Axial Spondyloarthritis – Ankylosing Spondylitis
Adult

Rheumatology

Useful Management Information

Patient resources

Minimum Referral Criteria

Does your patient meet the minimum referral criteria?
Category 1 (appointment within 30 calendar days)
  • No category 1 criteria
Category 2 (appointment within 90 calendar days)
  • Suspected Ankylosing Spondylitis/ Axial Spondyloarthritis with or without peripheral symptoms and/or extra articular manifestations
  • Known Ankylosing Spondylitis/Axial Spondyloarthritis established on treatment including biologic DMARDs
Category 3 (appointment within 365 calendar days)
  • No category 3 criteria
  • If the patient does not meet the criteria for referral but the referring practitioner believes the patient requires specialist review, a clinical override may be requested:
    • Please explain why (e.g. warning signs or symptoms, clinical modifiers, uncertain about diagnosis, etc.)
  • Please note that your referral may not be accepted or may be redirected to another service.

Essential Referral Information

  • History of symptoms (Severity of back pain/stiffness and peripheral symptoms), evolution and rate of deterioration
  • Features of inflammatory back pain e.g. morning stiffness, young age, nocturnal pain, response to NSAIDs
  • Presence of psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, or uveitis
  • If on a biologic DMARD and for PBS review, please state timeframe
  • FBC
  • ELFT
  • CRP
  • ESR

If a specific test result cannot be obtained due to access, financial, religious, cultural or consent reasons a clinical override may be requested. This reason must be clearly articulated in the body of the referral.

Additional Referral Information

  • Family history of spondyloarthritis (e.g. psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, or uveitis)
  • Details of previous treatment/management offered and assessment of efficacy including relevant PBS documentation
  • HLA-B27
  • Pelvic XR +/- MRI results affected joints
Last updated 16 July 2021

Send Referrals To

Smart Referrals

Preferred Method
About Smart Referrals

Secure Web Transfer

Send to: Gold Coast Health Service District

Internal Referrals

Rheumatology (E-Blueslips)

Fax

(07) 5687 4497

Post

Booking and Referral Centre
Gold Coast University Hospital
1 Hospital Boulevard
Southport QLD 4215

Enquiries

(07) 5687 2708

Related HealthPathways

No directly related pathways found

Service Availability

Dr Jacob Ijdo
Medical Director Rheumatology

Facilities

Gold Coast University Hospital

If you would like to send a named referral, please address it to the specialist listed above, who will allocate a suitably qualified specialist to see the patient. Alternatively, you can view a full list of our specialists.

Gold Coast Health - For Clinicians
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