RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Identifying rheumatic disease patients at high risk and requiring shielding during the COVID-19 pandemic JF Clinical Medicine JO Clin Med FD Royal College of Physicians SP 256 OP 261 DO 10.7861/clinmed.2020-0149 VO 20 IS 3 A1 Price, Elizabeth A1 MacPhie, Elizabeth A1 Kay, Lesley A1 Lanyon, Peter A1 Griffiths, Bridget A1 Holroyd, Christopher A1 Abhishek, Abhishek A1 Youngstein, Taryn A1 Bailey, Kathryn A1 Clinch, Jacqui A1 Shaikh, Muddassir A1 Rivett, Ali YR 2020 UL http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/20/3/256.abstract AB Rheumatology teams care for patients with diverse, systemic autoimmune diseases who are often immunosuppressed and at high risk of infections. The current COVID-19 pandemic has presented particular challenges in caring for and managing this patient group. The office of the chief medical officer (CMO) for England contacted the rheumatology community to provide expert advice on the identification of extremely vulnerable patients at very high risk during the COVID-19 pandemic who should be ‘shielded’. This involves the patients being asked to strictly self-isolate for at least 12 weeks with additional funded support provided for them to remain at home. A group of rheumatologists (the authors) have devised a pragmatic guide to identifying the very highest risk group using a rapidly developed scoring system which went live simultaneous with the Government announcement on shielding and was cascaded to all rheumatologists working in England.