2019 Volume 31 Issue 3 Pages 181-187
In 2010, the strategy of treat-to-target（T2T）was proposed with the aim of improving the management of rheumatoid arthritis（RA）in clinical practice. This concept has been widely disseminated and has become largely accepted among health professionals engaged in rheumatic care in Japan. The first “overarching principle” of these recommendations is the necessity of shared decision making between patient and rheumatologist. As such, it is important for patients to understand their own disease and the available treatment options.
In 2015, EULAR published a follow-up article proposing 2 overarching principles and 8 recommendations for education of patients with inflammatory arthritis. These overarching principles state that:（a）patient education should be interactive and should help patients manage their disease and improve their quality of life; and（b）shared decision making and communication with health professionals are required for patient education. Patient education, T2T strategy and shared decision making are closely related. Multidisciplinary collaboration between health professionals is essential in order to provide patients with the necessary education and to improve the patient education system.
