Research priorities for arthritis professional education

The need for improved educational programs in rheumatology is well recognized. In its 1976 Report to Congress (l), the National Commission on Arthritis and Related Musculoskeletal Diseases noted that only about 3% of individuals with arthritis were under the care of a rheumatologist. The overwhelming majority of arthritis patients received their care from primary care physicians, most of whom had received little or no special training in the management of rheumatic diseases. Because this pattern was unlikely to change,