http://www.the-rheumatologist.org The Rheumatologist : Online Exclusives http://www.the-rheumatologist.org/details/article/2037709/Lupus_Survey_Finds_Gaps_in_Communication.html <p>More than 90% of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients experience a communication gap with their family and with their care team, according to a recent survey conducted by GfK Roper North America. The survey found that many SLE patients downplay their symptoms to friends, family, and even their doctors.</p> 2012-05-02T13:59:00Z http://www.the-rheumatologist.org/details/article/1659911/CMS_Delays_ICD-10_Compliance_Date.html <p>Despite months of assurances to the contrary, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced in mid-February they were indefinitely postponing implementation of International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification. The changeover was originally scheduled to take effect October 1, 2013.</p> 2012-03-15T14:44:00Z http://www.the-rheumatologist.org/details/article/1497713/Scientists_Pinpoint_Three_HLA_Proteins_Linked_to_Seropositive_Rheumatoid_Arthrit.html <p>Researchers have identified five amino acids in three HLA proteins that explain most of the association between major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA).</p> 2012-02-28T15:43:00Z http://www.the-rheumatologist.org/details/article/1478917/Will_There_Be_an_SGR_Fix_This_Year.html <p>Rheumatologists should expect at least one more time-stamped extension to the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula before Congress makes any lasting changes to it. At issue is the future of rheumatologists&rsquo; Medicare payments, including the federal Medicare Payment Advisory Commission&rsquo;s (MedPAC) recommendation from last year to scrap the formula, reduce payments for specialist services by 5.9% for each of three years, and then freeze them for seven more years, and the 27.4% SGR cut that has been repeatedly delayed by extensions.</p> 2012-02-14T20:57:00Z http://www.the-rheumatologist.org/details/article/1474589/Epidemiologist_Discusses_Osteoarthritis_Among_Various_Countries_and_Ethnic_Group.html <p>David T. Felson, MD, MPH, discusses his Beijing study that compared knee, hip, and hand osteoarthritis among Chinese to Caucasians in the Framingham study and the UCSF Study of Osteoporotic Fractures.</p> 2012-02-07T21:27:00Z http://www.the-rheumatologist.org/details/article/1443601/Arthritis_in_Winter.html <p>Researchers now have hard data showing that the number of daylight hours impacts the intensity and duration of physical activity. What this means for arthritis patients is that they, and their rheumatologists, need to find ways to increase patient exercise during the shortened days of winter.</p> 2012-01-18T18:37:00Z http://www.the-rheumatologist.org/details/article/1443599/Prevalence_of_Gout_and_Hyperuricemia_Increase_in_U_S_.html <p>Researchers have shown that the prevalence of gout in the United States has increased to 3.9%. Additionally, the prevalence of hyperuricemia was 21.4%, or about 43.3 million individuals.</p> 2012-01-18T18:27:00Z http://www.the-rheumatologist.org/details/article/1390203/Congress_Weighs_Medicare_Cuts_Again.html <p>A federal panel&rsquo;s recommendation to get rid of the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula by cutting specialists&rsquo; Medicare payments is &ldquo;completely untenable,&rdquo; according to Tim Laing, MD, chair of the ACR&rsquo;s Government Affairs Committee.</p> 2011-11-06T14:54:00Z http://www.the-rheumatologist.org/details/article/1374141/Oral_Contraceptives_Show_Benefits_in_Inflammatory_Polyarthritis.html <p>In a large cohort study of women with inflammatory polyarthritis, researchers have shown that the use of oral contraceptives is associated with a beneficial functional outcome when used either before or at symptom onset.</p> 2011-10-17T16:50:00Z http://www.the-rheumatologist.org/details/article/1315231/Study_Shows_Rheumatoid_Arthritis_Linked_to_Atrial_Fibrillation.html <p>It is well known by rheumatologists that heart disease is associated with the connective tissue diseases. Now, researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences have shown that patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are 60% more likely to develop atrial fibrillation than those without RA.</p> 2011-08-16T14:16:00Z