I wouldn’t normally look to professional basketball as a model for healthcare, but sometimes answers come from unexpected places. The observation that elite athletes are not like you and me—medically speaking—is not new. In the second century AD, the pontifex maximus in Pergamum recognized this fact and appointed Claudius Galen physician to the gladiators, making…
A 2021 study demonstrated the prevalence of COVID-19 breakthrough infections in vaccinated healthcare workers, underlining the need for booster shots for this at-risk population.
Patients shouldn’t need to exercise patience when it comes to getting needed rheumatologic care. E-consults are an evolving telehealth modality with the potential to improve access to rheumatologic care in a cost-effective and efficient manner.
At the ACR Convergence session CARE: Spondyloarthritis, Alexis Ogdie, MD, presented key principles of diagnosis & management of patients with spondyloarthritis.
The final rule, issued Nov. 2, finalizes many policies in the July proposed rule, including the decreased conversion factor, billing for shared visits and teaching services, the continuation of telehealth services and inclusion of an ACR-led Merit-Based Incentive Payment System Value Pathway.Â
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated wide disparities that exist in the U.S. healthcare system. During the pandemic, the clinical practice in the Section of Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology at Yale School of Medicine (YSM), New Haven, Conn., rapidly pivoted from face-to-face visits to telehealth to keep our patients and providers safe. Many patients quickly adapted and…
In the early 1900s, the treatment for rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease (RMD) was primarily targeted at symptomatic relief and included analgesics, physical therapy, splinting and bed rest. With the discovery of methotrexate and its impact on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) management, a much-needed evolution of medications targeting disease activity began. Over the past 30 years, several…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Non-surgical care for knee osteoarthritis (OA) is uncommon among older adults, especially in regions of the U.S. where total knee arthroplasty rates are high, a large retrospective analysis shows.1 “As rheumatologists, we often think of knee arthroplasty as the last resort, after patients have tried and failed more conservative treatments, such as…
Nearly all adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with chronic pediatric rheumatic disease require transfer of care to an adult rheumatologist, yet almost half are lost from care at the time of transfer.1-3 Although sometimes framed as a discrete event, transition refers to the longitudinal process, often spanning several years, in which AYAs and their families…
Between April and December 2020, many eligible healthcare providers received or applied for payments from the $175 billion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act Provider Relief Fund (PRF) through the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). On Dec.27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the Appropriations Act) was signed into law,…