June 2010, Vol 32, No. 2
Internet

What’s in the web for family physicians — Rheumatology

Alfred KY Tang 鄧權恩

American College of Rheumatology Guidelines
http://www.rheumatology.org/

American College of Rheumatology is a professional organization whose aim is to share its dedication to healing arthritis and disorders of the joints, muscles, and bones. Their website is well built featuring a case-of the month archive, publications of the College, meeting updates, patient fact sheets, and news. Practice guidelines are also available at the website, notably the “2008 Recommendations for the Use of Non-biologic and Biologic Disease-Modifying Anti-rheumatic Drugs in Rheumatoid Arthritis”.

RheumatologyLinx.com
http://www.mdlinx.com/rheumatologylinx/index.cfm 

Updated links to articles and abstracts of different topics relating to rheumatology are abundant on the website. Journal articles, if available, are also present. Information on different rheumatology topics and internet resources are also listed. The site needs registration which is free.

Journal of Rheumatology
http://jrheum.org/

The Journal of Rheumatology is a medical journal on rheumatology, rehabilitation medicine, immunology, infectious diseases and other orthopaedic subjects pertaining to the rheumatic diseases. It is published monthly on the web. There is an archive of abstracts and articles which dates back to 2001. Access to some of the full articles needs subscription.

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Rheumatic_Disease/default.asp  

Abundant information on Rheumatoid arthritis and other rhematological disorders from the National Institutes of Health can be found at this website. The mission of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases is to support research into the causes, treatment and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases, the training of clinical scientist to carry out such research, and the dissemination of information on research progress in these diseases.

Arthritis and Rheumatology Webcasts
http://www.hopkins-arthritis.org/physician-corner/webcasts/

The website is maintained by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center. Amongst other features, it harbours the webcast of the lectures presented at their 2008 Rheumatology Conference.  The annual conference is now in its fourth year, this two-day symposium had been intended for the primary care physicians to deliver care to patients with rheumatic diseases. With the wide variety of rheumatologic disorders, and an ever-increasing number of diagnostic procedures and treatment options, clinicians need updated information on early diagnosis of these conditions, different diagnostic tools, and how to utilize the most effective treatments for best patient outcomes.

British Society of Rheumatology (BSR)
http://www.rheumatology.org.uk/

Useful information for medical practitioners can be found at the website. Recent clinical guidelines as well as an archive of older guidelines are listed for reference. Other resources on rheumatology on internet, and health information for patients are also available at the website. The website also hyperlinks to the journal RHEUMTOLOGY which is an International peer-reviewed Journal covering the full-spectrum of rheumatological conditions.

Family Practice Notebook : Rheumatology Book
http://www.fpnotebook.com/Rheum/index.htm 

The Rheumatology Book is one of the series of books of the Family Practice notebook. It has chapters including Connective Tissue disorders, Bone discorders, Intra-articular disorders, Rheumatoid Arhritis, spondyloarthropathy, Osteoarthritis, as well as chapters on symptoms and examination of these conditions.


Alfred KY Tang, MBBS (HK), MFM (Monash)
Family Physician in Private Practice

Correspondence to: Dr Alfred KY Tang, Shop 3A, 2/F, Hsin Kuang Shopping Centre, Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.

E-mail: alfredtang@hkma.org