What is Treat to Target (T2T)?
Treat to Target is a name for one of the ways we take care of kids who have juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) to get better results. T2T works by making providers, patients, and their care-givers partners in setting goals. The first step is when everyone on the team talks about treatment goals and personal goals. When everyone agrees on goals, they can work together to make a plan. This helps patients feel like they have more control. The hope is that patients will be more active and happy. Their disease can get better, the side effects from medicine can get better, and other sicknesses might be avoided or get better.
How is it Different from Usual Care?
针对目标的治疗不同于大多数JIA患者、护理人员和提供者所习惯的治疗。在过去，所有的决定都是由医疗提供者做出的，而病人大多遵循这个计划。这种治疗方法对JIA患者来说可能是全新的，但它已经被用于其他疾病，如高血压、糖尿病和成人关节炎，并取得了很好的效果!
What will Happen at My Appointments?
For many patients, inactive disease is the target. This means that there are no signs and symptoms of JIA (such as swollen joints, pain, or stiffness). For some patients, inactive disease is harder to reach, so they may set a goal of low disease activity (things like swelling, pain, and stiffness will happen less often and be easier to handle). In addition to deciding on a treatment target, more personal goals should be set, such as going to school more often, playing sports, or being creative.
当病人去看医生或护理团队时，他们会谈论病人的情况。然后他们会一起选择目标或“目标”。团队中的每个人在使用T2T时都有一份工作。病人和护理人员必须诚实地说出他们的需求和愿望。他们还必须诚实地告诉医生或团队，他们遵守治疗计划的情况如何，包括服药情况。护理团队必须能够倾听病人对他们来说什么是重要的。他们会一起想出一个计划来达到他们的目标，并尽他们最大的努力坚持这个计划。
What Happens Next?
When following T2T, we want most patients to be 50% better within three months and reach their target within six months. Medical staff will keep track of how well the patient is doing at each appointment. If it seems like the patient is not “at target,” the team will work together to figure out why and come up with a new plan. This might mean changing the dose of medicine, how often they take the medicine, or even trying new medicine. If a patient reaches their target, they will talk to their provider about how long they should stay on the plan. Sometimes patients can take less medicine or stop taking it after they have been at their target for a while. It’s important to remember that there is no way to know if a patient’s disease will stay inactive or for how long. If the JIA comes back, the Treat to Target process will start again. Everyone will keep working hard – together – to make every JIA patient feel as well as they can!
Read more about JIAremission. Sign up for theLive Yes! Online Communityand join the discussion on the JA Families forum to share and learn about remission and Treat to Target. It’s free!
Learn more about childhood arthritis, educational and social opportunities and other available resources through the生活是的!Arthritis Network.
