Rheumatology

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If you have pain and swelling in your joints or muscles, we’ll find out what’s going on and help you feel better.

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The Polyclinic rheumatology department cares for patients with arthritis and other diseases of the joints, muscles and bones. These range from back, neck and hand pain to autoimmune diseases like lupus, in which the body attacks healthy tissue.

All of our rheumatologists (doctors who specialize in these conditions) have advanced training and are board certified. They diagnose and care for a wide range of diseases and disorders, including:

Gout and pseudogout (types of arthritis that cause crystals to build up in the joints)
Lupus (an autoimmune disease that affects many organs in the body)
Myositis (inflammation of the muscles)
Polymyalgia rheumatica and temporal arteritis (disorders that causes pain and stiffness)
Rheumatoid arthritis (a disorder that affects the lining of the joints)
Scleroderma (hardening of the skin and connective tissues)
Seronegative spondyloarthritis (diseases that affect the spine and other joints)
Sjögren’s syndrome (a disorder that causes parts of the body to dry out)
Vasculitis (inflammation of the blood vessels)

Please note that we need a referral from your primary care doctor or another specialist to schedule an appointment.

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About our services

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Preparing for your appointment

When you call to make an appointment, please have the following information ready:
- Who referred you to our clinic?
- Why were you referred to our clinic?
- Insurance information (available on your insurance card)
- Have you had any tests that are relevant to your symptoms or referral? These may include lab testing, imaging studies, biopsy results, etc. If yes, where can we get these records?
- Have you seen a rheumatologist before? If so, can you give us their name and location?
Also, please complete our new patient information form in advance and bring to your appointment.
Note that our staff cannot give medical advice to patients not currently under our care.

Scheduling an appointment

Call 1-206-860-5580 to schedule an appointment or for more information. Forms, patient referrals and other documents can be faxed to 1-206-860-5484.
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Rheumatology is part of a larger musculoskeletal program at The Polyclinic that also includes:
The therapists, physicians and surgeons in these areas work closely together to provide complete, coordinated care.
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Our department was chosen to participate in a national effort to improve quality of care for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). As part of this, we created processes to measure patients’ disease activity and their ability to function physically.

We also started a project to improve vaccination rates against pneumococcal pneumonia (lung infections) in RA patients. This is because RA treatments can have side effects that put patients at higher risk of infections.

Currently our department measures disease state, functional status and pneumonia vaccination rate. To date, our efforts have helped:
- Identify when a patient’s treatment needs to change
- Increase the chances of a disease getting better
- Improve health outcomes
- Increase vaccination rates in RA patients from 27% to 79% during a 12-month period
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Intravenous therapy (delivered through a vein) services are available at our infusion center at Madison Center. Treatments include fluids, biologic medications and more.

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The most efficient way to have prescriptions refilled is to have your pharmacy fax a request to our office. This reduces errors and speeds up the process. If you need to call our office about a refill, please have the following information available:
- Your name and date of birth
- The medication name and dose
- How often you take the medication (once daily, twice daily, etc.)
- Quantity needed (one- or three-month supply)
- Pharmacy phone number
- Your phone number in case we have questions
We fill prescriptions Monday through Friday. Some need authorization by your insurance plan, which may take several days or weeks. Please plan ahead and request refills at least three days before running out of your medication.

If you take biologic medications, authorizations can take several weeks, depending on your insurance. Please contact us immediately if there are any changes to your insurance, or if you are aware that a new authorization is needed.
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We schedule our appointments weeks in advance. Because of this, it’s hard for us to reschedule on short notice. If you must reschedule, please call us as soon as possible. This will allow us to schedule another patient who is waiting to be seen.

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