OBJECTIVES: Early diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory arthritis can limit the impact of disease outcomes. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a referral program on the identification of patients with suspected inflammatory arthritis. METHODS: SIARA (Referral Strategies and Disease Education Impact on Diagnosis and Referral of Axial Spondyloarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients) is an observational prospective, randomized (by clusters of primary care centers) study to analyze the impact of Referral Support Actions (RSA) consisting of physician educational sessions about the disease and implementation of referral recommendations. The participating primary care centers (n=24) were randomly assigned to RSA or control group (with no intervention). Both RSA and control groups identified and referred patients with suspected inflammatory arthritis to the rheumatology unit of the reference hospital (n=6). The main studied outcome is the correct diagnosis of inflammatory arthritis / rheumatoid arthritis confirmed by the rheumatologist of the reference hospital. RESULTS: A total of 125 patients were referred to a rheumatologist (considering 4 hospitals): 61 RSA patients and 64 control patients. Mean age was 48.9 years (range: 19-73) and 88.8% were female (differences not statistically significant between groups). About 14.8% (n=9) of RSA patients and 4.7% (n=3) of controls had a confirmed diagnosis of arthritis (any type) by the rheumatologist (OR=3.5; 95%CI, 0.9-13.7; Chi-square p=0.056). Rate of confirmed rheumatoid arthritis was 4.9% in RSA patients and 1.6% in controls (p=0.287). The majority of the patients (82.0%) were referred in the 4 months after educational session (month 3:63.9%; month 6:96.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Although the study results still lack statistical significance, this preliminary data already suggests a positive impact of a referral program on the early identification of inflammatory arthritis, especially after the first few months. This should be further analyzed and considered by healthcare deciders in order to improve health outcomes in inflammatory arthritis.