“Appointments By Choice” for People With Rheumatoid Arthritis
“Appointments By Choice” for People With Rheumatoid Arthritis
The Problem
Receiving timely, high-quality care is critical for living well with rheumatoid arthritis. Due to rheumatologist shortages, people often wait a long time to be diagnosed or seen when they have urgent needs. Many routine follow-up visits may not be necessary. This is not convenient for patients and places a strain on the healthcare system.
The Research
A team of 35 healthcare leaders, experts, and patients co-developed a new model, ‘Appointments By Choice’, allowing patients with stable, well-controlled disease to schedule follow-up visits based on their needs. This new way of delivering care will be tested in a rheumatology clinic in Alberta.
The Impact
Allowing patients to schedule ‘Appointments By Choice’ is more convenient and efficient for everyone. Reducing unnecessary appointments frees up rheumatologists’ time to see new patients more rapidly and be more readily available when new issues arise and care is needed. This approach will improve efficiencies and access to care for those who need it.
Research Study
Research Study
Rheumatoid arthritis is a lifelong condition that needs ongoing monitoring. Follow-up appointments are scheduled every 6-12 months, regardless of a patient’s needs. As a result, most rheumatology appointments are with people with stable rheumatoid arthritis. This leaves less time to see patients with urgent concerns like flares. There are also shortages of rheumatologists, which makes accessing care more difficult. This has led to a system that cannot deliver the appropriate treatment when it is most needed and make sure it is delivered by the right healthcare provider. This research is testing a different way of providing care that involves rheumatology healthcare providers, people with rheumatoid arthritis, and family doctors.
Research Scientist
Research Scientist
Claire Barber
Research Scientist, Rheumatology, MD, PhD, FRCPC
Dr. Claire Barber completed an honors degree in microbiology and immunology (2002), a medical degree (2006), and internal medicine training (2009) at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She then pursued subspecialty medical training in rheumatology at the University of Toronto (2011). She came to Calgary to pursue additional research training in epidemiology and graduated with a PhD in Epidemiology from the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary in 2016. Currently, Dr. Barber is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Community Health Sciences at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary since 2015. She is also affiliated with the O’Brien Institute for Public Health and the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health. She is the current Scientific Director of the Bone and Joint Health Strategic Clinical Network for Alberta Health Services.
