Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis in Primary Care: A Scoping Review

Francesco Inchingolo (), Angelo Michele Inchingolo, Maria Celeste Fatone (), Pasquale Avantario, Gaetano Del Vecchio, Carmela Pezzolla, Antonio Mancini, Francesco Galante, Andrea Palermo, Alessio Danilo Inchingolo and Gianna Dipalma
Additional contact information
Francesco Inchingolo: Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Angelo Michele Inchingolo: Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Maria Celeste Fatone: PTA Trani-ASL BT, Viale Padre Pio, 76125 Trani, Italy
Pasquale Avantario: Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Gaetano Del Vecchio: Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Carmela Pezzolla: Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Antonio Mancini: Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Francesco Galante: PTA Trani-ASL BT, Viale Padre Pio, 76125 Trani, Italy
Andrea Palermo: College of Medicine and Dentistry, Birmingham B4 6BN, UK
Alessio Danilo Inchingolo: Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy
Gianna Dipalma: Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 6, 1-35

Abstract: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can lead to severe joint impairment and chronic disability. Primary care (PC), provided by general practitioners (GPs), is the first level of contact for the population with the healthcare system. The aim of this scoping review was to analyze the approach to RA in the PC setting. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched using the MESH terms “rheumatoid arthritis” and “primary care” from 2013 to 2023. The search strategy followed the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. The 61 articles selected were analyzed qualitatively in a table and discussed in two sections, namely criticisms and strategies for the management of RA in PC. The main critical issues in the management of RA in PC are the following: difficulty and delay in diagnosis, in accessing rheumatological care, and in using DMARDs by GPs; ineffective communication between GPs and specialists; poor patient education; lack of cardiovascular prevention; and increase in healthcare costs. To overcome these criticisms, several management strategies have been identified, namely early diagnosis of RA, quick access to rheumatology care, effective communication between GPs and specialists, active patient involvement, screening for risk factors and comorbidities, clinical audit, interdisciplinary patient management, digital health, and cost analysis. PC appears to be the ideal healthcare setting to reduce the morbidity and mortality of chronic disease, including RA, if a widespread change in GPs’ approach to the disease and patients is mandatory.

Keywords: cardiovascular prevention; chronic diseases; clinical audit; diagnosis; digital health; general practitioners; health costs; primary care; rheumatoid arthritis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/6/662/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/6/662/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:6:p:662-:d:1399638

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().