Adherence to Quality Indicators for Rheumatoid Arthritis

1. Adherence to Quality Indicators for Rheumatoid Arthritis at the McGill University Teaching Hospitals: A Pilot Audit-Study L. Li, S. Bernatsky, E. Vinet, P. Panopalis, E. Hazel, M.E. Veilleux, H. Menard, I. Colmegna McGill University, Montreal-QC Background Results • Quality care in rheumatoid arthritis can lead to improvement in health outcomes.1 • Gaps between medical care as actually practiced and recommendations derived from evidence based research are well documented.2 • Quality indicators (QIs) are directives established to ensure adherence to minimal requirements of care.3 Objective • To assess process-of-care in RA by testing adherence to selected QIs among rheumatologists at the McGill University teaching hospitals. Methods • QI selection: 13 out of 27 QIs from the 2004 Arthritis Foundation’s QI Set.3 • Inclusion Criteria: Patients first seen at the MUHC between 2004 & 2008, with 3 years of follow up visits. • Data collection: Data extracted from patient chart reviews and electronic hospital databases. Conclusions 1. Rheumatologists from a University affiliated hospital largely adhere to the minimal requirements of care for RA. 2. There is suboptimal documentation or inadequate performance of functional assessment, radiographs, hepatitis B and C serologies prior to MTX, and PPD testing prior to biologics. 3. Reasons for suboptimal adherence to QIs and impact on patient care are being explored in ongoing analyses. 1 Adhikesavan LG, et al. Arthri Rheum. 2008 2 Lacaille D, et al. Arthri Rheum. 2005 3 MacLean CH, et al. Arthri Rheum. 2004