“As rheumatologists, we need to do everything we can to stick together,” Dr. Morris stresses. “The sooner a problem is identified, the faster we can get to work on a solution. If I have some problem, chances are someone else has had it or will have it as well, so we can work together to resolve the problem.”
Pediatric rheumatologist Harry L. Gewanter, MD, who practices in Richmond, Va., compares the networking and camaraderie he experiences on the list serve to that he gets from attending the ACR’s annual meeting every year. As a solo practitioner, he relishes the opportunity to walk down a virtual hall and converse with colleagues about a thorny clinical issue or problem with an insurance company. He calls the other members of the list serve his “virtual partners.”
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The topics on the list serve are nothing if not diverse. In the past few months, postings ranged from a warning about a leflunomide shortage, before-and-after pictures of the disaster in Japan, difficulties finding generic Depo-Medrol injections, the disappearance of nonacetylated salicylates, and a lively discussion about electronic medical records. Several members shared their efforts to get Medicare coverage for intravenous ibandronate, and, in January, the colchicine issue reemerged with several physicians reporting that pharmacies refused to fill prescriptions written with the generic colchicine rather than the branded name.