June 7, 2022 (Vancouver) – Researchers have found some room for improvement when it comes to keeping rheumatoid arthritis patients under the care of a rheumatologist long term.
The Arthritis Research Canada study examined yearly access to rheumatology care and ongoing treatment in a group of individuals with rheumatoid arthritis in Ontario. It also looked at the patient and rheumatologist factors associated with remaining under continuous rheumatology care in the first five years after diagnosis.
Researchers found that older age, male sex, lower socioeconomic status, the number of diseases a patient has, and having an older rheumatologist were associated with lower odds of remaining under rheumatology care.
“Most research examining rheumatology care has focused on measuring initial access to rheumatologists among new patients,” said Dr. Claire Barber, a research scientist at Arthritis Research Canada and the lead researcher on this study. “Less is known about retention in rheumatology care over time, which can impact patient quality of care.”
The research team also found that, although the percentage of patients seeing a rheumatologist for an annual visit declined each year after diagnosis, retention improved over the study period.
Treatment for people with rheumatoid arthritis requires frequent reassessment of disease activity by a rheumatologist and adjustment of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). The goal is to achieve remission or low disease activity.
“Once a person has achieved either of these goals, they should continue to be seen by a rheumatologist at least once a year for their overall health,” Barber said, adding that discontinuing medications can be associated with high disease relapse rates in people with rheumatoid arthritis.
To learn more about this research, please click here.
