Evaluation of Patients Referred to a Rheumatology Clinic in a Retrospective Cohort Study

The most common reasons for referrals to the rheumatology outpatient clinic were joint complaints. The detection rate of IRD in patients referred to the rheumatology clinic appears to be approximately 3 out of every 10 patients. It is believed that the rational use of the referral system in primary care can help prevent unnecessary healthcare expenses and avoid non-rheumatic patient presentations to rheumatology outpatient clinics.