Evaluation of the primary/secondary care interface in relation to a primary care rheumatology service

Critchley, S; Ball, E

Abstract

Objective The rheumatology department at The
Royal Oldham Hospital developed a primary care
service aimed at bridging the gap between primary
and secondary care for patients with potential
rheumatological conditions, and this was given
the name rheumatology Tier 2. The objective of
this study was to evaluate this primary care rheumatology
service (Tier 2)in order to assess its
validity, patient satisfaction and effectiveness.
Design Ten patients participated in individual
semi-structured interviews. Three GPs were interviewed
individually, and two GPs formed a focus
group. Thematic analysis was used to interpret the
findings.
Setting Patients were recruited from seven consecutive
rheumatology Tier 2 clinics. GPs were
recruited from Oldham Primary Care Trust (PCT)
as this was the main source of patient referrals for
the service.
Results The key findings were in relation to the
integration of primary healthcare and hospital services,
i.e. the primary/secondary care interface. This
highlighted the importance of early assessment,
diagnosis and treatment of patients with suspected
inflammatory arthritis.
Conclusion Early diagnosis and treatment with
disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs improves
patients’ outcomes. The rheumatology Tier 2 service
built on this evidence and provided a rapid
assessment and referral to secondary care for those
patients with suspected inflammatory arthritis.

Citation

Critchley, S., & Ball, E. (2007). Evaluation of the primary/secondary care interface in relation to a primary care rheumatology service. Quality in Primary Care, 15(1), 33-36

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2007
• Deposit Date: Jul 21, 2010
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 5, 2016
• Journal: Quality in Primary Care
• Print ISSN: 1479-1072
• Publisher: Radcliffe Medical Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 33-36
• Keywords: primary care development, primary/; secondary care interface, rheumatology, Tier 2 service
• Publisher URL: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/rmp/qpc/2007/00000015/00000001/art00006
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