(Reuters Health)—About a quarter of the dollars spent on healthcare in the U.S. may be wasted, a new analysis suggests. Six types of waste in healthcare could be costing as much as $935 billion annually, according to the study published in JAMA.1,2 The biggest source of waste is “administrative complexity,” says the study’s lead author…
Three clinical experts on gout offer their insights into common management errors, clinical pearls, new safety data from the FDA and the role of biologic therapies in the management of gout.
Two JAK inhibitors, one recently approved by the FDA, have shown improvements in patients with active RA for whom other therapies have proved ineffective…
Many physicians struggle with work–life balance, and burnout is a growing professional concern. New research suggests professional coaching may effectively reduce emotional exhaustion in physicians and improve their quality of life…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Mortality rates in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) decreased from 1999 to 2017, according to records from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “The mortality attributed to several rare diseases [e.g., hypersensitivity pneumonitis] has increased in recent years,” Alexander W. Steinberg, MD, from Saint Joseph Hospital, Denver, tells…
NEW YORK (Reuters)—AbbVie Inc.’s rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira (adalimumab) and Roche Holding AG’s cancer drug Rituxan (rituximab) topped a list of seven treatments whose combined 2017 and 2018 price hikes accounted for a $5.1 billion increase in U.S. spending, a report released on Tuesday showed.1 The price hikes were more than twice the rate of…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Transbronchial lung cryobiopsy (TBLC) and surgical lung biopsy (SLB) had a high level of agreement for diagnosing interstitial lung disease in the first comparative study. “These data suggest that TBLC, when done by an experienced proceduralist, is a valid first-line minimally invasive diagnostic tool for patients with interstitial lung disease deemed to…
Accurately classifying patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) can be difficult, especially patients with monoarticular/oligoarticular and polyarticular forms of PsA. A session at the 2019 European Congress of Rheumatology provided insight into the assessment and treatment of PsA subtypes…
According to new research, women with SLE are at the highest risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes during a lupus flare. The data may enable clinicians to use risk stratification and tailored monitoring to counsel SLE patients who are pregnant or considering pregnancy. Researchers also found that maternal age, lupus nephritis and antiphospholipid antibodies may affect pregnancy outcomes…
Session attendees will hear about recent successes from the Government Affairs Committee and learn how to become effective rheumatology advocates.