Did you know that there are more state legislators in this country than practicing rheumatologists? There are more than 7,300 state legislators alone, and each represents tens of thousands of constituents. As providers, you have a unique expertise that can be valuable to legislators in making decisions on biosimilars, research funding, insurance reform and a…
New research evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of 10 clinical tests of hip pathology typically used to diagnosis greater trochanteric pain syndrome (GTPS). However, pain provocation tests, such as the FABER test, proved most useful for ruling out the condition rather than diagnosing it…
April is Sjögren’s Awareness Month, a time for rheumatologists to help educate the public and themselves about Sjögren’s syndrome and its diagnosis. With newly published clinical practice guidelines, Nancy Carteron, MD, encourages rheumatologists to be first responders for this patient population…
(Reuters)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration needs Corbus Pharmaceuticals to show positive data from only one late-stage study on its experimental treatment for scleroderma to support a marketing application, the company said. Corbus said on Wednesday it expects to start the study on 270 patients in the fourth quarter and that it was in talks…
(Reuters)—President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, was questioned about his ties to the pharmaceutical industry by Democrats on a key Senate committee on Wednesday ahead of a vote on whether to advance his nomination for a vote by the full Senate. Gottlieb, 44, is a former…
Rheumatology is a relatively small subspecialty, but our patients need us to be strong advocates for them, ensuring access to the care they need. That’s why the ACR is calling on all of our members to join the American Medical Association (AMA) or renew your membership. Without a unified voice, we have no voice. We’ve…
On behalf of the rheumatology community, the ACR recently submitted an entry for a rheumatology-specific Clinical Practice Improvement Activity (CPIA) that, if accepted, will be included in the 2018 performance year. The CMS put a call out to the public for CPIAs in an attempt to make MACRA more meaningful for participating providers. The ACR…
Editor’s note: This article will be the first in a series of articles highlighting the advocacy work done by state and local societies around the country. The South Carolina Rheumatism Society (SCRS) realizes multiple benefits from its association with the ACR, according to Jeffrey G. Lawson, MD, the society’s treasurer. One example of the support offered:…
ACR members are spread out across the U.S., but we all work in the same place: the land of fee for service. FFS, as it’s known to policy nerds, poses certain problems for cognitive subspecialists like rheumatologists. For instance, much of the work we do—calling providers and patients, coordinating care after hours—often isn’t compensated. And…