Rheumatology Center

Overcoming Persistent Pain

When persistent joint, muscle, neck, or back pain gets in the way of doing what you love to do, it’s time to see a Grady rheumatologist.

Rheumatologists are specialists in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and conditions of the joints, muscles, and bones that make up the musculoskeletal system that enables us to walk, eat, get out of bed, and do all the things we take for granted. If your musculoskeletal system isn’t working the way it should, you may need to see a rheumatologist.

Grady’s Rheumatology Center focuses on complex, systemic autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, vasculitis, psoriatic arthritis, and gout. But, most of all, our rheumatologists are specialists in you and your needs. We will be your steady partner, helping you to choose the right treatment, providing information about your condition, and offering the support you need to get through the experience. We help you make the right decisions for you and arrange appointments that work with your schedule. After all, life doesn’t stop when it hurts to move.

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Why Choose Us

Grady offers the largest, most dynamic rheumatology service in the region.

Grady’s Rheumatology Center has more than 4,000 patient encounters each year. Our team has been a national leader in the development and use of biologic drugs. Area physicians routinely refer patients to us for care when their conditions exceed the capabilities of those physicians and their hospitals.

Our rheumatologists were attracted to Grady by the fact that we offer the most complete medical care in Atlanta and deliver it through multidisciplinary teams. That means our rheumatologists, who serve on the faculty of Emory University School of Medicine, work side-by-side with specialists from other disciplines.

They use Atlanta’s newest medical technology to diagnose and care for thousands of patients each year, making them some of the most experienced rheumatologists in the nation. And, because Grady has one of the region’s most active research programs, we provide access to some of medicine’s most promising emerging therapies.

Grady offers one more advantage. Every patient we treat benefits from the comprehensive medical services we’ve created for Atlanta over more than 125 years. That means we have the expertise to handle whatever illness, condition, or trauma you’ve experienced and whatever complications may arise.

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What We Treat

Rheumatic disease – sometimes called musculoskeletal diseases – affect your joints tendons, ligaments, bones, and muscles. Among them are many types of arthritis, a term used for conditions that affect your joints. There are more than 200 rheumatic diseases. Some that we commonly treat include:

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Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) occurs when your body’s immune system targets your joint linings. RA affects joints on both sides of the body, such as both hands, both wrists, or both knees. This symmetric occurrence sets it apart from other types of arthritis. It can also affect the skin, eyes, lungs, heart, blood, or nerves.

Learn more about rheumatoid arthritis.

Psoriatric Arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is an autoimmune disease and a form of inflammatory arthritis that can affect the millions of people who have psoriasis. Psoriasis is a skin disease that causes a red, scaly rash, most often on your elbows, knees, ankles, feet, hands, and other areas. PsA typically affects your skin and joints, which can become swollen, stiff, and painful. Over time, the inflammation can damage joints and tissues.

Learn more about psoriatic arthritis.

Gout

Gout is a kind of arthritis that occurs when you have too much uric acid in your blood and it forms sharp crystals in one or more joints. The condition usually affects the big toe, but develop in your knee, ankle, foot, hand, wrist, or elbow. Attacks are sudden and cause serious pain that usually lasts 3 to 10 days.

Learn more about gout.

Vasculitis

This inflammation damages the lining of affected blood vessels, causing narrowing, the formation of blood clots (thrombosis), and blockage. As a result, the oxygenated blood supply to certain tissues may be restricted, potentially resulting in pain, tissue damage, and, potentially, organ malfunction. The cause of vasculitis is not understood, but it is thought to be due to disturbances in the body’s immune system.

Learn more about vasculitis.

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Make an Appointment

Call our 24/7 scheduling center at (404) 616-1000 or request a callback by visiting Make an Appointment.

If you are an existing Grady patient and have a MyChart account, visit MyChart to request your appointment online.

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Locations and Directions

Grady Memorial Hospital
80 Jesse Hill Jr Drive SE
Atlanta, GA 30303

3rd Floor, K Hallway (NEW LOCATION)

Monday-Friday: 8 AM - 5 PM

(404) 616-1000 (Main)
(404) 616-1000 (Appointments)

Parking is available

Public Transportation

Need directions? Download Grady GO! our free app for turn-by-turn directions to your destination.

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Facilities

The Grady Rheumatology Center is primarily an outpatient specialty that treats non-hospitalized patients. It does offer:

  • Joint aspirations and injections, and infusions that treat patients with biologic drugs
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Research

As one of the nation’s elite teaching hospitals, our rheumatologists are involved in an array of clinical trials aimed at finding better, more effective ways to care for patients suffering from rheumatic conditions. Research conducted at Grady is helping to redefine the way doctors around the world treat an array of autoimmune diseases. This commitment to research means that Grady offers the best standard emergency care – and the best-emerging care. The benefit to patients is clear: They have access to treatment options unavailable at most other institutions.

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Our Doctors

Every hospital treats patients. At Grady, we strive to treat them better, more efficiently and more effectively. Our Rheumatology Clinic is staffed by physicians, nurses and other staff specialized in treating conditions that severely limit patients’ lives. This mission to care for all who need us attracts physicians from across the nation who are drawn to Grady because we test the limits of medicine through innovation and research.

Our zeal for innovation has given Grady a national reputation for medical advances in rheumatology, trauma care, burns, stroke, diabetes, infectious diseases, women’s health, sickle cell, and other conditions treated by specialists in our centers of excellence. Access to all these accredited practices is available to every Grady patient and our collegial environment means that specialists routinely help to care for their colleagues’ patients.

Though clinicians are drawn by Grady’s reputation, most are employed by the Emory and Morehouse schools of medicine, which staff our medical services. Grady is one of a handful of U.S. health systems whose patients are cared for by faculty members of two medical schools. This reinforces our commitment to ongoing innovation.