ArticleZeitschrift fur Rheumatologie2026
[Quo vadis rheumatology care in Germany? New figures on specialists as of 31.12.2024].
Article in Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe number and scope of work of rheumatology specialists are crucial for the care of patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases. We report on current developments in numbers of rheumatologists up to 2024.
methodsThe number of internal medicine specialists in rheumatology is reported by age group, gender, field of activity, and scope of activity based on medical statistics from the German Medical Association (BÄK), the Federal Register of Physicians of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV), basic data from hospitals, and extrapolated to the population figures of the Federal Statistical Office.
resultsAs of 31 December 2024, there were 1161 practicing rheumatology specialists, of whom 531 (46%) were female and 386 (33%) were aged 60 or older. The number and proportion of rheumatologists under the age of 60 fell from 806 (73%) in 2020 to 775 (67%) in 2024. A total of 725 rheumatologists were accredited to work in outpatient practices for national health insurance patients. Of these, 301 (42%) were employed, an increase compared with 2020 (148 [30%]). In contrast, the number of licensed rheumatologists fell from 392 (57%) to 365 (50%). For every 100,000 adults in Germany, there were 1.7 practicing rheumatologists, 1.0 of whom was accredited to outpatient contracted care, with regional variations ranging from 0.8 in Saarland to 1.6 in Brandenburg and Hamburg (persons, not full-time employees). Since 2018, the number of rheumatologists in hospitals has risen from 360 to 386 in 2023; part-time employment increased from 25% to 39%. The annual average number of full-time inpatient staff has fallen from 340 to 312. Between 2020 and 2024, a total of 303 new rheumatology specialists were recognized, corresponding to an average of 61 specialists per year.
conclusionThe decline in the number of younger rheumatology specialists, coupled with an increase in part-time work, is leading to a decrease in rheumatology capacity in Germany. The current rate of further training is not sufficient to compensate for the age-related retirement of rheumatologists, let alone the loss of full-time positions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.