The Spondyloarthritis Clinic, also known as the SpA Clinic, is making it easier for patients with psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.
Here are four highlights:
1. The new clinic is at the Montreal General Hospital of the McGill University Health Centre in Quebec.
2. SpA Clinic uses a fast-track referral system from family physicians throughout Quebec to give patients access to rheumatologists, specialized testing and personalized therapeutic interventions.
3. According to Alexander Tsoukas, MD, rheumatologist at the MUHC and co-director of the SpA clinic, said psoriasis affects over a million Canadians, and about 10 to 20 percent of them develop psoriatic arthritis. Ankylosing spondilitis affects up to 1 percent of young adults.
4. Besides medical treatments, the SpA Clinic provides localized corticosteroid injections, therapeutic aspirations of joints, access to diagnostic joint ultrasonography and referral to a network of key medical specialists.