People seeking a rheumatologist’s care are often forced to travel long distances, and wait for hours for their turn with the doctor. Why? Because there are too few rheumatologists to treat the growing number of people who have arthritis. The story quite clearly revealed a shortage of rheumatologists. Reporting revealed both good and bad news regarding this shortage. The good news: The number of new rheumatologists available to treat the more than 46 million people who currently have doctor-diagnosed arthritis is rising. The bad news: the American College of Rheumatology estimates about half of the practicing rheumatologist will retire within eight years -creating a shortage of 2,600 rheumatologists by 2025. Within that same time frame, the number of people with arthritis is projected to reach 67 million as the over-60 population peaks. Readers of Arthritis Today are interested in knowing how their health care will be affected.
