Dr. Stephen Elmore is a board-certified rheumatologist at the Arthritis Center of North Georgia, seeing patients at the Watkinsville location. A native of the Athens area, he has deep roots in the community he now serves.

Dr. Elmore attended the University of Georgia, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in English — a foundation that informs the care and clarity he brings to patient communication. He earned his medical degree at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, where he developed a strong interest in rheumatology, before completing his internal medicine residency at Palmetto Health Richland/USC School of Medicine in Columbia, South Carolina, and his rheumatology fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. He joined the Arthritis Center of North Georgia in 2018 and was glad to return to the region where he grew up.

Dr. Elmore is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in both internal medicine and rheumatology and is a member of the American College of Rheumatology. He holds consulting privileges at Northeast Georgia Medical Center and St. Mary’s Hospital. He has contributed to peer-reviewed medical literature, including a published case report in Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism and a chapter on immune system modulators in the seventh edition of Medical Immunology (CRC Press, 2020).

His clinical interests encompass the full range of rheumatologic disease, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, Sjögren’s syndrome, vasculitis, inflammatory myositis, polymyalgia rheumatica, giant cell arteritis, gout, osteoporosis, fibromyalgia, and juvenile arthritis.

In addition to arriving at the correct diagnosis, Dr. Elmore places a strong emphasis on making sure every patient fully understands their condition and their treatment options. He has volunteered with the Better World Book Program, Relay for Life, and as a mentor to undergraduate students.

Outside of medicine, Dr. Elmore enjoys spending time with his wife and children, reading — particularly southern literature and Shakespeare — writing, and cheering on the Georgia Bulldogs.