Rheumatology is a subspeciality in the field of internal medicine and pediatrics. This is a branch of medicine that is dedicated to the diagnosis and therapy of various diseases that falls under the broad spectrum of rheumatic diseases. Present-day internal medicine branches have inevitable interaction with rheumatology as part of the diagnosis and treatment of a wide variety of medical conditions.
Recent Advancements In Rheumatology
Recent years have seen a rapid advancement in the branch of science that deals with musculoskeletal diseases. The imaging techniques used in the diagnosis and treatment of such conditions have also seen breakthrough developments that have been beneficial to rheumatology as well as other related branches of medicine that deals with similar conditions. In addition to all this, the state-of-the-art biological medicines used in such treatments have seen steady improvements owing to targeted research and studies. All of this has contributed to tremendous advancement of the specialty of rheumatology in recent years.
Development Of Better Drugs
The proper understanding of various pathophysiological processes connected to rheumatic diseases paved way for the development of new and improved drugs that can be used in the treatment of many rheumatic conditions. In addition to such novel biologic drugs, physicians now have access to registries that help evaluate the real-life use of such agents and their contribution as an integral part of treatment protocols.
Rheumatology is a field of medicine that has untapped potential for advancement based on structured scientific and clinical research and case studies. Better assessment of various rheumatic diseases that come under this specialty would help address any challenges that may arise in the future. The improvement in science would organically influence the future of this and all other specialties in medicine, paving way for new biomarkers and optimized drug usage. The unlimited scope for further research and development in the field of rheumatology would help identify more conditions that can be brought under the scope of diagnosis and treatment under rheumatology. This would further help add quality to the life of patients suffering from the ill effects of such debilitating conditions.
The last two decades saw significant changes in rheumatology. What was once a branch of internal medicine that was largely inpatient based, with not-so-effective treatment modalities gradually turned into a largely outpatient-based specialty that adhered to specifically targeted, science-based therapies. Even with all such advancements in this field, the fundamental issue of defining the range of diseases that fall under this specialty remains unresolved.
