As a first-year internal medicine resident, I find myself consulting rheumatologists for just about every mystery patient in our hospital. Like many residents, I was initially intimidated by the complexity of this elusive field. At first glance, diagnosis and management seem completely inaccessible to a first-year resident. But several rheumatology consults later, I can confidently…
Doctor-patient communication is critical for successfully treating rheumatoid arthritis. But a majority of RA patients report suboptimal shared decision making, sometimes due to language barriers, lack of time, limited health literacy and other factors. A recent pilot study sought to improve patient understanding and communication by employing an adapted medication guide and decision aid during clinical visits. Use of the tool, RA Choice, resulted in an increase in patient knowledge, and a majority of clinicians found it helpful…
A physiotherapy-specific, Web-based e-learning platform, “RAP-el,” was studied to determine its effectiveness in assisting physiotherapists with the best-practice management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It was shown to improve self-reported confidence, likely practice behaviors and satisfaction in physiotherapists’ ability to manage people with RA, and improve their clinical knowledge in several areas…
The ACR is your source for online education