Therapy Selection in RA: From Clinical Trials to Effectiveness in Practice

The overall goal of this educational initiative is to enable community-based practicing rheumatologists and other clinicians involved in the care of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to select appropriate treatments (mono- and combination therapies) based on critical appraisal and application of data on effectiveness of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in real-life practice settings.

The aims of the educational initiative are to improve clinician knowledge and performance with the following aspects of clinical care for patients with RA:

1. Synthesize and analyze factors for the benefits and risks of mono- versus combination DMARD therapy in the management of patients with RA
2. Interpret recent evidence-based data from patient registries and pragmatic clinical trials in RA regarding mono- vs. combination strategies to inform decision-making in practice
3. Identify practical strategies for monitoring disease activity and for achieving target goals of therapy using available DMARDs in patients with RA