Allied Health in Rheumatology Triage Project

NCT02465879 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: AHRT-2015
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 295
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

There is accumulating evidence that early treatment leads to better outcomes for patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA). Triage, which is the process of identifying the urgency of a patient's disease state efficiently and correctly, may facilitate early referral to a rheumatologist. Several studies have suggested that placing allied health professionals (occupational therapists, physical therapists, nurses, etc.) in a triage roll may reduce wait time for patients with suspected IA. The goal of this investigation will be to demonstrate the system-level impact of an Arthritis Society extended role occupational therapist (OT) or physical therapist (PT) working in a triage role in improving access to rheumatologists for people with IA. In this study two groups will be observed: intervention and "usual care" as determined by historical chart review. Wait times will be compared between both groups.

Conditions

Inflammatory Arthritis

Keywords

Psoriatic arthritis; Ankylosing spondylitis; Rheumatoid arthritis; Seronegative

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Time to first visit with the rheumatologist (wait time)

  3 months

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Time to diagnosis

  3 months

• Time to treatment (disease-modifying antirheumatic drug)

  3 months

Study Arms (1)

Therapist Triage

EXPERIMENTAL

All subjects in this group will be triaged by an extended role occupational or physical therapist prior to their visit with the rheumatologist.

Other: Therapist Triage

Interventions

Therapist Triage OTHER

An extended role occupational or physical therapist will triage each subject in the study to determine the urgency of their case and how soon they need to see the rheumatologist.

Therapist Triage

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• New referrals from a GP
• Adults with possible IA (determined by rheumatologist through paper triage)

You may not qualify if:

• Currently on a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD)
• Previously seen by a rheumatologist.
• FM, non-IA OA; soft tissue rheumatism; mechanical LBP

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre: lead
• The Arthritis Society, Canada: collaborator
• Ontario Rheumatology Association: collaborator
• Ontario Best Practices Research Initiative: collaborator

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Arthritis; Arthritis, Psoriatic; Spondylitis, Ankylosing; Arthritis, Rheumatoid

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Joint Diseases; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Spondylarthropathies; Spondylarthritis; Spondylitis; Spinal Diseases; Bone Diseases; Psoriasis; Skin Diseases, Papulosquamous; Skin Diseases; Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases; Axial Spondyloarthritis; Ankylosis; Rheumatic Diseases; Connective Tissue Diseases; Autoimmune Diseases; Immune System Diseases

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Rheumatologist

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 4, 2015
• First Posted: June 9, 2015
• Study Start: May 1, 2015
• Primary Completion: December 1, 2015
• Study Completion: December 1, 2015
• Last Updated: June 30, 2016

Record last verified: 2015-06