Development and testing of the rheumatoid arthritis quality of care survey

The Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Quality of Care Survey (RAQCS) was developed to measure care quality according to a previously developed national RA quality improvement framework.

The development of the RAQCS occurred over 3 phases. First, the survey was developed by a team of healthcare providers, researchers, and two patient partners based on the existing national quality framework's 21 performance measures (PMs) and strategic objectives. Second, cognitive debriefing interviews were conducted with individuals living with RA to identify survey clarity, appropriateness of survey questions, and response options. Third, the survey was revised and distributed to participants recruited from Rheum4U (rheumatology longitudinal cohort). Results were tabulated and compared with a chart audit of participant medical records.

Fifty-three participants completed the RAQCS. High performance (i.e., ≥70% meeting PM) was observed for 13 of 20 PMs. Lower performance was seen for the remaining PMs, which included documentation of body mass index (BMI) and smoking status, discussion of physical activity goals, comorbidity management including risk assessments for cardiovascular health and fragility fractures and disease activity assessment. There was high agreement (≥70%) between the RAQCS and chart review for 9 of 20 PMs.

High agreement was observed between the RAQCS and chart review for selected PMs. The RAQCS may also be a valuable tool for quality improvement for measures where data are not usually available through other sources. Further testing of the RAQCS is needed to ascertain its reliability and validity as a patient self-reported tool to measure RA care quality.