Division of Rheumatology & Immunology
The Division of Rheumatology and Immunology, part of the Department of Medicine, offers world-class patient care, research programs, and education and training opportunities.
Rheumatology & Immunology
Care for muscle and joint pain caused by inflammatory or autoimmune conditions
Leading-Edge Rheumatic Disease Care
Many of us experience muscle and joint pain from time to time. But with rheumatic diseases, the pain can be debilitating. The rheumatology and immunology experts from the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) can help you find relief.
A rheumatologist is a doctor who specializes in inflammatory, autoimmune musculoskeletal conditions that affect the joints and muscles, such as arthritis.
What are Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Diseases?
Your immune system protects you from bacteria, infection and viruses. Autoimmune diseases occur when your immune system mistakenly attacks healthy parts of the body. Immunodeficiency is when your immune system response is reduced or unable to fight infections and disease. Autoinflammatory diseases are also diseases that affect the immune system. These diseases cause periodic fever and swelling throughout the body. Musculoskeletal diseases are conditions that affect the muscles, bones and connective tissue.
BIDMC offers comprehensive diagnostic and treatment services for these conditions, as well as specialty programs and centers, to help you get the care you need. We provide compassionate care for rheumatic diseases in our general outpatient clinic.
Conditions We Treat
The Division of Rheumatology and Immunology provides care for a wide range of conditions, including:
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Cryoglobulinemic vasculitis
- Dermatomyositis or polymyositis
- Giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica
- Gout
- IBD related arthritis (associated with Crohn's or ulcerative colitis)
- Lyme arthritis (patient who has confirmed Lyme serologies)
- Psoriatic arthritis
- Raynaud's
- Reactive arthritis (formerly known as Reiter’s)
- Relapsing polychondritis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Sarcoidosis
- Scleroderma
- Sjogren's
- Still's disease
- Systemic lupus erythematosus
- Wegener's (AAV)
Autoimmune & Immune Deficiency Evaluation
Our experts at the Clinical Immunology Center work with you to identify and treat a range of immune-related conditions. This may include:
- Evaluation of medication-related immune responses
- Evaluation of abnormal and unexplained immune-related laboratory findings
- Consultation for primary immune deficiency diseases (PIDD)
PIDDs are rare conditions caused by a defect of the immune system. PIDD can present in men and women at any age, even if you don't have a family history. Patients with PIDD may have unusual infections, infections that recur, and organ-specific or systemic autoimmune diseases.
About Rheumatology & Immunology
Caring for Patients on Immunotherapy Medications
We offer specialized monitoring and care for patients who take immunotherapy medications. We also provide side effect management and make treatment recommendations as needed.
Rheumatologic Care for Older Adults
Part of the Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology Division, BIDMC’s Geriatric Rheumatology Clinic takes a patient-centered approach to care. We recognize that older patients with rheumatic diseases have unique health needs that require careful assessment and integration into the care process.
Led by Devyani Misra, MD, MS, a national leader in Geriatric Rheumatology, the clinic supports patients throughout the Greater Boston area, designing treatment plans that account for individual comorbidities, daily medications, movement limitations and overall health status.
The Geriatric Rheumatology Clinic is also committed to shaping the future of this area of medicine. We host several residents, who participate in research that pushes the bounds of Geriatric Rheumatology. We are particularly focused on studying the safety of certain medications in older adults.
Additional Services
Your care team coordinates care with other specialty providers throughout our medical center. This ensures you receive comprehensive, streamlined care.
