Rheumatic conditions involve the inflammation of different organs of your body, as well as your joints, which are their most common target. Often, rheumatic conditions are autoimmune in nature. This means your body abnormally creates inflammation affecting its own organs.

At MultiCare, our expert rheumatology team can assess you for rheumatic conditions. If it turns out you have a condition such as gout, lupus or another rheumatologic disease, we offer treatments designed to reduce inflammation, prevent damage and improve how you move and feel.

Common rheumatic conditions

Many rheumatic conditions cause pain and swelling in your bones and joints. Others affect the skin, blood vessels, lungs, sinuses, kidneys and, rarely, the nervous system.

Common rheumatic conditions include:

• Connective tissue diseases such as lupus, Sjogren’s syndrome, scleroderma and inflammatory muscle diseases
• Crystalline arthritis, such as gout and pseudogout
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Spondyloarthropathies, which include ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease-associated arthritis

MultiCare now offers a new virtual rheumatology care option through our partner, Remission Medical, designed to help patients get timely access to rheumatology expertise.

This service provides secure video visits with rheumatology nurse practitioners for certain conditions that can be safely evaluated and managed virtually. For many patients, virtual visits may help reduce wait times while maintaining high-quality care.

Your visit notes and care recommendations will be shared with your MultiCare provider to support coordinated, ongoing care. This virtual option complements in-person rheumatology services, which remain available for patients who need hands-on evaluation or more complex care.

In addition, these virtual providers will see patients with the following conditions that our in-person providers do not see, including:

• Positive ANA (standalone)
• Fibromyalgia
• Osteoporosis
• Osteopenia
• Tendinitis
• Erosive osteoarthritis
• Antiphospholipid syndrome

Talk with your provider to see if virtual rheumatology care may be right for you.