The Vital Role of Nursing in Managing Rheumatic Musculoskeletal Diseases
Recent research confirms that nurses are vital in managing and supporting patients with rheumatic musculoskeletal diseases, enhancing care and reducing healthcare costs.
Recent studies highlight the essential contributions of nurses in the care and management of individuals with rheumatic musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs). According to the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR), nurses are integral to delivering evidence-based care, promoting shared decision-making, and supporting patients throughout their treatment journey. This is particularly crucial given the shortage of rheumatologists across Europe, which necessitates delegation of certain tasks to nursing staff.
EULAR's guidelines emphasize that rheumatology nurses play a vital role in patient education tailored to individual needs, ensuring high satisfaction with care, facilitating timely access to treatments, and supporting disease management and self-care. Two recent studies shared at the 2025 EULAR Congress in Barcelona reinforce the positive impact of nurse-led initiatives.
One significant study demonstrated that nurse-led home monitoring of serum urate levels, combined with a treat-to-target (T2T) approach, is cost-effective and can improve health outcomes for gout patients. This approach involves specialized nurses remotely guiding patients through dose adjustments using point-of-care testing, reducing the need for frequent hospital visits and lowering healthcare costs while maintaining care quality. The study also indicated time savings for rheumatologists, freeing up capacity to see new patients.
Additionally, clinical efforts in the UK are exploring nurse-led group education clinics for biologic therapy initiation. These clinics, led by experienced nurse practitioners, have significantly reduced waiting times from decision to treatment, increased clinic capacity, and received positive feedback from patients who value peer support and interactive sessions. Such innovations exemplify how nurses are enhancing patient experience, accelerating treatments, and optimizing healthcare resources.
Overall, these findings underscore the critical role nurses play in improving outcomes for patients with rheumatic diseases through education, monitoring, and treatment support, transforming rheumatology care in Europe.
Source: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-06-nurses-play-critical-role-people.html
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