Dr. Hanish Bagga
BMed FRACP GDClinEp CCPU
Dr Hanish Bagga graduated from medical school at the University of Newcastle in 1992 and completed his FRACP in Rheumatology at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney in 2001. Dr Bagga spent a further 3 years completing laboratory and clinical research investigating the role of intra-articular Hyaluronic acid in osteoarthritis of the knee and its potential to modify structural progression at the University of Sydney Institute of Bone and Joint Research, Royal North Shore Hospital.
Dr Bagga completed his Graduate Diploma in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the University of Newcastle in 2004.
In 2005 Dr Bagga established the Mid North Coast Arthritis Clinic on the Mid North Coast of NSW in Coffs Harbour providing Rheumatological consultation services, which subsequently grew to include outreach clinics in Nambucca Heads, Armidale and Grafton.
Dr Bagga helped establish the Coffs Osteoporosis Clinic in 2006 which provided a much-needed Bone Densitometry service to the Mid North Coast.
Dr Bagga established Coffs Clinical Trials in 2005 which has been involved in conducting several significant multi-national clinical trials for new therapeutics in the area of rheumatology and was involved over a period of 12 years in conducting several investigator initiated studies looking at medical literacy, the role of ultrasound in assisting medication compliance and anti -drug antibodies associated with biologic therapy in the treatment of rheumatic disease and management of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension in a regional setting. This work has resulted in a number of important scientific publications, which Dr Bagga has co-authored. (see publications and Clinical Trials for a complete list).
Dr Bagga also helped establish one of first regional Pulmonary Hypertension (PAH) Clinics in 2008 in Coffs Harbour which making it a designated PAH prescribing centre allowing many patients who suffer from this life threatening and disabling disease to access life saving medication without needing to frequently travel to a designated PAH centre in Sydney or Brisbane.
Dr Bagga completed his Certificate in Clinician Performed Ultrasound in 2018 and provided Musculoskeletal Ultrasound services in the clinic for several years.
In 2018 Dr Bagga opened a clinic on Wickham Terrace in Brisbane and continued to provide much needed outreach services on a fly in fly out basis to the Mid North Coast of NSW. This clinic closed in 2020 due to the COVID 19 pandemic and closed Queensland border. Dr Bagga relocated permanently to Brisbane at the end 2019 with his family for the primary purpose of allowing access to high quality secondary schooling options for his children.
In 2022 he made the decision to merge his clinic with A/Prof Philip Robinson to form the new Brisbane Rheumatology clinic at 135 Wickham Terrace. He continues to care for many thousands of patients with rheumatic disease from the Mid North coast of NSW along with Brisbane and the greater Queensland area.
Clinical Trials
- UCB RA 0055 C-Early (Cimzia) 2012-2014
- UCB RA 0087 (PMOS Cimzia) 2012
- ABBOTT OPERA (Humira) (P12-072) 2012-2014
- ROCHE (PMOS ActUp Actemra) (ML28144) 2012-2015
- ROCHE (S/C “Ac-Cute” Actemra) ML 28703) 2012-2015
- QUINTILES CLINICAL TRIAL- Oskira (Astra-Zeneca) 2011-2013
- CELGENE PALACE 3 CLINICAL TRIAL (Apremilast) 2010-2013
- ROCHE WA 17044 IV ACTEMRA 2008-2010
- ROCHE MIRROR MABTHERA CLINICAL TRIAL 2006- 2009
- INVESTIGATOR HUMIRA/MRI STUDY 2013-2015
- CARBYLAN OA CLINICAL TRIAL (COR 1.1) 2015-2016
- 1. SPHINX PAH Epixiban Trial 2013 -
- Daiichi-Sankyo Fibromyalgia Clinical Trial DS E311 2015 - 2016
- Daiichi-Sankyo Fibromyalgia Clinical Trial DS E312 2016 -
- BMS IM101-550 (Orencia in Early RA) 2016 -
- AbbVie M13-549 (JAK Clinical Trial) 2016 -
- UCB AS 0006 (Cimzia in nr-AxSpa) 2016 –
- ADAS 2016-
- BMS ASCORE Open-Label Orencia 2016 –
- NOVARTIS CAIN457H2315 Secukinumab 2016 -
Qualifications & Memberships
- Studied Medicine at University of Newcastle, completed 1992
- Completed FRACP in Rheumatology 2001
- Graduate Diploma in Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics - University of Newcastle 2005
- Certificate of Clinician Performed Ultrasound CCPU - Australian Society of Ultrasound in Medicine 2013
- Member of Royal Australian College of Physicians, RACP
- Member of Australian Rheumatology Association, ARA
- Member of the American College of Rheumatology, ARA
- Member of Australian Society of Ultrasound in Medicine, ASUM
- Member of Australian Medical Association, AMA
Publications
A Practical Approach to the Use of Conventional Synthetic, Biologic and Targeted Synthetic Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs for the Treatment of Inflammatory Arthritis in Patients with a History of Malignancy.
AUTHORS: Wong PKK, Bagga H, Barrett C, Chong G, Hanrahan P, Kodali T, Marabani M, Prince HM, Riordan J, Swarbrick P, White R, Young L.
CITATIONS: Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2018 Sep 1;20(10):64. doi:
10.1007/s11926-018-0774-9. Review. PubMed PMID: 30173305.
A practical approach to vaccination of patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases in Australia.
AUTHORS: Wong PKK, Bagga H, Barrett C, Hanrahan P, Johnson D, Katrib A, Leder K, Marabani M, Pentony P, Riordan J, White R, Young L.
CITATIONS: Intern Med J. 2017 May;47(5):491-500. doi: 10.1111/imj.13371. Review.
PubMed PMID: 28101910
How well do patients understand written instructions?: Health literacy assessment in rural and urban rheumatology outpatients.
AUTHORS: Wong PK, Christie L, Johnston J, Bowling A, Freeman D, Joshua F, Bird P, Chia
K, Bagga H.
CITATIONS: Medicine (Baltimore). 2014 Nov;93(25):e129. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000000129. PubMed PMID: 25437024; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4616379.
Pilot study assessing the novel use of musculoskeletal ultrasound in patients with rheumatoid arthritis to improve patient attitudes and adherence to medication.
AUTHORS: Joplin SK, van der Zwan R, Bagga H, Joshua F, Wong PK
CITATIONS: Int J Rheum Dis. 2016 Jul;19(7):658-64. doi: 10.1111/1756-185X.12402. Epub 2014 May 20. PubMed PMID: 24839920.
Improving osteoporosis management following minimal trauma fracture in a regional setting: The Coffs Fracture Card Project.
AUTHORS: Tulk C, Lane P, Gilbey A, Johnston H, Chia K, Mitchell L, Bagga H, Wong PK.
CITATIONS: Aust J Rural Health. 2013 Dec;21(6):343-9. doi: 10.1111/ajr.12072. PubMed PMID: 24299440.
The initial 18 months of the first multi-disciplinary regional Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Clinic in Australia.
AUTHORS: Bagga H, Chia KS, Freeman D, Hales L, Henderson DS, Kotlyar E, Law D, Mudholkar P, Tulk C, Waites JH, Wong PK.
CITATIONS: Aust J Rural Health. 2011 Apr;19(2):89-94. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1584.2011.01189.x. PubMed PMID: 21438951.
Measures of rheumatoid arthritis disease activity in Australian clinical practice.
AUTHORS: Taylor A, Bagga H.
CITATIONS: ISRN Rheumatol. 2011;2011:437281. doi: 10.5402/2011/437281. Epub 2011 May 4. PubMed PMID: 22389794; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3263749.
Predictors of clinical response to intraarticular Hylan injections -- a prospective study using synovial fluid measures, clinical outcomes, and magnetic resonance imaging.
AUTHORS: Anandacoomarasamy A, Bagga H, Ding C, Burkhardt D, Sambrook PN, March LM.
CITATIONS: . J Rheumatol. 2008 Apr;35(4):685-90. Epub 2008 Feb 15. PubMed PMID: 18278831.
Longterm effects of intraarticular hyaluronan on synovial fluid in osteoarthritis of the knee.
AUTHORS: Bagga H, Burkhardt D, Sambrook P, March L.
CITATIONS: J Rheumatol. 2006 May;33(5):946-50. PubMed PMID: 16652425.
Epidemiology of osteoarthritis in Australia.
AUTHORS: March LM, Bagga H.
CITATIONS: Med J Aust. 2004 Mar 1;180(5 Suppl):S6-10. Review. PubMed PMID: 14984356.
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