When the controversial Medicare Part B Drug Payment Model final rule was not released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as expected before Nov. 21, it signaled an increasing likelihood of defeat for the proposed rule—a signal proved true on Dec. 15. A spokesperson for the CMS said, “After considering comments, CMS…
Opening up to patients about a medical condition is a personal choice for physicians. But for Richard Brasington, MD, who has chronic back pain and arthritis, it helps him communicate with and connect to some of his patients. In an interview, he provides insights into his experiences managing pain on the job…
Pediatric rheumatology was formally recognized as a specialty in 1991 by the American Board of Pediatrics. Prior to this time, children with rheumatic diseases were treated by a hodgepodge of providers. In addition to providers who had training as pediatric rheumatologists, general pediatricians, adult rheumatologists, allergist-immunologists, orthopedists, pediatric infectious disease specialists and others treated children…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Total joint arthroplasty is one of the most common surgical procedures performed on adults with end-stage arthritis. One recent estimate showed that 2.5 million individuals in the U.S. are living with a total hip replacement and 4.7 million are living with knee replacements. For their patients with inflammatory arthritis, rheumatologists and orthopedic surgeons must…
Glucocorticoids are widely prescribed by rheumatologists, and the effects of daily and cumulative doses of these drugs on bone mineral density (BMD) are important elements of a draft clinical guideline document presented on Nov. 13 at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. Leaders of the ACR guideline project discussed their recommendations at the…
As the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) is implemented in January with new models for quality-based reimbursement payments, rheumatologists must seize control of how they will be paid now—and in the future. This message was stressed by speakers during Holy MACRA! How to Survive and Thrive in the Era of MACRA,…
As he prepares to take on his newest volunteer role with the ACR, leading the Government Affairs Committee (GAC), Angus Worthing, MD, FACR, FACP, is looking forward to making the most of the opportunities that a unified government can offer the ACR in advocating for rheumatology care. “Advocacy is an investment in our profession—regardless of…
This past June, Yvonne Golightly, PT, MS, PhD, helped launch an international group of researchers focused on foot and ankle osteoarthritis. At the time, Dr. Golightly, an assistant professor in the department of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina (UNC), Chapel Hill, N.C., was attending the American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR)…
It is a great honor to serve you as the 80th president of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). The ACR is a leader in the world of rheumatology. Therefore, with this privilege also comes enormous responsibility. A Brief History of the ACR The first efforts to study and control the rheumatic diseases in the…
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) says the Senate will move to repeal President Barack Obama’s healthcare law shortly after Jan. 1, but declined to give a timeline for a plan to replace it. McConnell says the Senate would vote as soon as it returns from its year-end recess to repeal Obamacare. “And…