For many practices, the benefits of social media—connecting with patients and exchanging ideas with colleagues—outweigh the risks, says R. Swamy Venuturupalli, MD, FACP. If rheumatologists set strategies for engagement and help shape the conversations, social media can be leveraged for research, community outreach, patient support and more…
(Reuters Health)—Playing team sports, especially soccer, at the elite level may lead to a higher risk for osteoarthritis, but the existing research is of such low quality it’s hard to say for sure, according to a recent review. In an analysis of past studies filled with conflicting results, researchers found that long-distance running was the…
A study found that ixekizumab decreases disease activity and increases physical function in biologic-naive patients with active psoriatic arthritis…
During an interactive, case-based course at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, participants will develop strategies to help patients manage unique barriers to access to care and adherence…
According to a new study, patients with aggressive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have lower levels of non-esterified fatty acids, which coincide with an enhanced Th1 response. Researchers suggest that lower EPA and DHA at the onset of RA may exacerbate inflammation, and fatty acids may become a novel therapeutic target for the disease…
ZURICH (Reuters)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted breakthrough status to Roche’s rheumatoid arthritis medication Actemra (tocilizumab) for giant cell arteritis, the Swiss drugmaker said, a step which could help it broaden applications for the medicine. Giant cell arteritis is a chronic, potentially life-threatening autoimmune condition caused by inflammation of large and medium-sized arteries,…
One year after the official go-live of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10), the coding language is scheduled to undergo an evolution, with nearly 1,975 additions, more than 300 deletions and 425 revisions. This brings the total set of diagnosis codes to more than 71,480. The new and revised clinical modification codes (ICD-10-CM)…
UnitedHealthcare recently announced plans to expand its pilot Lab Benefit Management Program to Texas, as of March 1, 2017. The pilot program, which is administered by BeaconLBS, was first launched in Florida in October 2014. Under the pilot, providers are required to use a tool called Physician Decision Support to order certain labs for UHC…
For more than a decade, the ACR’s Government Affairs Committee (GAC) has given rheumatologists a voice in the halls of Congress. Since 2007, that voice has been amplified by RheumPAC, the bipartisan political action committee for ACR/ARHP members that helps advance the policy goals of the College, rheumatology professionals and their patients. “RheumPAC allows us…
The transition from pediatric to adult care can be a rocky one. For many rheumatology patients, any problems in the move can cause gaps in care. To address this issue, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) joined the American College of Physicians’ (ACP) Pediatric to Adult Care Transitions Initiative. The Initiative is a project spearheaded…