The Rheumatology Unit provides out-patient and in-hospital services. Additionally, the Rheumatology Unit is involved in teaching and research. The unit works with a state-of-the-art clinical immunology laboratory, which provides necessary laboratory tests for evaluation and diagnosis of rheumatic disease. The out-patient arthritis clinic is open five times a week and sees patients referred for consultation and treatment from all over Israel and abroad. Approximately 3,000 patients are seen annually. The unit is run by Prof. Eldad Ben Chetrit. Prof. Ben Chetrit received his rheumatology training in the Autoimmune Disease Center at Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation and at Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center.
Arthritis affects approximately 19 million people in the US. Three million people suffer from rheumatoid arthritis and over 16 million from osteoarthritis. Arthritis literally means inflammation of a joint. However, it is widely used to cover close to 100 different conditions that cause aching, pain and loss of function. Artheritis affects people of all ages and almost everyone will develop some form of arthritis in their lifetime. For most people affected, symptoms are mild and cause no problems. Incessant inflammation and cartilage degeneration causes pain, and swelling leading to disability. The impact of arthritis on the individual is significant. In addition to direct patient costs indirect costs are even greater. Loss of work, decreased productivity, lost wages and disability insurance payments place a great burden on the labor force and society, estimated at billions of dollars.
Unfortunately, reliable statistics of the prevalence of these diseases in Israel are not available, but initial impressions are that they are proportionately similar. Conservative estimates suggest that in Jerusalem and vicinity alone over 20,000 people suffer from arthritis.
Consultation
The Unit provides in-hospital consultation services for patients with rheumatic diseases. The Unit has strong affiliation in Hadassah with the departments of medicine, pediatrics, orthopedics, gynecology, neurology and rehabilitation medicine. In Ein Kerem and Mount Scopus, internal medicine day-care facilities have been established. The Unit is an important source of patients who are referred to these facilities for evaluation and treatment.
Director: Prof. Eldad Ben Chetrit, M.D., Wilfred P. & Rose J. Cohen Chair
Professor of Medicine, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.
Location: Ein Kerem, Clinics Building, 8th floor