Pakistani-Native Dr. Iman Qaiser Serves Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma

Dr. Battafarano

“The ACR Workforce Solutions Committee has multiple projects in the pipeline,” says Daniel F. Battafarano, DO, MACP, MACR, chair of the ACR Workforce Solutions Committee. “We have facilitated some new adult and pediatric rheumatology fellowships in the Northwest and Southern-Central regions of the country, which is helpful for both training and sustaining the workforce in those regions. A revised ACR CareerConnection website has also been implemented and we are populating information for early, mid-career and late-career connections for all ACR and ARP career paths.”

“We have divided the [committee] work among five teams,” says Dr. Qaiser, “with Team 1 focused on increasing fellowship spots, particularly in the Northwest, Southwest and Southern-Central regions. They are also working on retaining more people in academia—because there is a great shortage of rheumatology trainers—but also on sustaining rheumatology care in these underserved areas. At present, we are focusing on the Southern-Central Region, including Arkansas and Oklahoma. Our current areas of interest are launching a pediatric rheumatology fellowship in Arkansas, expanding existing programs, and determining ways to retain rheumatologists in academic and community settings.

“Team 2 is busy with evaluating and enhancing access to care with recruiting strategies. Due to the scarcity of rheumatologists, many patients have no providers anywhere near their homes. We hope to move the needle on recruiting practitioners by marketing the value of rheumatology with an ACR white paper, assessing current providers and recent fellows for priorities in the workplace and establishing a dynamic career ACR website.

“The care providers on Team 3 are working on patient-centered communities and value-based care models. Hopefully, we can facilitate models for value-based rheumatology care networks with lower overall cost but improved overall quality of care. We frequently encounter patients with insurance coverage, and we are approaching insurers to advocate for a more streamlined approach to care—from primary care to rheumatology care to multidisciplinary care—and making insurance coverage more patient friendly.

“Team 4 is focused on developing virtual training modules for primary care doctors, physician assistants and nurse practitioners to be used as practical rheumatology references while seeing a patient in clinic.

“Those on Team 5 are pursuing opportunities to enhance support for research and training. The Rheumatology Research Foundation has worked with the ACR to facilitate and expand the number of training, mentoring and research grants for underserved areas.”

Adds Dr. Battafarano, “Virtual training modules for primary care providers (PCPs) and Grand Rounds are being developed and coordinated to expand the rheumatology provider network and to educate and recruit rheumatology fellows from primary care residencies. Training grants for underserved areas have been expanded for rheumatologists, advanced practice practitioners and for PCPs.