Development of patient-centred standards of care for osteoarthritis in Europe: the eumusc.net-project.

OBJECTIVE: The eumusc.net project is an initiative founded by the European Community and the European League Against Rheumatism. One aim of the project was to facilitate equal standards for musculoskeletal health across Europe. The aim of this work-package was to develop patient-centred and consensus based standards of care (SOC) for osteoarthritis (OA), which should be available in a professional and a patient version. METHODS: A systematic review concerning guidelines dealing with OA was conducted. Furthermore, experts in musculoskeletal diseases were contacted to ensure that 'grey' literature was not excluded. Documents that fulfilled predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria were included and all interventions for OA were extracted and categorised. Based on this list of interventions, a three round Delphi exercise with an international and multidisciplinary expert panel, including patient research partners, was performed to achieve expert consensus. RESULTS: Six documents were included and used for further analysis. Out of them, 46 interventions have been extracted and 10 consensus based SOC were formulated. In addition, a patient version, written in a lay-understandable wording and in the format of checklist questions was developed. An example is SOC 5: "People with OA should achieve optimal pain control using pharmacological and non-pharmacological means." The matching patient-centred checklist question reads: "Do I know how to control pain associated with OA?" CONCLUSIONS: The SOC for OA will be available in the 23 languages of the European Union to enhance unified information to patients and professionals and to further harmonise the treatment/care of OA within Europe.

Development of patient-centred standards of care for rheumatoid arthritis in Europe: the eumusc.net project.

OBJECTIVE: The eumusc.net project is a European Union (EU) commission and European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR)funded project that aims to facilitate equal standards for musculoskeletal health in all EU countries. One work-package was to develop evidence-based and patient-centred standards of care (SOC), for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) understandable for patients and professionals across Europe. METHOD: A review of documents covering clinical practice 'guidelines' and SOC for RA was conducted. The obtained documents were evaluated using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II) criteria, and all recommended methods to treat RA were extracted. Based on this information, a three-round Delphi exercise was performed including a consensus group meeting of 21 researchers and patient representatives. RESULTS: 16 patient-centred SOC were formulated including a lay version in the format of a checklist. An example is SOC 3: 'People with RA should receive a treatment plan developed individually between them and their clinician at each visit.' The corresponding checklist question reads: 'Have I received a treatment plan which includes an explanation of my management, expected goals and outcomes and important contact details?' CONCLUSIONS: The SOC for RA will be available in all 23 official European languages and contribute to more unified treatment approaches in Europe.