Dr Joao Fonseca, head of the Rheumatology Department at the Lisbon Academic Medical Centre (Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa), tells Editor in Chief of RMD Open Bernard Combe how the data from the reuma.pt database is improving the early diagnosis and treatment of arthritis in Portugal.

The Rheumatic Diseases Portuguese Register (Reuma.pt) was started by the Portuguese Society of Rheumatology in 2008 with the aim to register patients suffering from all the different inflammatory joint diseases.