Video: Every Case Tells a Story| Webinar: ACR/CHEST ILD Guidelines in Practice

An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

Professional Topics

Subcategories:AwardsCareer DevelopmentEthicsInterprofessional PerspectiveLegislation & AdvocacyPresident's PerspectiveProfilesRheuminations

U.S. Health Spending Is Twice Other Countries’, with Worse Results

Lisa Rapaport  |  

(Reuters Health)—The U.S. spends about twice what other high-income nations do on healthcare, but has the lowest life expectancy and the highest infant mortality rates, a new study suggests. More doctor visits and hospital stays aren’t the problem. Americans use roughly the same amount of health services as people in other affluent nations, the study…

2018 FNIH Trailblazer Prize for Clinician-Scientists Nomination Deadline: March 30

Foundation for the National Institutes of Health  |  

In 2018, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) will present the FNIH Trailblazer Prize for Clinician-Scientists (Trailblazer Prize), which recognizes the outstanding contributions of early career clinician-scientists whose work has the potential to or has led to innovations in patient care. This $10,000 honorarium and prize celebrates the achievements of medical doctors…

Health Insurer Cigna to Buy Express Scripts for about $54 Billion

Ankur Banerjee  |  

(Reuters)— U.S. health insurer Cigna Corp said on Thursday it would buy pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts Holding Co for about $54 billion, a tie-up that reflects pressure on healthcare companies to grow bigger to cut costs. The move follows the $69-billion merger of insurer Aetna Inc and one of Express Scripts’ biggest rivals, CVS…

FDA’s Gottlieb Blames Industry ‘Kabuki Drug Pricing’ for High Costs

Yasmeen Abutaleb  |  

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—U.S. Food and Drug Administration chief, Scott Gottlieb, criticized pharmacy benefit managers, health insurers and drugmakers on Wednesday for “Kabuki drug-pricing constructs” that profit the industry at the expense of consumers. The comments, made at a conference organized by a leading U.S. health insurer lobbying group, stoked speculation over what steps the administration of…

CMS Repeals Documentation Guidelines for Teaching Physicians

  |  

As of March 5, physicians no longer have to write their own notes in addition to notes created by students, residents or fellows during patient examinations; instead, providers will only have to verify information documented by the student. Early last month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reversed the Obama administration policy that prohibited…

U.S. to File ‘Statement of Interest’ in Lawsuits Against Opioid Makers, Distributors

Reuters Staff  |  

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The U.S. Justice Department will argue the federal government deserves reimbursement for costs it has borne stemming from the opioid crisis in a “statement of interest” it plans to file in a lawsuit against drug manufacturers and distributors, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Tuesday. “I am announcing today that the department will…

20 U.S. States Sue Federal Government Seeking End to Obamacare

Reuters Staff  |  

(Reuters)—A coalition of 20 U.S. states sued the federal government on Monday over Obamacare, claiming the law was no longer constitutional after the repeal last year of its requirement that people have health insurance or pay a fine. Led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, the lawsuit said that…

U.S. to Extend Skimpy Health Insurance Outside of Obamacare

Yasmeen Abutaleb and Caroline Humer  |  

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters)—The U.S. government on Tuesday proposed extending the availability of skimpy health insurance plans to millions of Americans in another Trump administration move aimed at undercutting the requirements of the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a proposed rule that such plans, now available…

Why Do Doctors Choose Pediatric Rheumatology?

Courtney B. Crayne, MD  |  

I spent the summer between my first and second years of medical school rotating in medical weight-management clinics, boastful that I would someday be an adult gastroenterologist. I first met Melissa Mannion, MD, in the pediatric clinic; at the time, she was a second-year pediatric resident and always wore cool pants. Born a chatterbox, I…

Why & How Doctors Should Foster Shared Decision Making with Patients

Larry Beresford  |  

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…