MSK health: Not just for Bone and Joint Week

Bone and Joint Week is over for another year, and what a fantastic week it was, thanks to the support of our members and key stakeholders. It’s a one week blitz of MSK messaging on social media, raising awareness and prompting action. This year we had an even bigger reach than ever. But it doesn’t…

Rheumatology follow-ups: Transforming Outpatients

Guest blog by Amanda Woolley, Policy and Implementation Lead for the Elective Care Transformation Programme at NHS England and NHS Improvement The NHS Long Term Plan set the ambition to reduce outpatient attendances by a third over the next five years. Rheumatology services are leading the way in developing alternatives to the traditional outpatient model…

PHE Prescribed medicines review

In September, Public Health England published a report on their review of the scale, distribution and causes of prescription drug dependence, and what might be done to address it. This included findings on opioid use for non cancer pain. The report made recommendations for action to reduce the problems caused by dependency and stated that…

Stretches for your daily life

NASS has just released a new series of videos showing how everyone living with axial spondyloarthritis (axial SpA) – including people with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) – can fit some simple but very effective stretches into their daily life. No Lycra. No trainers. No gym. These videos were developed with with a group of specialist axial…

National Early Inflammatory Arthritis Audit first report

The National Early Inflammatory Arthritis Audit (NEIAA) collects information on all new patients over the age of sixteen seen in specialist rheumatology departments with suspected inflammatory arthritis in England and Wales. The first report was published in October. The audit assesses seven key metrics of care provided for people with new symptoms of arthritis attending…

National MSK Health Data Group

Versus Arthritis is hosting the 11th National MSK Health Data Group on Monday 2nd December 2019 from 9:00-13:00, followed by lunch and networking until 14:00 at The Royal Society, London, SW1Y 5AG. The speaker programme will run in line with the event’s main ethos of creating a common forum to empower all those working on…

NICE Joint replacement: hip, knee and shoulder

A NICE draft guideline on joint replacement (primary): hip, knee and shoulder and its supporting evidence is now out for consultation. Comments can be submitted on the draft guideline to help ensure that the guideline considers important issues. The consultation page has all the information and documents to comment. The Developer has produced an economic…

Do one thing to prioritise MSK health

We are now very close to Bone and Joint Week, which begins on 12 October. It’s a chance to remind everyone of the fundamental importance of MSK health. Today I learned that there is some evidence that people with hip and knee arthritis who don’t receive treatment may die early due to cardiovascular conditions. It…

NICE Fellowships and Scholarships

The NICE Fellows and Scholars programmes will be recruiting to their 2020 intake from Monday 2 September until Monday 28 October 2019. Fellowships Are you an experienced leader in health and social care? Could you build an influential network that helps us to implement our guidance? NICE fellows are experienced leaders from the field of…

Measuring patient outcomes using PROMs

The Institute of Osteopathy has published a case study into the use of Patient Reported Outcome Measurement (PROMs) to measure patient outcomes after osteopathic care. There is a need for osteopaths to collect robust outcome data from their patients about the care provided, to allow reflection and promote good patient management. Patient data will help…