About Simple Tasks

Simple Tasks is a public awareness campaign by the American College of Rheumatology that strives to increase awareness of rheumatic diseases and the work of rheumatologists, as well as implement related public policy in the U.S.

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What is a Rheumatologist

Just as oncologists treat cancer and cardiologists care for the heart, rheumatologists are the specialists trained to diagnose and treat rheumatic diseases. Rheumatologists treat over 100 different forms of rheumatic diseases.

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What You Can Do

Join the rheumatologist and rheumatology health professional members of the American College of Rheumatology and Americans in fighting the devastating effects of rheumatic diseases. There are many ways to get involved.

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Simple Tasks Videos

The Simple Tasks video series highlights the experiences of people with rheumatic diseases and the rheumatologists who treat those diseases. You’ll find videos of patients talking about how care under a rheumatologist improved their quality of life and videos of rheumatologists and rheumatology health care professionals addressing the problems facing rheumatology and discussing how elevating the importance of rheumatology in the public sphere will benefit patients.

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Latest Blog Posts


Rheumatic Disease Facts: Did you know?

  • 1.3 million adults have rheumatoid arthritis.
  • 161,000 to 322,000 adults have lupus.
  • Nearly 300,000 American children suffer from rheumatic diseases, the most common of which is juvenile idiopathic arthritis, which can cause the same type of pain, disability and co-existing diseases that adults with rheumatic diseases often experience.
  • It is estimated that one child in every 1,000 will develop some form of rheumatic disease.
  • One in 12 women will develop a rheumatic disease in her lifetime.
  • One in 20 men will develop a rheumatic disease in his lifetime.
  • Inflammatory rheumatic diseases often strike people in the prime of their lives. For example, RA and lupus often develop between the ages of 20 and 40.
  • The latest figures regarding arthritis and other rheumatic diseases show that they led to $127.8 billion in medical costs in the U.S., nearly a quarter more than the $124 billion in costs for cancer care.