In addition to outstanding educational sessions, the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting offers an opportunity to make connections and build relationships…


In addition to outstanding educational sessions, the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting offers an opportunity to make connections and build relationships…

In an extension study, nearly half the patients with plaque psoriasis taking secukinumab maintained skin clearance for the five years of the study…
Michael Erman |
NEW YORK (Reuters)—Democratic U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill on Thursday said she drafted a bill stating that tribal sovereign immunity cannot be used to block U.S. Patent and Trademark Office review of a patent. Drugmaker Allergan Plc made a deal to transfer some of its patents to a Native American tribe two weeks ago in order…
Nate Raymond |
BOSTON (Reuters)—New Jersey on Thursday accused Insys Therapeutics Inc of engaging in a fraudulent scheme to boost sales of a fentanyl-based cancer pain drug, as Massachusetts announced a $500,000 settlement with the drugmaker to resolve similar allegations. The lawsuit by New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino accused Insys of illegally directing its sales force to…
Deena Beasley |
(Reuters)—Amid a growing U.S. opioid addiction, health insurer Cigna Corp will stop covering OxyContin, the opioid painkiller sold by Purdue Pharma LP, as of January 1 and will instead cover an equivalent with a formulation less vulnerable to abuse, the company said on Wednesday. The insurer has signed a “value-based contract” with Collegium Pharmaceutical Inc…

All healthcare professionals who work in rheumatology had to start adapting to a new landscape of reporting and documentation on Jan. 1 of this year when the Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Act, or MACRA, began. As the changeover continues, the Sunday ARHP session, Your New Role in the Era of…

Changes to reimbursement introduced by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) will affect your Medicare income for 2019. “Rheumatologists generally know that MACRA is up and running,” says Angus Worthing, MD, FACR, FACP, clinical assistant professor of rheumatology at Georgetown University Medical Center and chair of the ACR’s Government Affairs Committee. “Virtually every…
Michael Erman |
NEW YORK (Reuters)—A U.S. House of Representatives committee launched a probe into drugmaker Allergan Plc’s deal to transfer some of its patents to a Native American tribe to shield them from review. A bipartisan group of four representatives from the House Oversight and Government Committee, including Republican Chairman Trey Gowdy and top Democrat Elijah Cummings,…
Yasmeen Abutaleb |
NOGALES, Arizona (Reuters)—More than two thousand miles away from the healthcare debate in Washington, President Donald Trump’s threats to let Obamacare collapse are sowing confusion about its fate and dampening 2018 enrollment expectations. The uncertainty here in Arizona, echoed in interviews across the country, shows that even though they have not been able to repeal…
Arthritis & Rheumatology |
Shingles, also known as herpes zoster (HZ), is a common and sometimes debilitating disease that disproportionately affects elderly individuals and those who are immunocompromised. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a 1.5–2-fold higher risk of developing HZ compared with healthy adults. Treatment with some disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) has been shown to increase this risk….