Dear Friends, Colleagues and Visitors,
A very warm welcome to the Malaysia Society of Rheumatology (MSR) website.
MSR was formed in 1989. From a small society consisting of a few rheumatologists, we have grown from strength to strength and I am proud to announce that we will be celebrating our silver anniversary in 2014.
It is an exciting time for Rheumatology. Rapid advances, the availability of many new therapeutic options and the ongoing research will allow us to offer better treatment for our patients in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), spondyloarthritis, SLE and other rheumatic diseases. Take rheumatoid arthritis as an example. In the past, treatment was conservative where painkiller was the first choice of treatment before starting disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). We have “reverse the pyramid” by pushing for early diagnosis of RA, early initiation of treatment with oral DMARDs and and in some cases biologics, with the aim of remission or low disease activity(Treat to Target). Although biologics therapy is expensive and beyond the means of most of our patients, we will continue to strive to get the treatment for our deserving patients.
We hope the public hospitals, private sector and the universities will continue to work together to strengthen the undergraduate and post-graduate rheumatology teaching and further improve public awareness on rheumatic diseases. We also actively participate in CME activities, development of CPGs, guidelines & consensus and research activities to keep ourselves up to date, maintain a good standard of patient care and help to advance rheumatology. Malaysia is a member of the international organization The Bone and Joint Decade 2010-2020 which promotes musculoskeletal health.
We hope you will find our website informative, educational and enjoyable.
Best wishes.
Dr Lau Ing Soo
President
Malaysian Society of Rheumatology