Ashley Fletcher, Project Manager, ashley.fletcher@monash.edu
The Australian Rheumatology Association Database (ARAD) was established as a national arthritis database to provide valid and reliable longitudinal clinical data of people with inflammatory arthritis in Australia, with the ultimate aim of providing better care and improving outcomes for patients. It became operational in August 2003.
The aims of ARAD are to establish a specific cohort of Australian patients with inflammatory arthritis receiving anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) and other biological disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug (bDMARD) therapies together with a group of patients not receiving bDMARDs to determine long-term safety and effectiveness of the biological therapies.
ARAD provides reports of patient outcomes to participating rheumatologists with a comparison of grouped de-identified data from other rheumatologists. ARAD also reports on treatment side effects and reasons for stopping or changing therapy.
Patient demographic and clinical measures including medication history, adverse events, medical illnesses, malignancy and infections, hospitalisation.
- Feedback to contributing clinicians
- Shared with consumers
- Reported in Annual Report
- Annual report to Australian Rheumatology Association Board
Disease status, quality of life and physical function (Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) (specific for each disease group), Assessment of Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQoL), SF-36, European Quality of Life and the Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory (for JIA), the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) (for AS)).
Nil
ARAD is based at Monash University and Cabrini Health but collects nationally. Contact ARAD for individual public and private clinicians and hospitals.