The Department of Rheumatology and Immunology of SRRSH is a comprehensive department combining medical treatment, scientific research, and medical education. The department began offering outpatient clinic services in 2008. In an effort to expand services to open inpatient wards, the department merged with the Department of Dermatology in 2012. The Department of Rheumatology and Immunology was officially established as an independent department on October 28, 2019. Now it has general outpatient clinics across the four campuses of SRRSH: Qingchun, Qiantang, Grand Canal and Shaoxing campuses.

Since the establishment of the department, specialized outpatient clinics for myositis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout/pseudogout, systemic lupus erythematosus/vasculitis and ankylosing spondylitis have been opened. The department receives more than 50,000 outpatient visits annually. The inpatient wards, located at the Qingchun Campus, have an annual admission of 3,000 patients.

The rheumatology and immunology team includes well-known doctors and specialists. There are 17 specialist doctors including 2 attendings and 9 fellows, of whom 5 have obtained PhD degrees and 12 have obtained master's degrees. A robust department composed of members with clinical and research expertise, the SRRSH Department of Rheumatology and Immunology has become a famed center for the diagnosis and treatment of rheumatic diseases.

2.1Early diagnosis, standardized treatment, and long-term management of various rheumatic diseases

The department is deeply engaged in the clinical diagnosis, treatment and research of rheumatic diseases, and collaborates closely with the departments of radiology, including ultrasound, pharmacy and other disciplines with rich experience in early diagnosis, standardized treatment and long-term management of rheumatic diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, myositis, vasculitis, Sjogren's syndrome, gout, etc.

2.2 Mining of Rare Diseases and Genetic Diseases

The department has cutting-edge early diagnosis ideas and precise technical support for rare rheumatic diseases such as systemic sclerosis and IgG4-related diseases, as well as adult autoinflammatory diseases and genetic diseases.

2.3 Research Basis for Cell Therapy

The department has a solid research foundation in precision targeted therapy for autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, and idiopathic inflammatory myopathy.

SRRSH Rheumatology and Immunology Department is an official training site of the National Health Commission Internal Medicine Resident Training Base.

Thanks to the in-depth cooperation and joint efforts of Professor LU Linrong and Professor ZHOU Qing of Zhejiang University, a close scientific research collaboration has been established with the Immunomodulation Laboratory of the Institute of Immunology of Zhejiang University and the Key Laboratory of Homeostasis and Protection of Living Systems of the Ministry of Education. Members from the department have published more than 20 SCI (Scientific Citation Index) papers, with impact factors as high as 21.8. They have led and participated in more than 30 scientific research projects, including 8 national scientific research projects and 6 provincial and departmental scientific research projects. These projects also include a national key fund project and a regional innovation key project declared in cooperation with Professor LU Linrong's team. One of the projects won the First Prize of Zhejiang Science and Technology Progress Award.