It was never in the plan for Jessica Farrell, PharmD, to enter rheumatology. In fact, when she applied for one of two pharmacist positions at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in 2008, she made it clear she was only interested in the family practice position. “I was offered an interview for the family…
CHICAGO—At the 2018 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in October, the ACR and the ARHP honored a group of distinguished individuals who have made significant contributions to rheumatology research, education and patient care. This month, The Rheumatologist speaks with the winners of the ARHP Merit Awards about their individual contributions to advancing rheumatology. You’ll also find interviews…
CHICAGO—Throughout medical training, you have guideposts and guardrails all around you: academic advisors, professors in the classroom, preceptors in the clinic during residency. But once you get a job as a medical faculty member, you’re basically on your own. “No one really trains you or teaches you about how you’re supposed to negotiate and navigate…
CHICAGO—Rheumatology physicians and researchers from Africa said the field’s resources and medical literature on the continent are slowly expanding, but they repeatedly lamented that the millions who suffer from rheumatic diseases there have major obstacles to overcome to access care. Their reviews and assessments—sometimes grim and sometimes hopeful—came in a session that was a joint…
CHICAGO—ACR leaders described a series of looming legislative and regulatory threats to rheumatologists and their patients—including the proposed collapsing of evaluation and management (E/M) coding and potential changes to step therapy rules—and urged everyone in the field to make their voices heard to quash the proposals. They also recounted recent victories in the policy realm…
CHICAGO—Bimekizumab is an investigational interleukin (IL) 17A and IL-17 neutralizing agent being studied to modulate inflammation in psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. During the late-breaking abstract session at the 2018 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, researchers reported on the results of a 48-week, Phase 2b, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of bimekizumab in patients with active psoriatic…
CHICAGO—Findings on opioid efficacy, serum urate in osteoarthritis and arthrocentesis headlined the top research of the year discussed in the first half of a session at the 2018 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting. The second half covered basic science findings, including summaries of new insights into the gender bias in autoimmune diseases, platelet microparticles in scleroderma and…
Genes may predispose people to have certain microbial signatures in their gut that, in turn, make them susceptible to developing reactive arthritis. This is the main finding of a recent study in which researchers investigated whether perturbations in the intestinal microbiome play a role in susceptibility to reactive arthritis in the face of triggers, such…
Editor’s notes: A memorial service for Nadia is being planned for Jan. 16, 2019, from 4:30-6:00 p.m. at Johns Hopkins Bayview Asthma and Allergy Center, Richard A. Grossi Auditorium, 5301 Hopkins Bayview Circle, Baltimore. To honor her life and the impact she made on the Division of Rheumatology, Johns Hopkins is establishing the Dr. Nadia D….
In September, the ACR participated in a global rheumatology event by partnering with the Emirates Society of Rheumatology (ESR) to jointly produce an educational meeting. The 4th Annual Conference of the Emirates Society of Rheumatology, in partnership with the ACR, took place Sept. 19–21 in Dubai Festival City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The conference…