Quality
- To reduce mortality associated with rheumatic diseases
- To improve both short-term and long-term outcome measures (e.g. Disease activity scores) in patients with rheumatic diseases
- To reduce physical/mental/vocational disability related to rheumatic diseases
Access
Primary care team:
- Full national roll out of primary care teams and appropriate clinical infrastructure.
- To reduce overall the numbers of patients referred to rheumatology OPDs by encouraging management in primary care as appropriate
Secondary Care
- To reduce waiting lists for all rheumatology referrals to < 6 months within 1 year
- To reduce waiting lists for all rheumatology referrals to < 3 months within 2 years
- Allow fast tracking of early inflammatory arthritis and systemic disease in order to reduce waiting times for such urgent referrals to < 2 weeks within 1 year.
Interface between Primary care and Secondary Care
- Develop interface clinics/consultations between primary and secondary care services.
- To develop/agree/implement national referral guidelines for all patients with MSK disease within 1 year
Cost
- To identify potential efficiencies and savings within the system
- To reduce MSK-related work disability
- By ensuring timely access to services, to reduce the impact of rheumatic disease-related joint damage (e.g. reduced requirement for joint replacement surgery)
- By identifying and treating patients at risk for osteoporosis, to significantly reduce low-trauma fracture occurrence and consequent morbidity and mortality
Objectives/Key Solution areas
- To reduce overall the numbers of patients referred to rheumatology OPDs by encouraging management in primary care as appropriate
- To standardise referral practices and guidelines
- To reduce the waiting periods for patients referred to rheumatology OPD
- To fast track early inflammatory arthritis and systemic disease
- To provide access to biologic therapies to patients as indicated but in a cost-effective manner
- To identify potential efficiencies and savings within the system