Dr. Ratiner finished Louisiana State University (LSU) School of Medicine in New Orleans, where he grew up. He then moved to San Francisco, where he finished Internal Medicine Residency followed by a Rheumatology Fellowship at University of California San Francisco (UCSF). In August of 1999, Dr. Ratiner took over a highly respected Rheumatology practice in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. Dr. Ratiner is currently a Clinical Instructor of Rheumatology at UCLA and holds a teaching position at the Northridge Hospital Family Practice Residency Program and Cedars Sinai Medical Center. In addition, he is on the board and planning committee of the Arthritis Foundation.

Dr. Ratiner is also a frequent speaker at local hospitals to physicians and at community centers to patients on topics such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, osteoporosis, lupus, and fibromyalgia. Dr. Ratiner has recently authored several book chapters on osteoarthritis and research papers on Hepatitis C arthritis. Dr. Ratiner is also fluent in Russian.