Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance
Influencing policy and care together for best lifelong musculoskeletal health
On 6 September 2018, The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) published an update to a set of recommendations for the management of hand osteoarthritis. The recommendations report on new evidence made since a first EULAR report was published in 2007.
See the press release (opens in PDF) for the five overarching principles and ten recommendations that were agreed upon in the EULAR document.
New dates from the British Medical Acupuncture Society.
03 July 2019 – BMAS House, Northwich (South Manchester)
10 Sept 2019 – NCVO, London N1 9RL
A one-day course on acupuncture as a treatment for osteoarthritis, focussing on the hip, knee and other large joints. Includes lectures, demonstrations and practical sessions to refresh existing skills to improve your expertise in this field.
This course is for regulated health professionals who use acupuncture in their practice and would like to revise or improve their knowledge and skills in the management of patients with osteoarthritis.…
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September always kicks off with a huge surge in requests to the Hypermobility Syndromes Association for assistance with children struggling with school. The HMSA produces a booklet called ‘The Educators Guide to the Hypermobile Student‘. This booklet, beneficial for parents and those in education, can help explain the impact of these conditions on the individual in an educational setting. The guide is available from the website shop, hypermobilityshop.org, and is currently at a reduced price.
Students going into secondary school often start having problems because of the environmental change.…
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The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry has been working on changes to the ABPI Code of Practice for the Pharmaceutical Industry and the PMCPA Constitution and Procedure.
The proposed changes follow work done by a group chaired by Hugo Fry, Sanofi UK Country Chair and General Manager Sanofi Pasteur, established by the ABPI Board, as well as feedback from member companies, patient organisations and others.
The requirements of the ABPI Code of Practice and its administration by the PMCPA demonstrate the commitment of the pharmaceutical industry to benefiting patients by operating in a professional, ethical and transparent manner. …
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The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) will be consulting on the safety and efficacy of platelet-rich plasma injections for osteoarthritis of the knee as part of its Interventional Procedures Programme (IPP). Public consultation is for four weeks and runs between 23 August 2018 and 5pm 20 September 2018.
NICE would be pleased to receive any comments that you may have on provisional recommendations and information on recently published literature not included in the procedure overview.
If you would like to comment then please do so via the NICE website.
Please join United Patients on 18 September 2018 for an important discussion on how patients and their physicians can work together to communicate more efficiently and effectively.
Dr. James Galloway (Rheumatologist, King’s College London) and Clare Jacklin (National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society [UK]) of Pfizer’s RA NarRAtive Initiative will join us to discuss findings from their global survey of patients and rheumatologists that identified key barriers to communication and how they can be improved.
Experts:
“Improving MSK Medicine & Rheumatology“
Starts: Thursday, 22 November 2018 – 09:00
Ends: Saturday, 24 November 2018 – 13:00
Special Joint Injection Session (Pre-booked)
with speakers Drs Alan Walker, Arthur Mone, Simon McGraw and Ms Kirsty Smith.
Following the previous interest in injection workshops using cadavers, this year the PCRS is running
workshops on Thursday morning and afternoon, the first day of the Annual Conference.
As well as the traditional formalin preparations, there will also be Thiel-embalmed specimens this time, which give a flexible and more life-like experience.…
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Musculoskeletal conditions are common – we all know that. But it hadn’t struck me until recently just how common compared to other long term conditions. 17 million people in the UK have an MSK condition. Compare that with the 850,000 with dementia and think about how much we talk about dementia. It’s a similar picture for other conditions: diabetes, 3.5 million people, cardiovascular, 7 million. Only mental health exceeds the prevalence of MSK conditions.
Of course, we are rightly worried about dementia.…
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NASS will be returning to Northern Ireland for a Community Engagement Conference on 27 October 2018.
This is a new style event for NASS, bringing together healthcare professionals, people with AS, other organisations and researchers.
There are some fantastic speakers already confirmed, including Dr Philip Gardiner (Consultant Rheumatologist), Rhona Galway (Clinical Specialist Rheumatology Physiotherapist), Eithne Boyle (Senior Physiotherapist) and Elaine Wylie (Rheumatology Nurse Specialist).
There will also be a number of workshops run by members of the NASS team Jakub, Dale, Sally and Garry.…
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As you are hopefully already aware, a clinically-led programme called London Choosing Wisely is underway to develop pan-London policies for eight treatment areas, to ensure patients across London have consistent access to treatment that improves their health, based on the latest available evidence. Full details about the programme, including a list of Frequently Asked Questions, are available online via: healthylondon.org/london-choosing-wisely.
The London Choosing Wisely programme expert groups for knee arthroscopy, varicose vein procedures, and cataract surgery have now prepared a draft pan-London policy in their treatment areas.…
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