prevalence of RA (13), it is likely to pick up MSK problems that
are not consistent with RA. However, the potential remains for
the early identification and referral of suspected cases of RA to
reduce joint destruction and increase the likelihood for diseasemodifying antirheumatic drug–free remission in those patients
with RA (11,15).
References
A limitation of this study is that each health care professional’s
ability to screen for signs and symptoms of RA was not assessed
prior to the training session due to feasibility issues. In addition,
the participating health care professionals had variable prior
medical training and years of experience working in primary
care. It was unknown if or how often the participating health
care professionals reviewed the GALS DVD on their own time,
a factor that may have contributed to variability in results. It
is also important to note that all of the participating health
care professionals worked in the same family practice clinic,
and all of the family physicians had an academic affiliation.
Participation in the study may have influenced the manner in
which practitioners undertook the learning and application of
the GALS examination. Also, participants with RA may have
behaved differently than naive patients who would be assessed
in a normal clinical set ѥ