Patients with rheumatoid arthritis should be referred to a specialist rheumatology clinic as soon as the condition is first suspected, says a new UK consensus statement on the treatment of early disease.

Patients should be started on effective treatment as soon as possible, and dedicated early assessment services should be developed, it says (Rheumatology doi:10.1093/rheumatology/kep073).

The authors wrote: “The consensus group stressed that all healthcare professionals should refer patients to a specialist rheumatology clinic when they first suspect rheumatoid arthritis or undifferentiated …