Home > Updates to Ardens MSK templates for axial SpA

Updates to Ardens MSK templates for axial SpA

Published December 20th 2023
by NASS

Dr Toby Wallace is a General Practitioner (GP) at the Derwent Practice in Malton, North Yorkshire and one of the NASS Champions in Primary Care.

Dr Toby Wallace has been collaborating with other primary care health care professionals (HCP) and the team at Ardens Healthcare Informatics to ensure that the MSK templates for suspected axial SpA are embedded with the latest clinical guidance.

The MSK templates are key tools to help GPs and First Contact Practitioners (FCPs) in the assessment and triage of inflammatory back pain that they suspect could be axial SpA.

Ardens MSK templates for suspected axial SpA now live

Ardens have updated the System One and EMIS MSK templates to help clinicians assess suspected axial SpA. Visit the Ardens site at www.ardens.org.uk for more information.

Ardens is the leading provider of SystmOne & EMIS Web templates and reports used by over 2,800 practices across England.

Ardens is a Clinical Decision Support Tool for SystmOne & EMIS Web which:

Gives clinicians easy access to the latest evidence-based resources.
Promotes best practice, medicines management and patient safety
Ensures localised standardised care is provided with supporting clinical pathways

These updates to the axial SpA MSK templates have been driven by ensuring that all best practice clinical pathways and assessment tools are embedded.

All these key assessment criteria and tools will add to the clinical assessment and support decisions on onward referral to rheumatology.

View the screenshots below (examples from a test patient on System One), that outline the key changes:

Updated summary page which opens upon searching for axial Spondyloarthritis or Ankylosing Spondylitis and launching the template.

Clinician can choose to assess the patient using NICE guidance based on NG65

Clinician can choose to assess the patient based on the ASAS criteria

The clinician can also use the GIRFT axial spondyloarthritis pathway criteria for Advice & Guidance to local rheumatology team.

Finally the clinician can access a range of additional resources for them and to direct their patients to for more information, help, advise or support while they wait for a diagnosis. These include clinical tools like SPADE, full NICE guidance, GIRFT and ASAS. Patient resources include the NASS symptom checker, NASS website, self-management resources and NHS website on axial SpA.

Use the new Ardens tools now to help your clinical decision making and improve the identification and timely diagnosis of axial SpA.

Updates to Ardens MSK templates for axial SpA

Updates to Ardens MSK templates for axial SpA

Ardens MSK templates for suspected axial SpA now live

Symptoms starting slowly

Pain in the lower back

Improves with movement

Night time waking

Early onset (under 40)