TY - JOUR T1 - Addressing the Rheumatology Workforce Shortage: A Question of Supply <em>and</em> Demand JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol SP - 1183 LP - 1184 DO - 10.3899/jrheum.220709 VL - 49 IS - 11 AU - Eric M. Ruderman AU - Alexis Ogdie Y1 - 2022/11/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/49/11/1183.abstract N2 - The combination of a growing and aging population and advances in treatment have increased demands for rheumatology services across the world. In the United States, a shrinking rheumatology workforce, driven by retirements and a shift toward part-time work, coupled with this increased demand, has led to estimates that the demand for rheumatology clinical providers will outstrip supply by over 100% by 2030.1 A number of suggestions have been made to address the supply of rheumatology care. These suggestions include changes to payment structure and documentation requirements that can improve the desirability of rheumatology as a subspecialty in the hopes of retaining current providers and attracting new ones; increasing the number of training positions; and maximizing the use of nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and even pharmacists to provide care. All these strategies rely on increasing the volume of care provided to account for the increased demand. To date, however, there have been few suggestions to address the demand side of the equation. Efforts are underway to train primary care providers (PCPs) to address basic rheumatologic issues without turning to specialty care, but are there ways in which that care itself can be modified to reduce the need for fellowship-trained rheumatologists?One proposal has been to increase the use of “e-consults,” which allow rheumatologists to provide guidance to PCPs without using time in their clinical schedules.2 Telemedicine has also been suggested as a potential solution, although primarily as a way to address the disconnect between the location of rheumatologists and the patients who require their care; rheumatologists would still be required to deliver this care, although it could be done from a distance. In this issue of The Journal of Rheumatology, Hermans and colleagues report on a study that offers an intriguing opportunity to … Address correspondence to Dr. E.M. Ruderman, 675 North St. Clair, Suite 14-100, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. Email: e-ruderman{at}northwestern.edu. ER -