MSK & Arthritis News

Delay to diagnosis in musculoskeletal disease

Introduction

Across a range of MSK conditions there is evidence of significant delays to diagnosis which result in avoidable morbidity and mortality. GPs have a critical role to play in reducing time to diagnosis. This article looks at the delays, their impact, and the resources available to GPs to support their referral decisions. Our simple message is #ThinkRheum.

Delay to diagnosis

Significant delay from symptom onset to diagnosis has been seen across a range of MSK conditions: an average of 6.4 yeas in Lupus [1], 8.5 years in axial spondyloarthrtis (axial SpA) [2] and an estimated 10 years in Ehlers-Danos syndromes (EDS).…

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HMSA at European Parliament “Optimising Patient Outcomes” meeting

The HMSA has been out and about quite a bit this month, last week attending the “Optimising Patient Relevant Outcome Measures for sustainable healthcare systems and strong economies” meeting at the European Parliament.

On Wednesday 20 June, Hannah Ensor (HMSA trustee) and Lisa Renaut (HMSA volunteer) visited the European Parliament for this important meeting of the Brain Mind Pain interest group (thanks to Pain Alliance Europe for funding travel expenses.) The talks were both informative and interesting.

Cathalijne van Doorne, from Euro Ataxia, spoke about the practical importance of clinical research and interventions focusing on what would most benefit the patient – which is a big shift from what the clinical priorities might be.…

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From running to professional support: The role of the voluntary sector in MSK

About a year ago I joined parkrun and I still have the enthusiasm of a new convert. It’s a great way to start the weekend, running in a park with about 300 other people, improving your MSK health as you go, and then coffee and a chat after. So I was delighted to hear that parkrun UK and the Royal College of GPs have launched an initiative encouraging GP practices to become ‘parkrun practices’. GPs in this film talk about why they take part in parkrun and suggest it to patients.…

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EULAR Breakthrough evaluation survey

The EULAR PARE Editorial Board need your input regarding their publications, in order to assess their impact and value. They are looking for one person per organisation to give feedback on their e-Breakthrough newsletter and the hard copy, Breakthrough.

It would help them if you could fill out a short online survey by 30 July at the latest.

EULAR sends thanks in advance for your kind support!

Improving Patient Safety & Care 2019 conference

Continuous Learning, Measurement & Improvement
6 February 2019
Royal Society of Medicine, London

The inaugural Improving Patient Safety & Care 2018 conference will assess how the NHS are currently making a difference in regards to improved safety and care and how it intends to do so in the future through a transparent, constantly evolving patient-centred system. It is therefore a must attend in the conference calendar for anyone involved in the provision of patient-centred services across the NHS, be that frontline, clinical or board level personnel.…

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Health in All Policies conference 2019

HiAP 2019
Delivering Health Equity Tackling Inequalities
1 May 2019
Royal Society of Medicine, London

Due to the huge amounts of positive feedback received during and following the HIAP 2018 – A Strategy for Improving Population Health conference from our speakers, delegates and partners, GovConnect are proud to announce the launch of Health in All Policies 2019: Delivering Health Equity, Tackling Inequalities.

HiAP 2019 will seek to maintain this positive momentum and identify the progress made throughout the course of 2018/19, whilst providing continuous insight on a range of approaches and solutions during the lead up to event.…

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Help develop the NICE guideline on technology-based ways of changing people’s behaviour

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) produces guidance on the most effective ways to prevent, diagnose and treat disease and ill health, and provide social care support. NICE guidance is based on research evidence and takes into account the views of people working in or using relevant services, and other stakeholder groups.

NICE are currently looking for people who have used technology to change their behaviour and improve their health and wellbeing, as well as their carers and those who advocate on their behalf (usually referred to as ‘lay members’ at NICE).…

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Living with persistent pain in Wales – consultation open

The Welsh Government has published its draft ‘Living with persistent pain in Wales guidance’ for consultation and is seeking views on the draft guidance which will replace the Service Development and Commissioning Directive for Chronic Non-Malignant Pain 2008.

The consultation is on the proposed direction of the draft guidance, which includes: living with pain, supported self-management and health service provision.

More information on the consultation, together with the draft guidance, can be downloaded from the gov.wales website.

The consultation ends 14 September 2018.…

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NASS welcomes QS for Spondyloarthritis

NASS welcomes the publication by NICE of a set of Quality Standards for Spondyloarthritis. Now we need to ensure that they are implemented effectively across the country so that every AS patient, every time, gets early diagnosis and high quality care.

The NICE Quality Standard for Spondyloarthritis covers four areas:

  • Adults with suspected axial or peripheral spondyloarthritis are referred to a rheumatologist.
  • Adults with suspected axial spondyloarthritis and an X-ray that does not show sacroiliitis have an MRI using an inflammatory back pain protocol.
…

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