Grant: Team Grant: THINC Implem. Science - Care of Patients Covered in IMHA mandate

Rheumatologists are specialists who care for patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal disorders (RMDs) - such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus - where the immune system mistakenly damages joints and organs. RMDs are the leading cause of disability, and result in chronic pain, reduced quality of life, and even reduce life expectancy. Early diagnosis and treatment is critical to stop disease progression. The earlier patients get treated, the more likely they are to go in remission. Unfortunately there are too few rheumatologists, and patients are not receiving timely treatment which is negatively impacting patient outcomes. To deliver optimal care and treatment to patients, and make maximum use of rheumatologists' time, rheumatologists and their patients benefit from the support of interdisciplinary health providers such as arthritis-trained physiotherapists. This type of team-based model of rheumatology care holds the greatest potential for improving integrated patient care and equity. Our team will evaluate whether this interdisciplinary model of rheumatology care is more effective at improving access to care and patient outcomes than when rheumatologists work alone. To do this, we will use a large anonymized database of pooled health records from rheumatology practices across Ontario. We will further study the highest performing teams to learn how they are able to perform better and ways to expand this model of care across more rheumatology practices. Although this study is only being performed in Ontario, these findings will be very important for other Canadian provinces who are struggling with providing timely rheumatology care as there is a nation-wide shortage of rheumatologists.