New and emerging strategies for diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are continually being explored in research, and many show promising and effective application for real-world clinical practice. To facilitate diagnosis and therefore early treatment of the disease, clinicians should be aware of validated assessment tools, which can be effectively applied in real-world practice settings. Further, monitoring of disease activity and progression using an outcome measure is a valuable and important practice in the optimization of treatment for patients with RA. Current guidelines advocate for the early and sustained use of DMARD therapy in RA. However, clinicians require a more thorough understanding of different strategies in selecting appropriate combination DMARD therapy for each patient, which will ultimately increase chances of remission.