Annual Meeting Patient Perspectives

The American College of Rheumatology and the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals invite patients who have been impacted by rheumatic diseases, along with patient sponsor organizations such as a nonprofit patient group, to submit their stories for the Patient Perspectives Program, to be held at ACR Convergence, the ACR’s annual meeting. These stories will allow patients affected by rheumatic disease to share their journeys and experiences living with rheumatic diseases with thousands of rheumatology healthcare providers, worldwide.

Accepted submissions will be published online and in Arthritis & Rheumatology, the official journal of the American College of Rheumatology, and will also be presented at ACR Convergence 2025.

Complete 2025 Patient Perspectives information coming soon.

Patient Perspectives Eligibility

Who Is Eligible to Submit?

• Members and non-members of the ACR and ARP are eligible to submit. The presenting author is required to be someone who is living with a rheumatic disease. All submissions are required to include a patient sponsor organization, such as a nonprofit patient group.
• Employees/owners of an Ineligible Company are not eligible to be the presenting author.
• Organizations that meet the ACCME's definition of an Ineligible Company are not eligible to be sponsor organizations. Presenting authors (patient impacted by rheumatic disease) may only submit one story, but sponsor organizations may be included in multiple submissions.

What Is Eligible for Submission?
Submissions should meet one of the following criteria:

• Address the question: “What adaptations did you and/or your healthcare team adopt to better care for your health?"
• Describe how you became more engaged in healthcare.
• Demonstrate an idea that was put into practice, and how the idea resulted in improved quality of life.

What Is Not Eligible for Submission?

• Medication- or therapy-specific interventions will not be accepted.
• Submissions that report work that has been accepted for publication as a manuscript (e.g., full-length article, brief report, case report, concise communication or letter to the editor, etc.) prior to the submission deadline of (coming soon) are ineligible for consideration.