He notes that children are greatly affected physically, as well as socially, by arthritis and other rheumatic diseases. The conditions often limit a child’s ability to run and play, and interrupt school schedules and education. Their endocrine and reproductive systems may be affected. “All of a child’s developing organs could be affected by autoimmune disease,” he says.
By 2030, an estimated 142% increase in fellowship slots for pediatric rheumatologists will be needed to meet demand. However, unlike in adult rheumatology programs in which 100 residents go unmatched each year, the challenge in pediatric rheumatology is to increase the interest in, and demand for, available fellowship slots.
Solutions to help increase the supply of providers include increasing recruitment of physician and nonphysician providers, such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners to pediatric rheumatology; increasing the number of fellowships in underserved areas; using telemedicine; and working with healthcare partners in the community (e.g., primary care providers, occupational and physical therapists) to provide comprehensive patient care.
These solutions are all identified in an ACR workforce solutions initiative to help address ways to close the gap between supply and demand of rheumatologists. Described in detail in an article in The Rheumatologist, the initiative first focuses on targeting the above solutions to areas in geographical areas in the U.S. in most need, specifically the South and Southwest.1,7
“The specialty really has to focus on optimizing initiatives that have already begun, supporting those initiatives to help them grow and developing creative new solutions,” says Dr. Correll.
Keri Losavio is the editor of The Rheumatologist.
References
- Correll CK, Ditmyer MM, Mehta J, et al. 2015 American College of Rheumatology workforce study and demand projections of pediatric rheumatology workforce, 2015–2030. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2022 Mar;74(3):340–348.
- Mayer ML, Mellins ED, Sandborg CI. Access to pediatric rheumatology care in the United States. Arthritis Rheum. 2003 Dec 15;49(6):759–765.
- Althouse LA, Stockman JA. Pediatric workforce: A look at pediatric rheumatology data from the American Board of Pediatrics. J Pediatr. 2006 Dec;149(6):869–870.
- Sacks JJ, Helmick CG, Luo Y-H, et al. Prevalence of and annual ambulatory health care visits for pediatric arthritis and other rheumatologic conditions in the United States in 2001–2004. Arthritis Rheum. 2007 Dec 15;57(8):1439–1445.
- Deal CL, Hooker R, Harrington T, et al. The United States rheumatology workforce: Supply and demand, 2005–2025. Arthritis Rheum. 2007 Mar;56(3):722–729.
- Bullock DR, Vehe RK, Zhang L, Correll CK. Telemedicine and other care models in pediatric rheumatology: an exploratory study of parents’ perceptions of barriers to care and care preferences. Pediatr Rheumatol Online J. 2017 Jul 11;15(1):55.
- Nierengarten MB. The ACR launches initiative to tackle workforce shortage. The Rheumatologist. 2022 May 12.
