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<p>The total number and proportion of people with suspected rheumatoid and early inflammatory
arthritis who were diagnosed and managed according to the National Institute for Care
and Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard in each of the last five years is not available.</p><p>The
National Rheumatoid and Early Inflammatory Arthritis Audit report, commissioned on
behalf of NHS England by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) assesses
the quality of care by specialist rheumatology services in England and Wales using
criteria derived from sources such as the NICE Quality Standard on rheumatoid arthritis
(RA). The audit includes patients with: RA, psoriatic arthritis; spondyloarthropathy
with peripheral arthritis; and undifferentiated arthritis. Key findings from the second
annual report of the audit published in July 2016, found that:</p><p>- 95% of patients
agreed that they had a good experience of care, up from 78% in year one of the audit;</p><p>-
20% people with suspected persistent synovitis affecting the small joints of the hands
or feet, or more than one joint, are referred to a rheumatology service within three
working days of presentation (Quality Standard 1) and this is essentially unchanged
from year one of the audit;</p><p>- 37% of patients were seen by a rheumatology service
within three weeks of referral (Quality Standard 2) and this is essentially unchanged
from year one of the audit; and</p><p>- 68% of patients received disease-modifying
antirheumatic drugs within six weeks of referral (NICE Quality Standard 3), up from
53% in year one of the audit.</p><p>The audit is an important tool that helps commissioners
and providers to scrutinise local services, highlight variation and drive improvement.
The audit report makes a range of recommendations, including that local services improve
training and awareness and amongst general practitioners (GP). Furthermore, in addition
to the RA audit, the National Hip Fracture Audit, also commissioned by HQIP, is another
way in which services for patients with Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions are assessed
in terms of timeliness and quality. Reports from both of the arthritis audits and
the most recent hip fracture audit can be found at the following links:</p><p><a href="http://www.hqip.org.uk/resources/national-clinical-audit-for-rheumatoid-and-early-and-inflammatory-arthritis-annual-report-2015/"
target="_blank">www.hqip.org.uk/resources/national-clinical-audit-for-rheumatoid-and-early-and-inflammatory-arthritis-annual-report-2015/</a></p><p><a
href="http://www.hqip.org.uk/resources/rheumatoid-and-early-inflammatory-arthritis-2016/"
target="_blank">www.hqip.org.uk/resources/rheumatoid-and-early-inflammatory-arthritis-2016/</a></p><p><a
href="http://www.hqip.org.uk/resources/national-hip-fracture-database-nhfd-annual-report-2016/"
target="_blank">www.hqip.org.uk/resources/national-hip-fracture-database-nhfd-annual-report-2016/</a></p><p>Additional
information on the on the use of public services by people with long term conditions,
including MSK conditions, can be found in surveys including the GP patient Survey
and the Hospital Inpatient survey. Increasing the availability of data on National
Health Service services and outcomes is important in driving improvement and delivering
patient choice which is why it is identified in the Mandate as a key objective for
the NHS to achieve.</p>
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