She seeks to improve the cardiovascular health and survival of patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases and more broadly to improve how primary and specialty care providers communicate and collaborate. Her research program investigates how the collaboration between rheumatologists and primary care providers affects management of modifiable cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Her recent research has identified national gaps in lipid testing and hypertension recognition for rheumatoid arthritis patients. Dr. Bartels is interested in using results from these and other research projects to design interventions to improve CVD health for patients with inflammatory diseases, and to improve care coordination for patients who receive both specialty and primary care.