Join us at the National Musculoskeletal Health Data Group

Our annual health data event took place on 18th June 2025. Here’s what happened and find out how you can join us next year.

What is the National Musculoskeletal Health Data Group?

The National Musculoskeletal Health Data Group is an annual event, organised by Versus Arthritis, bringing together people with an interest in health and data across the MSK community. We believe by bringing researchers, policy makers, healthcare professionals, public health leads, professional societies and patient charities together we can help improve the quality, availability, relevance, and use of MSK data, and ultimately transform the lives of people with arthritis and related conditions.

About the day

This year the event showcased how thoughtful use of routine local and linked data can move beyond abstract analytics to real service transformation - from revealing unwarranted variation in pain management to informing quality improvement in primary care and elective surgical hubs. Speakers emphasised that data alone isn’t enough: building trust, sharing purpose across teams, and investing in local capacity to interpret and act on insights are essential.

Equally compelling were discussions on equity and person-centred care, especially in early inflammatory arthritis, where standard remission measures often fail to capture what matters most to people’s daily lives. Presentations highlighted how policy action to tackle wider determinants of health can help reduce MSK inequalities, while local initiatives, such as the GIRFT (Getting It Right First Time) community programme, demonstrate system redesign, backed by real-world data and patient-reported outcomes can deliver measurable and fairer health gains. Together, these sessions made clear why cross-sector dialogue and shared learning at events like this are so valuable for anyone shaping policy, commissioning or frontline MSK services.

Key take away messages

Data is powerful — but needs trust, local capacity, and shared purpose

• Routine linked data from primary care, community services, and hospitals can illuminate patterns in musculoskeletal pain and help target resources effectively.
• Local data dashboards empower clinicians and commissioners to identify unwarranted variation, monitor waiting lists, and evaluate intervention impact – if accompanied by adequate training, time, and support to act on insights.
• Examples like the Swedish OA registry show the value of population-level data sharing when there is public trust and transparency.
• Locally, linking routine data with PROMs (Patient Reported Outcome Measures) helps MSK teams see where people are falling through gaps and redesign services, but only if teams have time, skills, and a culture of collective problem-solving.

Strengthening primary care pathways can improve outcomes and reduce reliance on medication

• Better use of local and practice‑level data can reveal unwarranted variation in pain management, highlight service gaps, and guide targeted quality improvement across communities.
• Equipping primary care teams with shared decision‑making tools, structured care pathways, and training in non‑pharmacological approaches supports safer, earlier, and more holistic management of musculoskeletal pain.

Tackling structural drivers is essential to reduce MSK inequalities

• Lifestyle-focused interventions like exercise programmes and self-management often widen gaps, as people in more advantaged groups are better placed to access and benefit from them.
• To create fairer outcomes in chronic pain and osteoarthritis, policy efforts should address wider determinants of health, such as income, education, and housing.

Elective hubs and community delivery programmes can deliver real system gains

• Evidence shows surgical hubs increased elective throughput, reduced length of stay, and improved efficiency, particularly for high-volume, low-complexity care.
• Community MSK programmes, like GIRFTs, helped some systems cut waiting lists, showing that well-led, data-driven service redesign can make a measurable difference.

Discussion on key factors to improve remission rates in early inflammatory arthritis

• Standard definitions focus narrowly on disease activity, overlooking persistent pain, fatigue and the impact on daily life and work. Embedding patient‑reported outcomes early in care pathways ensures services align with what people value.
• The window for achieving remission can be short from symptom onset. Public awareness campaigns and stronger primary care education are vital to encourage earlier help‑seeking and faster referral.
• Women and people from Black and South Asian backgrounds are less likely to reach remission, even after accounting for clinical factors. Addressing these gaps requires targeted strategies, equitable access to advanced therapies and attention to structural barriers.
• Some services (e.g. in Leicester) achieve strong outcomes despite serving diverse, complex populations. Analysing and scaling these local models can help reduce unwarranted variation and build more person‑centred, equitable MSK care across the system.

Join us next year

The 21st National Musculoskeletal Health Data Group will take place in June 2026. Please email data@versusarthritis.org to express your interest in attending.