title: Early diagnosis of rheumatic diseases: an evaluation of the present situation and proposed changes.
abstract: Musculoskeletal pain is a very common complaint, affecting 30-40% of the European population. It is estimated that approximately 400,000 Poles suffer from inflammatory rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis, and a vast majority of those affected are working-age individuals. Patients with suspected arthritis require prompt diagnosis and treatment, as any delays may result in irreversible joint destruction and disability. Currently in Poland, the lag time between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis is, on average, as much as 35 weeks. In this paper, we review the current state of specialist rheumatology care in Poland and propose a reorganised care model that includes early diagnosis of inflammatory arthritis. The main goal we wish to achieve with our reorganised model is to enhance access to outpatient specialist rheumatology care for patients with suspected arthritis. We believe that our model should make it possible to considerably reduce the lag time between GP referral and the diagnosis and treatment by a rheumatologist to as little as 3 to 4 weeks. This article provides a proposal of changes that would achieve this goal and is a summary of the report published by the Institute of Rheumatology in September 2014.
authors.affiliation: Department of Early Arthritis, Institute of Rheumatology, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Brygida
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kwiatkowska
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion, Institute of Rheumatology, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Filip
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Raciborski
authors.affiliation: Department of Prevention of Environmental Hazards and Allergology, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kłak
authors.affiliation: Department of Early Arthritis, Institute of Rheumatology, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maślińska
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Education Centre, Łazarski University, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gryglewicz
keywords: arthritis; early diagnosis; proposed changes