Sometimes it’s hard to get a song out of your head, especially when you can’t recall all the lyrics and struggle to find the words to fill in the blanks. That’s what happened to me when I started to write this column. A song, probably too dated now for many to find particularly compelling, kept…
Table stakes. It took me a moment to register what they were talking about. I was listening to Pod Save America, a wildly popular podcast put together by some of Barack Obama’s former speechwriters. It is, I imagine, what an MSNBC podcast might sound like if Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes were allowed to swear….
Where can patients obtain more information about their diagnoses and prescription drugs, and answers to the assortment of questions they have about living with a chronic disease once they leave the rheumatologist office? Patient education materials can be found in many places on the internet, but those looking for answers may need a helping hand…
The American Medical Association’s (AMA) Relative Value Scale (RVS) Update Committee (RUC) and Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Committee currently meet three times a year each to keep the CPT code set up to date, and to review the valuation of all the codes for the physician fee schedule. The two-step meetings of both the CPT Editorial…
A group led by Sarah Ringold, MD, MS, assistant professor of rheumatology at Seattle Children’s Hospital, has developed a new guideline intended to provide recommendations for the treatment and monitoring of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) manifesting as non-systemic polyarthritis, sacroiliitis or enthesitis.1,2 Key Updates The new recommendations appear in both Arthritis & Rheumatology…
(Reuters Health)—States that require adults on Medicaid to work a set number of hours to get benefits may find many people lose coverage because behavioral health conditions and other chronic health problems make it hard for them to work, a U.S. study suggests. Medicaid, a joint federal and state health program for the poor, allows…
In a recent investigation of Swedish patients, environmental triggers of the immune system are a common factor for patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome…
In a second response letter, the FDA has cited the onset and duration of intravenous meloxicam, a non-opioid pain treatment, as concerns that it fails to meet prescriber expectations…
Little is known about the immunopathogenic relationship between celiac disease and systemic autoimmune diseases, such as primary Sjögren’s syndrome and systemic sclerosis. But new research indicates that screening for celiac disease may benefit patients newly diagnosed with systemic autoimmune diseases, as well as supports the idea that celiac disease may accelerate the development of systemic autoimmune disease…
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—U.S. President Donald Trump called on Congress on Thursday to pass legislation to protect patients from surprise medical bills from out-of-network doctors that can unnecessarily cost patients tens of thousands of dollars. In remarks at the White House, Trump unveiled principles the administration will send to congressional lawmakers to incorporate into a legislative package…