Improved Management of Patients with Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis in Primary Health Care, 2017

Current political documents recommend that patients with osteoarthritis should mainly be managed in primary health care. However, recent Norwegian research indicated that the quality of primary health care services is sub-optimal for this patient group. In this project a model for integrated care among persons with hip and knee osteoarthritis and a training package for the health care professionals was developed. The intention was to improve professional practice and patient outcomes, and reduce non-desired events (e.g. unnecessary referrals to secondary care, unnecessary use of costly imaging modalities, use of treatment modalities supported by low quality of evidence). The model meets the current need for a multidisciplinary approach to manage patients with chronic diseases and strengthen the health care services through collaboration while keeping the patient in focus.