AB1260 ARE THERMAL CURE AND REHABILITATION EFFECTIVE FOR RELIEVING LOW BACK PAIN? RESULTS OF A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Background: The treatment armamentarium for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has expanded rapidly in recent years, making it challenging for rheumatologists to stay up to date with key advances. The most recently available treatment options for RA are the JAK inhibitors. Objectives: Our goal with this activity was to assess whether online CME can improve rheumatologists’ knowledge of the role of JAK inhibitors in the management of RA. Methods: Rheumatologists participated in an online CME activity entitled ‘Advancing patient care in rheumatoid arthritis: role of JAK inhibitors’. This was a 30-minute video roundtable discussion between 3 experts, with accompanying slides. This CME activity launched on April 30 2019 with data collection through September 13 2019. The educational effect was assessed using a repeated-pair design, pre-/post-assessment. A Chi-square test of independence determined if a statistically significant improvement (5% significance level, P Results: •Significant improvement in average percentage of correct responses, rising from a relatively high baseline of 67% to 81% post-activity (P = .0006) •Increase in percentage of rheumatologists (n=68) answering all 3 questions correctly (37% at baseline rising to 66% post assessment) •Significant improvement in knowledge of clinical trial safety data for JAK inhibitors (43% improvement, P = .0079) •Numerical improvement from relatively high baseline for understanding of unmet needs in RA patients (74% at baseline, 87% post-activity) and the advantages of JAK inhibitors versus TNF inhibitors for a specific patient case (75% at baseline, 84% post-activity) •Considerable educational impact (Cramer’s V = 0.167) with 35% of rheumatologists reporting greater confidence in describing the mechanism of action of current and emerging JAK inhibitors (noteable average confidence shift of 15%) Conclusion: A positive and significant effect on physician knowledge and confidence regarding JAK inhibitors for RA was achieved following this online CME activity. The extent of this educational impact is likely to lead to better patient outcomes since physicians are better equipped to consider JAK inhibitors for appropriate patients. The results also revealed that physicians would benefit from additional education to reinforce their knowledge of key clinical data for JAK inhibitors and on the use of JAK inhibitors in clinical practice. Disclosure of Interests: : Elaine Bell: None declared, Marinella Calle: None declared, Ronald van Vollenhoven Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Arthrogen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Lilly, Pfizer, and UCB, Consultant of: AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Biotest, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, GSK, Janssen, Lilly, Medac, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, and UCB