SAN DIEGO—The next era of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) therapy could involve combining anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drugs with drugs that target molecules regulating the destructive potential of synovial fibroblasts, or even with anti-angiogenic drugs, said a pioneer of RA biologics therapy at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting Nov. 3–8. Ravinder N. Maini, MD, professor of…
SAN DIEGO—Rheumatologists train in quite different ways depending on their global region, said panelists at a session sponsored by the International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR) held at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in San Diego on Nov. 7. Four association presidents shared training disparities and efforts to bridge gaps. EULAR: Consistency Challenges The…
SAN DIEGO—Christopher Ritchlin, MD, MPH, director of clinical immunology research at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, N.Y., travels to academic medical centers frequently to present research, and the trips give him a chance to interact with a lot of residents. When he brings up basic science, the conversation often falters. “I’ll say,…
SAN DIEGO—During a session at the ACR/ARHP 2017 Annual Meeting Nov. 3–8, three representatives from the federal government described several of the government’s varied national strategies and agencies that are tackling pain. All of these strategies are affected by the current national epidemic of opioid overdoses and the need for safer analgesic prescribing. But the…
SAN DIEGO—In just two decades, precision medicine has gone from futuristic concept to realistic toolbox for clinical physicians. At the 2017 ACR Clinical Research Conference on Nov. 3, the Precision Medicine in Rheumatic Diseases: Hopes and Challenges lecture featured rheumatologists and experts on genetics, genomics, pharmacoÂgenetics and big data who spoke about the latest research…
SAN DIEGO—What does cannabis offer to the treatment and management of rheumatology patients and the range of pain states they experience? What do we really know about its long-term effects? These are hard questions to answer with currently available data and a reality nuanced by complications cannabis advocates don’t always recognize, according to two experts…
SAN DIEGO—At the ACR/ARHP 2017 Annual Meeting Nov. 3–8, a session on how to promote shared decision making with patients highlighted the role of the multidisciplinary professional team. And perhaps just as importantly, it noted the importance of providers recognizing their own implicit biases, which can get in the way of shared decision making. Presenters…
SAN DIEGO—At the 2017 Thieves Market, held Nov. 6 at the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, rheumatologists from around the world presented patient cases to an audience of colleagues, who then voted via text messaging to choose the cases they felt were most perplexing or intriguing. The winner received a free 2018 Annual Meeting registration, and the…
SAN DIEGO—Top researchers gathered for a review course at the start of the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in November to describe new research, their own treatment strategies and new ways of thinking about an array of rheumatic diseases. Here are the highlights: Raynaud’s & Other Digit Problems When a patient walks into your clinic with…
The ACR Practice Management Department actively works to provide valuable, accessible resources addressing practice issues on a local and national level to rheumatologists and their staff. Our trained professionals are devoted to providing the most up-to-date tools and resources to help improve practice efficiency while meeting the myriad compliance obligations of the ever-changing healthcare landscape….