Patient Care

The mission of the San Francisco VAMC Rheumatology service is to provide care for Veterans, who have autoimmune and musculoskeletal disorders, with the goal of improving quality of life, improving physical function, maintaining independent living, and decreasing pain.

The San Francisco VA Arthritis/Rheumatology clinic treats a wide variety of conditions that affect the muscles, bones and joints including autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, lupus,and vasculitis. The clinic also takes care of patients with complex crystal diseases like gout. We work with primary care providers to improve function and decrease pain for Veterans who suffer from musculoskeletal disorders, managing their care along with providers in the pain clinic, occupational/physical therapy departments, and orthopedics.

We are committed to the highest quality of care for our patients and work to ensure that our patients have continuity of care and support for their musculoskeletal issues. We work to help patients overcome barriers to receiving care such as assisting with travel arrangements or arranging overnight stays. We offer both in-person and telehealth appointments. During in-person visits we provide a thorough evaluation, including lab testing and imaging studies. We also offer telehealth assessments (when appropriate) to patients who cannot come in person for every visit.

We see patients in our outpatient Arthritis/Rheumatology clinic as well as on the inpatient ward. Our rheumatology provider team consists of a core of experienced rheumatology faculty, rheumatology fellow trainees, two experienced Nurse Practitioners and a support RN. We also provide an eConsult service for outpatients at the SFVAHCS, VISN21 CBOC, and Yountville facilities.