Post Author: Diana M. Girnita, MD, PhD

Diana M. Girnita is a rheumatologist and founder and CEO, Rheumatologist OnCall. She can also be reached on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Dr. Girnita is board certified in rheumatology and internal medicine. She completed a PhD in immunology, a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University, an immunology fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, and a rheumatology fellowship at the University of Cincinnati. She is the founder and CEO of Rheumatologist OnCall, a direct specialty care telemedicine practice focused on broadening access to rheumatology, actively seeing patients in six U.S. states.
Dr. Girnita graduated from the nutrition science course at Stanford University and a mindfulness course at the University of Massachusetts. She was recognized with the Top Doctor award (2017-2020) and is a frequently invited speaker at The Arthritis Foundation.
She is the co-founder of the Direct Specialty Care Alliance. This non-profit organization will lead the movement of specialists in becoming independent and provide direct care services to patients. Dr. Girnita is the co-leader of the FMMA California Chapter.
Dr. Girinta is the author of numerous studies cited on PubMed.

Diana M. Girnita is a rheumatologist and founder and CEO, Rheumatologist OnCall. She can also be reached on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Dr. Girnita is board certified in rheumatology and internal medicine. She completed a PhD in immunology, a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University, an immunology fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, and a rheumatology fellowship at the University of Cincinnati. She is the founder and CEO of Rheumatologist OnCall, a direct specialty care telemedicine practice focused on broadening access to rheumatology, actively seeing patients in six U.S. states.
Dr. Girnita graduated from the nutrition science course at Stanford University and a mindfulness course at the University of Massachusetts. She was recognized with the Top Doctor award (2017-2020) and is a frequently invited speaker at The Arthritis Foundation.
She is the co-founder of the Direct Specialty Care Alliance. This non-profit organization will lead the movement of specialists in becoming independent and provide direct care services to patients. Dr. Girnita is the co-leader of the FMMA California Chapter.
Dr. Girinta is the author of numerous studies cited on PubMed.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a common autoimmune disease affecting approximately 1.5 million people only in the United States. The most common symptoms that will bring patients to the doctor are:
Unfortunately, rheumatoid arthritis is not only a disease of the joints. Chronic, ongoing inflammation …
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One in four Americans carry a diagnosis of arthritis, a significant cause of limitation from basic life activities to disability. One in ten adults has to limit their activities due to pain caused by this disease. Yet, a massive shortage of specialist physicians and geographical and licensure barriers restrict access to specialized medical care, especially in rheumatology offices. Also, the cost of arthritis is 303 billion dollars yearly …
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Medical school, residency, and fellowship taught me pathophysiology, diagnosis, and the most advanced treatments for autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. As an attending physician, seeing my own patients, I noticed that targeted therapy is not able to control the disease in all patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The results varied. I could not stop asking myself, why is it so different?
In my previous article, I wrote about one of my patient’s …
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Five years ago, I met a patient that changed my view on practicing traditional medicine, especially when it comes to rheumatology. For years, I was proud to be in a booming field that provided patients with a new therapy every few years. As a physician and scientist, I believe that targeted therapy offers tools to treat patients like never before, but I have noticed that results vary over time.
Daniel was …
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Three years ago, I was a physician in the “traditional” medical system seeing 25 to 28 patients every day. I spent hours writing notes to provide proper documentation for the correct billing code. Often, my time was spent calling insurance companies to justify the appropriateness of my medical care. More and more hours were spent on completing tasks for insurance companies rather than patient care. Like many of my colleagues, …
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One day, a primary care physician located about two hours away called my office in a desperate attempt to find a rheumatologist. His lovely 64-year-old patient, very healthy otherwise, recently developed a severe and disabling inflammatory arthritis. After conservative treatments failed, he tried to refer the patient to the traditional medical system. However, they could not get a sooner than six months appointment. This is a symptom of a broken …
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