To describe the practice characteristics and whereabouts of rheumatologists in Ontario, Canada in order to make inferences regarding the current status of clinical rheumatology services.
All 136 identified Ontario rheumatologists received a self-administered, mailed questionnaire.
The adjusted response rate was 74.2%. For respondents, there was a mean of 14.4 years in practice (1-42 years), 74.7% were male, and 91.3% were practising in urban and/or suburban locations. Only 6 were practising principally in remote northern locations. Sixty-three percent of respondents had a university faculty appointment; 40.4% geographic full time (GFT) and 22.3% clinical only. University appointed rheumatologists, and in particular those with GFT status, were more likely to have a particular clinical focus (p