Understanding muscle pathology reports is important to best treat rheumatology patients. Peter Pytel, MD, shared pearls of wisdom specific to the autoimmune inflammatory myopathies and gave a detailed review of what rheumatologists need to know, during the 2022 ACR Education Exchange.
A 25-year-old Mexican American woman with a five-year history of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) presents with refractory, acute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (ACLE) and subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE) affecting the scalp, face and hands. Her serologic phenotype is characterized by elevated anti-nuclear, anti-double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (dsDNA), anti-ribonucleoprotein (RNP), anti-Smith and anti-SS-A (Ro) antibodies and chronically…
ACR and ARP members converged on Capitol Hill in May to urge lawmakers to support legislation related to workforce expansion and patient access to care following training sessions presented by ACR staff dedicated to legislative affairs.
With 290 cosponsors, ACR-supported legislation to streamline prior authorization in Medicare Advantage plans has met a support threshold that may allow the lead sponsor to force House action.
At my first Advocacy Leadership Conference as a member of the ACR’s Insurance Subcommittee, I discovered the power of stories from the clinic and how lawmakers value clinicians’ input on healthcare legislation.
More than 70 rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals convened in Washington, D.C., to advocate on behalf of legislation that would reduce patients’ out-of-pocket drug costs and help grow America’s healthcare workforce.
The Washington Rheumatology Alliance is focused on creative ways to increase the rheumatology workforce to meet the demand for care, such as instituting clinical rotations in rheumatology for nurse practitioner programs and advocating for pediatric rheumatologist loan forgiveness.
McMahan et al. examined how abnormal gastrointestinal (GI) transit may contribute to GI severity and symptoms in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). About 90% of people with SSc have GI tract involvement, and understanding the connection between GI symptoms, their severity and abnormal GI transit may permit targeted therapeutic approaches for these patients.
The growing rheumatologist workforce shortage has loomed over the profession, threatening to undercut the delivery of care to the increasing number of patients with rheumatic conditions. “The workforce shortage is an existential threat to the field of rheumatology and to the care we deliver to our patients,” says ACR President Kenneth Saag, MD, who lauded…
A recent editorial provides new insights by reexamining the definitions of remission for rheumatoid arthritis and outlining concerns with the use of specific metrics for remission in clinical trials.