Care of the person with rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

The therapeutic choices in rheumatoid arthritis have expanded greatly in the past decade and continue to do so. We are unable to predict which drugs will be best for an individual patient, but the vast majority of patients do respond to therapy, and the destructive consequences of rheumatoid arthritis can be modified or prevented. An over-reliance on pharmacology to the exclusion of such things as occupational therapy, counseling, and exercise therapy, however, will hamper us in achieving our ultimate goal of a creative, functional person who has achieved some freedom from disease.