Deficiencies in provision of integrated multidisciplinary podiatry care for patients with inflammatory arthritis: A UK district general hospital experience

Guidelines for the Management of the Foot Health Problems Associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis

“…The problems identified in both the National Audit Office report (2009) and the Rheumatology Futures Group report (2009) was that podiatry was an underused and underresourced service and that in many areas there was no specialist podiatry service. Limited services were also identified by Juarez et al (2010), who found that in one district hospital, less than one-third of RA patients had access to specialist care. An earlier review of the provision of foot health services in rheumatology departments in the UK found that only 50% reported adequate basic foot care services and less than one in 10 had formal care pathways or mechanisms for referral.…”

Development and Validation of the Overall Foot Health Questionnaire for Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Analysis

“…It is an important tool to improve these patients’ quality of life. Various works about the opinions of patients with RA and podiatrists reflect the need for podiatric education in this group [10,34]. Graham et al [10] carried out a literature review about podiatric therapeutic education for patients with RA.…”

“…In 2010, Juarez et al [34] evaluated the prevalence of foot health problems of patients with inflammatory arthritis—68% had foot problems. Only 21% were informed regarding the consequences of illness-related foot problems and general health, and 9% about footwear.…”

Increasing podiatry referrals for patients with inflammatory arthritis at a tertiary hospital in Singapore: A quality improvement project

“…Standards of care guidelines and expert-led recommendations advocate the integration of specialist podiatry within rheumatology MDT to allow rapid access to foot care [8,20,21,23,33]. There is evidence that such care paradigms are being implemented [11], although there is also research from the UK, New Zealand and Australia that suggests the provision of dedicated podiatry services within rheumatology departments varies significantly by region [4,13,14,33]. Key workflow changes and the re-design of the clinic to a fully integrated rheumatologypodiatry consultation with reduced cost payment, ensures our compliance with quality standards.…”

“…Foot deformity and its associated symptoms of pain and stiffness are common in people with inflammatory arthritis (IA), with 48 -100% reporting foot pain at some point during the disease course [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. It is known that for people with IA, the involvement of the feet, even to a mild degree, is a significant marker for future impaired mobility, functional incapacity and negative psychosocial impact [8,9].…”