WASHINGTON, D.C.—In 2017, rheumatologists will begin to track and report quality data for reimbursement under the the Medicare and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). Panelists shared their tips on how to score more points under MACRA and utilize existing technology at a Nov. 14 session called Implementing Quality Measurement in Your Clinical Practice at…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—In the next 15 years, it will be increasingly difficult to provide adequate care for rising numbers of patients with rheumatic diseases due to a severe shortage of trained rheumatology healthcare providers, according to the ACR’s 2015 Workforce Study of Rheumatology Specialists in the United States. The full study is available online, and panelists…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—“Rheumatic manifestations are [often] the initial presentation of a systemic disease, but they can [also] occur during the course of the disorder,” said Joseph Markenson, MD, speaking in the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting talk, Rheumatic Manifestations of Endocrine Disease, during the ACR Review Course. Dr. Markenson is professor of clinical medicine and a rheumatologist at Weill…
A recent analysis has examined the effectiveness of baricitinib in treating RA patients who suffer from comorbidities and the effect of concomitant use of steroids. Baricitinib proved effective, particularly in patients who had exposure to cDMARDs and corticosteroids…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The importance of biomedical research to advancing clinical care with the ultimate goal of improving patients’ lives was on display during an ACR Discovery 2016 plenary session at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting. The session offered new ways to think about and treat select rheumatologic diseases, including research showing for the first time the…
Working as a rheumatologist in an orthopedic practice has its own unique challenges, but may result in better patient care, according to Sheeja Francis, MD…
Current guidelines for the long-term management of gout recommend a combination of lifestyle management and/or pharmacotherapy to lower serum UA levels to <6.0 mg/dL in most patients or <5.0 mg/dL in patients with more severe disease. Allopurinol is the most widely used xanthine oxidase inhibitor and is recommended in treatment guidelines as a first-line urate-lowering…
At the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., in November, the ACR and the ARHP honored a group of distinguished individuals who have made significant contributions to rheumatology research, education and patient care. In the November 2016 issue, we reported on the ARHP’s awards. This month, we speak with the ACR winners. Presidential Gold…
“Obesity is an inflammatory state, so it is in the landscape of the rheumatologist,” says Christopher Ritchlin, MD, MPH. And the more attention rheumatologists pay to obesity, the better…
In 2014, the ACR launched the Rheumatology Informatics System for Effectiveness (RISE), a national electronic health record (EHR)-enabled registry. The goal: To help participating rheumatologists and practices leverage the new wave of big data created by the use of EHR, advance research and improve overall quality of care. A new analysis examines the RISE structure and the initial patient data collected by the registry…