The levels of service within an evaluation and management (E/M) visit are based on the documentation of key components, which include history, physical examination and medical decision making. The history component is comparable to telling a story and should include a beginning and some form of development to adequately describe the patient’s presenting problem. To…
Oxycodone Tablets Submitted to FDA Filings for oxycodone tablets (Oxaydo) in both 10 and 15 mg doses have been accepted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).1 The submission is based on a pharmacokinetic study demonstrating bioequivalence to the reference drug, oxycodone hydrochloride (Roxicodone) tablets at a 15 mg dose. The product is an…
(Reuters)—A bipartisan group of state attorneys general announced on Thursday that they are jointly investigating the marketing and sales practices of drug companies that manufacture opioid painkillers at the center of a national addiction epidemic. Attorneys general from states including Massachusetts, Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania announced the investigation two weeks after Ohio Attorney General Mike…
Here’s a trivia question: Where were the big ideas for the field of biotechnology first discussed? Answer: At a since-demolished delicatessen in Waikiki Beach, Hawaii. Go figure. The year was 1972, and Stanley Cohen, MD, professor of medicine at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., and Herbert Boyer, PhD, a former professor and biochemist at the…
Rheumatologists treating HIV patients in 2017 must think through many important factors as this population ages. As we continue to learn, rheumatologists must consider important drug–drug interactions, relatively uncommon rheumatological presentations of HIV, as well as specific diagnostic challenges. Working closely with infectious disease specialists is the best way to achieve optimum care for this…
When she was in elementary school, Sandra Pagnussat, MD, began experiencing unrelenting pain and stiffness, first in her pinky and then in her other fingers. Her pediatrician diagnosed her with polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). In high school, Sandra decided to pursue a career in medicine and began taking advanced placement classes in biology and chemistry….
At present, the U.S. has approximately 5,000 full-time adult rheumatologists. By the year 2025, that number will decline to roughly 3,600.1 Sounds dire, right? Hold that thought. Question: What country has 99 million people and no adult rheumatologists? Answer: Ethiopia.2 The Nigerian Story And then there is Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, with roughly 170…
Often, young adults (18–23 years old) with rheumatic illness demonstrate poor adherence to treatment regimens, lack advocacy skills and have inadequate knowledge about diagnosis and treatment.1 Patients presenting at a transition clinic are typically comfortable with having their parents continue to be centrally involved with their care, but this is a time in life when…
A 53-year-old female presented to the clinic for severe polyarticular joint pain and was found to have a seronegative inflammatory arthritis. Six months before, she had completed 10 months of treatment for stage IV metastatic melanoma with the immune checkpoint inhibitors, nivolumab and ipilimumab, achieving complete remission of her cancer. She said that throughout her…
Doctors have had few options to treat the chronic rheumatoid arthritis-like symptoms associated with chikungunya virus infections beyond over-the-counter pain relievers. A recent study in Science Translational Medicine has spurred new optimism by finding that a combination therapy—the anti-rheumatic drug abatacept paired with a chikungunya-neutralizing monoclonal antibody—abolished acute symptoms in infected mice.1 The strategy must…