Grant: Undergraduate: Mobility, musculoskeletal health and arthritis - ICS

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) do not always receive optimal care. Our hypothesis is that sub-optimal care for patients with RA may be improved through the use of a standardized triage form; this form may help family physicians recognize urgent cases (e.g. new-onset inflammatory arthritis) which need to be referred to rheumatology promptly. Our research group has been conducting a program of research and knowledge translation activities to identify, in chronic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, the reasons for deviations from optimal care trajectories, as well as possible solutions. A rheumatology referral form was identified as a feasible and realistic solution; we are piloting our referral template form at two health facilities in the McGill University Health Centre network. In this proposal, a student will assist with monitoring the use of the referral form at participating centres, and collect feedback regarding the use of the form using a physician survey. The survey will also collect information of the responses of family physicians to vignette cases of urgent rheumatology referral problems. The student will assist with analyses to explore the potential effects of our intervention on referral patterns of physicians, and their responses to the vignette cases.