Authors
Jessica Widdifield, Lauren K King, Celia V Laur, Timothy S H Kwok, Jane Purvis, Philip Baer, J Carter Thorne, Bindee Kuriya, Vandana Ahluwalia, Laura Passalent, Catherine Hofstetter, Joanna Yang, C Thomas Appleton
Published in
Healthcare quarterly (Toronto, Ont.). Volume 29. Issue 1. Pages 7-11.
Abstract
Canadian healthcare systems face mounting pressures from rising chronic disease prevalence, persistent specialist shortages and escalating healthcare expenditures. Rheumatology exemplifies these challenges, with growing patient demand and a persistently limited rheumatologist workforce caring for patients requiring intensive ongoing specialist care. Population-level data on rheumatology patients demonstrate increasing rheumatic disease prevalence, emergency department utilization, disability and medication expenditures, underscoring the unsustainability of physician-centric care models. Across Canada, there is a broad policy consensus that team-based care is essential to improving access, reducing system pressures and enhancing outcomes for patients with chronic disease. However, team-based models have not been systematically extended to specialty care across jurisdictions. Team-based models of rheumatology care that integrate allied health practitioners in rheumatology practices are essential to improving access, enhancing care quality and optimizing workforce capacity. Leveraging existing interprofessional team funding mechanisms to rheumatology settings represents a pragmatic, evidence-informed policy pathway to modernize specialist care delivery and improve the sustainability of the healthcare system.
PMID:
42339627
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 24 Jun 2026.
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