Delay in consultation with specialists for persons with suspected new-onset rheumatoid arthritis: a population-based study.
OBJECTIVE
Care in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is optimized by involvement of rheumatologists. We wished to determine whether patients suspected of having new-onset RA in Québec consulted with a rheumatologist, to document any delay in these consultations, and to determine factors associated with prompt consultation.


METHODS
Physician reimbursement administrative data were obtained for all adults in Québec. Suspected new-onset cases of RA in the year 2000 were defined operationally as a physician visit for RA (based on the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision diagnostic codes), where there had been no prior visit code to any physician for RA in the preceding 3 years. For those patients who were first diagnosed by a nonrheumatologist, Cox regression modeling was used to identify patient and physician characteristics associated with time to consultation with a rheumatologist.


RESULTS
Of the 10,001 persons coded as incident RA by a nonrheumatologist, only 27.3% consulted a rheumatologist within the next 2.5-3.5 years. Of those who consulted, the median time from initial visit to a physician for RA to consultation with a rheumatologist was 79 days. The strongest predictors of shorter time to consultation were female sex, younger age, being in a higher socioeconomic class, and having greater comorbidity.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data suggest that the vast majority of patients suspected of having new-onset RA do not receive rheumatology care. Further action should focus on this issue so that outcomes in RA may be optimized.
Feldman
Debbie Ehrmann
DE
Université de Montréal and Public Health Department of Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Bernatsky
Sasha
S
Haggerty
Jeannie
J
Leffondré
Karen
K
Tousignant
Pierre
P
Roy
Yves
Y
Xiao
Yongling
Y
Zummer
Michel
M
Abrahamowicz
Michal
M
D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000628:therapy*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000639:trends; D011792:Quebec; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012219:Rheumatology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class; D013038:Specialization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome