VANCOUVER -- In health news, for the first time, patients and doctors across the country have come up with national standards for arthritis prevention and care. The recommendations include more timely and equal access to medication as well as more training for doctors to look for and recognize signs of arthritis in routine physical exams.
Gordon Whitehead has rheumoid arthritis. Gordon Whitehead was in his 30's when he developed rheumatoid arthritis.
Over the past 30 years, the inflammation has taken it's toll on his joints.
Gordon says, "my knees are titanium. I've had my left foot surgically reconstructed, I've had my right ankle fused."
Even though there are now, new and effective medications to shock the disease into remission, many arthritis patients are not diagnosed quickly enough. That's why experts say family doctors need more training.
Dr.Diane Lacaille, Rheumatologist at the Arthritis Research Centre, says, "if people have a joint complaint, knowing how to assess it and be able to determine what is the cause of the joint pain, is this tendonitis, bursitis, is this inflammatory arthritis, is this osteoarthritis but I think we're also talking about regular physical exam. They'll listen to the heart the lungs, but they won't screen the joints and patients don't think about joint pain and they think it's "part of normal aging."
A quicker diagnosis and better access to medication and treatment could save many patients from disability.
Gordon says, "probably, I'm too long in the tooth for some of these changes to have an impact. I'm really looking down the road at the next demographic and I hope to make life better for them."
Tuesday April 11, 2006
