Another important area in advancing rheumatology is continual relationship building and collaboration with external entities. The ACR addresses this on a global scale through relationships with African League Against Rheumatism (AFLAR), Asian Pacific League Against Rheumatism (APLAR), European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR), and Pan American League of Associations of Rheumatology (PANLAR). On a national level this year, the ACR joined the OA Action Alliance, a national coalition led by the Arthritis Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis and the OA Action Alliance is committed to elevating OA as a national health priority. We also helped sponsor the United States Bone and Joint Initiative Summit on the value of musculoskeletal care, which was held in October 2010. The summit allowed key stakeholders the opportunity to interact with leaders in the musculoskeletal care system, as well as to address the cost and cost effectiveness of musculoskeletal care. The challenge in this arena is to maintain the appropriate balance of cooperation with external entities while maintaining our focus on the primacy of the ACR in ensuring the future of our subspecialty.
The Lupus Initiative is another way the ACR is continuing to build relationships. This ACR-led educational effort aimed at eliminating ethnic, racial, and gender disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of lupus was approved for its third year of funding from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health. The Lupus Initiative brings together private, public, and nonprofit entities as well as lupus experts and those well versed in cultural competency, disparities research, and patient awareness to address lupus disparities and ensure that appropriate messages and education about lupus are delivered in the most effective way. The challenge moving forward with this initiative is to assess the ultimate impact of lupus awareness on the general health community and the expansion of this effort to other rheumatic diseases that affect minorities disproportionately.
Moving Forward
I want to complete my summary by highlighting the enthusiasm of the 2020 Task Force in addressing the future of the ACR. This group, led by Peter Embi, MD, MS, was charged by the board to determine what the ACR, as an organization, will look like in the year 2020. The group met with a healthcare futurist in August at the ACR office to get an idea of environmental changes that could affect healthcare in the future. From that discussion, the group is focusing on how the ACR can advance rheumatology, taking into account changes in social, technological, economic, ecological, and political factors. They are looking into areas including whether structural changes are needed, if there will be a new type of volunteer base, and what additional resources will be needed and available. The final result of this task force effort will be a white paper that is scheduled for release in 2012. I want to encourage you to send any ideas about what the ACR should look like in 2020 to Julie Anderson, the task force staff liaison, at [email protected]. Let her know, so that your opinion can be shared with the group. The challenge will be in implementing the plan to get the ACR prepared for the rapid changes that will occur in our world over the next decade. To change is hard, but to remain the same is unacceptable.