Diagnoses suspected by the referring physicians and at first assessment in the IAC
| RA | Spondylarthropathy | CTD | FMS/CSS | Osteoarthritis | ‘Other inflammatory’ | ‘Other non-inflammatory’ | No diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All referral diagnoses (n=1036) | 325 | 114 | 91 | 34 | 47 | 137 | 107 | 181 |
| GP (n=493) | 158 (32%) | 31 (6.3%) | 32 (6.5%) | 19 (3.9%) | 32 (6.5%) | 78 (15.8%) | 47 (9.5%) | 96 (19.5%) |
| Other specialist (n= 469) | 167 (35.6%) | 82 (17.5%) | 59 (12.6%) | 15 (3.2%) | 15 (3.2%) | 58 (12.4%) | 59 (12.6%) | 14 (3%) |
| Self-referred (n=74) | 0 | 1 (1.4%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1.4%) | 1 (1.4%) | 71 (95.9%) |
| Diagnoses suspected at first assessment in the IAC | 115 (11.1%) | 111 (10.7%) | 68 (6.6%) | 51 (4.9%) | 208 (20.1%) | 134 (12.9%) | 341 (32.9%) | 8 (0.8%) |
Patients were referred to the IAC by their GP, by any other intramural or extramural specialist or they were self-referrals. Specialists tended to refer more patients suspected as CTD than GPs, whereas GPs suspected more osteoarthritis. It was remarkable that 19.5% of the patients referred to by a GP had no suspected diagnoses, even 3% of patients referred by other specialists were referred without provision of a specific suspected diagnosis. Substantially fewer patients were suspected of having RA by the rheumatologist compared with other specialists or GPs.
CSS, central sensitivity syndrome; CTD, connective tissue disease; FMS, fibromyalgia syndrome; GP, general practitioner; IAC, immediate access clinic; RA, rheumatoid arthritis.