SNOWMASS VILLAGE, COLO.—A major workforce shortage, a population of patients taking immunosuppressants where safety concerns and the patient experience are critical, and an increasing focus on remote patient monitoring and telehealth are driving a discussion regarding the role digital wearables play in rheumatologic care. “We need to be more thoughtful and efficient in taking care…
ATLANTA—The rheumatology profession faces a severe shortfall of practitioners that threatens the ability to address patients’ needs. “Even if we doubled the number of positions for fellowship training, we wouldn’t meet the increasing demand on our workforce,” said Marcy B. Bolster, MD, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston, and director of the…
It is with great pleasure that the ARP congratulates the 2019 recipients of the Mentored Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant Award for Workforce Expansion. The purpose of the NP/PA Award is to increase the supply of rheumatology healthcare providers to better meet the needs of people with rheumatic diseases across the U.S., particularly in geographically underserved areas….
Medical students and residents are choosing careers in rheumatology, thanks in part to the annual Choose Rheumatology Experience hosted by the Rheumatology Research Foundation during the ACR/ARP Annual Meeting. The Choose Rheumatology Experience is a special half-day program designed to help future physicians and rheumatology professionals navigate the Annual Meeting. Cultivating interest in rheumatology is…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Dozens of rheumatology leaders met with more than 100 politicos on Capitol Hill in mid-May as part of the ACR’s annual Advocacy Leadership Conference. Armed with research and advocacy training concerning a handful of important issues, rheumatologists, rheumatology interprofessional team members, government affairs specialists and others met with federal lawmakers, legislative aides and correspondents….
The College’s principal journals have been telling the tale of workforce woe, exploring the reasons for our predicament and potential solutions for the long and short term.1,2 Among the medium-term remedies is increased use of advanced practice clinicians (APCs), as we collectively refer to nurse practitioners and physician assistants in rheumatology practices. Solutions Estimates of…
The workforce shortage in rheumatology is a critical issue the Rheumatology Research Foundation is tackling. The number of patients with rheumatic disease is growing exponentially, and that means more health professionals and innovative approaches are needed to ensure rheumatology practices are set up to offer the best care. In 2018, the ARP released a core…
Analysis of the 2015 ACR Workforce Study, published in the April 2018 issue of Arthritis Care & Research, revealed the U.S. will face a shortage of 4,000 rheumatology providers by 2030.1 This shortage will be uneven, with rheumatology providers concentrated in urban and suburban areas, and rural areas underserved. The Central U.S., Southwest, Southeast and…
CHICAGO—Rheumatology physicians and researchers from Africa said the field’s resources and medical literature on the continent are slowly expanding, but they repeatedly lamented that the millions who suffer from rheumatic diseases there have major obstacles to overcome to access care. Their reviews and assessments—sometimes grim and sometimes hopeful—came in a session that was a joint…
In our fast-paced world, a great deal can happen in 12 months. Reflecting on this past year and my service as ACR president, I find this has certainly been the case. For the foreseeable future, it appears the factors that influence our ability to effectively care for our patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease will…