Tom Collins is a freelance writer in South Florida, who has written about medical topics from nasty infections to ethical dilemmas, runaway tumors to tornado-chasing doctors. He travels the globe gathering conference health news and lives in West Palm Beach.
Expressing empathy, engaging patients in conversations about their emotional health and having an overall understanding of grief can help rheumatology health professionals better care for their patients. During a session at ACR Convergence 2023, mental health professionals and patients highlighted how grief affects patients with rheumatic disease and how providers can respond.
An array of new and expanded indications of therapeutics for rheumatic disease last year relied on pharmacokinetic modeling for intravenous dosing and efficacy extrapolation for pediatric populations.
Speakers discussed common payer practices and policies that rheumatologists must navigate to secure and maintain appropriate care for their patients, including pharmacy benefit managers and prior authorization.
SAN DIEGO—The understanding of the microenvironment in which immune cells interact with stromal cells in the synovium of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is deepening, potentially giving clues for treatments. As this understanding improves, so does the appreciation for its astounding complexity, an expert said here in a session at ACR Convergence, which…
SAN DIEGO—In an advocacy update session at ACR Convergence 2023, ACR staff described progress in multiple priority areas, including access to care and workforce issues.
Since the New England Journal of Medicine publication on intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) for dermatomyositis late last year, the data have proved a major lift for patient care, offering crucial new insights into how best to manage patients and clues about how to minimize risks.1 The ProDERM trial results also seem to have opened up…
PHILADELPHIA—Expert panelists gathered in the closing session at ACR Convergence 2022 to give their take on what they saw as some of the most notable research findings and other insights to come out of the meeting, touching on a number of topics on the leading edge of the field. COVID-19 Prophylaxis & Vaccinations Alfred Kim,…
PHILADELPHIA—Acknowledging the complexities of medical care for transgender (trans) and nonbinary or gender-diverse patients and emphasizing the urgency of doing it right, two experts offered guideposts to clinicians in an ACR Convergence 2022 session titled Dignity and Respect: How to Welcome and Care for Gender Diverse Patients in Your Practice, with advice on providing clinical…
PHILADELPHIA—Quality improvement (QI) tools in pediatric rheumatology can help overcome health outcome disparities that are based on race, gender identity, income and other factors, experts said in a session at ACR Convergence. With it well established that these disparities exist, it’s time to begin eliminating them, said Emily Smitherman, MD, MS, assistant professor of pediatric…
PHILADELPHIA—Officials from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration discussed recent drug approvals and drug safety issues at ACR Convergence in November in a session that captured the flurry of activity in the rheumatology sphere at the agency over the past year. Sabiha Khan, MD, clinical reviewer in the Division of Rheumatology and Transplant Medicine at…