Video: Every Case Tells a Story| Webinar: ACR/CHEST ILD Guidelines in Practice

An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

U.S. Approves Digital Pill that Tracks When Patients Take It

Reuters Staff  |  

(Reuters)—U.S. regulators have approved the first digital pill with an embedded sensor to track if patients are taking their medication properly, marking a significant step forward in the convergence of healthcare and technology.1 The medicine is a version of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co Ltd’s established drug Abilify for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, containing a tracking…

Trump to Tap Ex-Pharma Executive Azar as U.S. Health Secretary

Reuters Staff  |  

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—President Donald Trump on Monday said he will nominate former pharmaceutical executive and industry lobbyist Alex Azar to serve as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, saying Azar would push to lower the price of medicines. If confirmed, Azar also would take the lead in implementing Trump’s campaign promise to dismantle the Affordable Care…

Psoriasis Tied to Higher Risk of Serious Liver Disease

Lisa Rapaport  |  

(Reuters Health)—People with chronic inflammatory disorders, such as psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), may have an increased risk of developing serious liver damage, a recent study suggests. These inflammatory disorders are often treated with methotrexate, a medication linked to an increased risk of liver disease. For the current study, researchers followed more than 1 million…

Exercise May Help Prevent Low Back Pain or Make It Less Severe

Lisa Rapaport  |  

(Reuters Health)—People who exercise may lower their odds of developing low back pain or may reduce the intensity of back pain they do experience, a research review suggests. Compared to people who didn’t exercise, those who did were 33% less likely to develop low back pain, the analysis of data from 16 previously published studies…

Consumers Sign Up for Obamacare 2018 Individual Plans Despite Uncertainty

Reuters Staff  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters)— Consumer sign-ups for Obamacare individual insurance plans were more than 600,000 during the first week of enrollment for 2018, a U.S. health agency said on Thursday, a positive sign for insurers who take part in the healthcare program that Republicans are trying to undo. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a…

Amid Trump Cuts, Uber Kicks Off Campaign to Enroll Drivers in Obamacare

Salvador Rodriguez  |  

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters)—Uber Technologies Inc and some smaller technology companies are launching campaigns to publicize Obamacare enrollment among their contract workers after the Trump administration slashed government marketing for the health program by 90 percent. Freelance and contract workers are an important part of the workforce for many Silicon Valley companies, including drivers at Uber…

CBO Revises Deficit Estimate from Obamacare Individual Mandate Repeal

Reuters Staff  |  

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday said that repealing the individual mandate for health insurance would reduce the federal budget deficit less than first forecast as it readied a revised analysis of a policy shift favored by Republicans. The CBO, the nonpartisan budget-scoring agency, said in a statement on its website that eliminating the…

Bisphosphonates May Limit Fracture Risk in Users of Oral Glucocorticoids

Reuters Staff  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Early oral bisphosphonate use is associated with a lower risk of fractures among oral-glucocorticoid users, researchers from Canada report. Bisphosphonates are commonly used for glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis, but their efficacy has been established only in primary osteoporosis, where the mechanism of action of bone loss differs from that seen with glucocorticoid use. Dr….