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Report: Many Arthritis Patients at Risk for Disability, Reduced Life Expectancy Due to Treatment Delays
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A report carried out by the British Society of Rheumatology revealed four out of five patients in England and Wales with early inflammatory arthritis were at risk of long-term disability and reduced life expectancy due to delayed referrals to receive specialist advice and treatment, according to press release from the organization.
The National Rheumatoid and Early Inflammatory Arthritis Audit report, commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership as part of the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcome Programme, found 20% of patients who visited with a general practitioner and were suspected of having rheumatoid and early inflammatory arthritis were referred to specialist services within the 3-day period recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). According to the release, some patients who saw other providers waited more than 12 weeks for such a referral. Overall, fewer than 50% of patients were seen by a specialist within the recommended period. The results also showed variability in meeting the NICE standard across England and Wales.
Peter Lanyon
The report cited several reasons for delays in referral and treatment. According to the release, the British Society of Rheumatology (BSR) calculated that consultant levels are 21% below levels recommended by the Royal College of Physicians. In addition, the need for additional consultants will likely increase due to increases in the demand for rheumatology services.
To rectify this situation, recommendations from the audit included: increase awareness among the general public about inflammatory arthritis and the need for speedy treatment; increase awareness among general practitioners about systems of the disease and the need for referrals within the NICE guidelines; analyze and understand variation in performance; review the adequacy of specialist nurse staffing levels; and support national audit data collection.
“It is now clear from the consistency of the data, that important variations in standards for people living with inflammatory arthritis still exists,” Peter Lanyon, DM, FRCP, MRCGP, BSR president, said in the release. “This has implications for both primary and secondary data clinicians and commissioners. We all have a role to play working toward reducing this unwarranted variation, at local, regional and national level[s].”
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