Plan Now to Attend the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

Where can you network with more than 16,000 professionals in the field of rheumatology? Where you can hear about promising research and best practices from industry leaders? How can you find out about new treatments and technologies on the horizon? You guessed it—at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, to be held Nov. 11–16.

As if that’s not enough motivation to travel to Washington, D.C., for this year’s Annual Meeting, ACR staff offer one more reason: “Go for the energy!”

Being around other rheumatologists, rheumatology health professionals and thought leaders from all over the world is an invigorating experience. It will generate a spark that will remind you of why you chose this area of practice, and why each advance, discovery and new policy truly is important and relevant to you. When you return home, you’ll carry the excitement and inspiration of the experience with you.

Dr. Gwendolyn Kane-Wanger

For Gwen Kane-Wanger, MD, Division of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergy, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, attending the meeting is a top priority. “I like to stay informed for the benefit of my patients,” she says. “I believe that it is very important to understand the different approaches in medical treatments both nationally and internationally.”

Further, Dr. Kane-Wanger adds, “I enjoy the clinical sessions that present outcomes of studies on management strategies. These are critical to our understanding of disease treatment. Last year, I particularly appreciated the many presentations about new biologics in rheumatologic disease management.”

Reflecting on the 2015 meeting, Eleni Tiniakou, MD, rheumatology fellow, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, says, “I met pioneers in the field from institutions around the world and learned about their ideas and approaches; I valued the opportunity to get their input regarding my research endeavors.” In addition, she says, “It was great to reconnect with former fellows who now work in different places.”

Must-Attend Sessions

The Annual Meeting will definitely have sessions you won’t want to miss. In this year’s opening lecture, Joseph E. Kvedar, MD, director, Center for Connected Health, Partners HealthCare System, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and author of The Internet of Healthy Things, will speak on the topic of connected health. This session is sure to spark some conversations on how promising technologies can help transform rheumatology.

At the start of the meeting, the Year in Review session will provide an insightful look at the latest and greatest advances in the field of rheumatology from both a clinical and basic science point of view. At the meeting’s conclusion, the Rheumatology Roundup session features classic dynamic exchanges between Arthur Kavanaugh, MD, professor of medicine and director, Center for Innovative Therapy at University of California, San Diego, and John J. Cush, MD, director of clinical rheumatology, Baylor Research Institute, and professor of medicine and rheumatology, Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, who offer their takes on highlights from the meeting.