Private Rheumatology in the Community of Madrid, Spain: Descriptive Study

The status of private rheumatology is known, but there is no information on the kind of patients seen. This study describes the experience over a 3-year period in a private rheumatology practice in the Autonomous Community of Madrid. We collected demographic and descriptive data. Of 706 patients seen, almost half (46%) were there for their first visit, and 12% of patients who had asked for an appointment did not attend. The majority of patients were women (72.4%) with a median age of 44.3 years old (range 3-93). The most frequent diagnoses were osteoarthritis (20.9%), osteopenia/osteoporosis (16.8%), arthralgia (13.4%) and soft tissue disorder (9.6%). The majority of the patients had private insurance with Spanish companies, such as MAPFRE, Adeslas and Asisa. At least one quarter of ancillary tests ordered in the first visit were not revised on a second visit.