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Rheumatoid Arthritis: Diagnose Early and Treat to Target

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Great Health Care

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Abstract

New treatments have multiplied in the last three decades that improve rheumatologists’ capabilities for altering and even controlling RA. More recently, we have recognized that new approaches to providing these discoveries will also be required if RA patients are to realize their benefits, including:

  • Early diagnosis and early treatment,

  • Sensitive and practical RA disease activity measurements to direct treatment,

  • Accelerating treatment until inflammation in the joints and other tissues is controlled, known in our field as “Treating to Target”, and

  • Providing personalized patient care, because RA is variable from one patient to another. Not only do responses to treatment and side effects vary, but patients differ in their preferences and priorities for disease management.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA

    John J. Cush

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  1. John J. Cush
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Correspondence to John J. Cush .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Wisconsin, Rheumatology Division Department of Medicine, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

    J. Timothy Harrington

  2. Division of Medicine, Department of Rheumatology Clinical Innovations, Danville, Pennsylvania, USA

    Eric D. Newman

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Cush, J.J. (2012). Rheumatoid Arthritis: Diagnose Early and Treat to Target. In: Harrington, J., Newman, E. (eds) Great Health Care. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1198-7_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1198-7_15

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-1197-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-1198-7

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