4 Patients in 4 Weeks Baltimore is a little over two hours away from Richmond, Va., by car. I know this now because I recently drove to Richmond to attend a memorial service. I drove in silence. Music made me sleepy, and I could not bear to listen to another iteration of how we are…
The year was 1991. It was my first Tuesday as a rheumatology fellow at the University of Pittsburgh’s Presbyterian Hospital. Navigating a maze of buildings and hallways, I delivered myself to the entrance to the scleroderma clinic. Running late and not knowing whether there was a separate entrance for staff, I clicked open the door….
In the ever-changing healthcare delivery landscape, the ACR continues to go to work on behalf of its members to ensure public policies encourage delivery of high-quality rheumatology care and treatment. With stepped-up efforts to meet with federal administrative and Congressional representatives, and broadened coalitions of partners to strengthen advocacy for key issues important to the…
(Reuters)—Five opioid manufacturers, including OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP, have paid more than $10 million to advocacy groups and doctors tied to them, many of whom amplified industry messages supporting the use of the painkillers, a U.S. Senate report said on Monday.1 The report, released by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), says groups who received the…
Novel research has linked cold environments—with snow, ice and overall frigid conditions—to an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. This research has many rheumatologists eager for more research that could aid patients and further the understanding of the disease…
New research from the CDC evaluated the prevalence of healthcare provider counseling for physical activity as a management strategy for arthritis. Researchers found that although healthcare provider counseling for exercise has increased during the past decade, 40% of patients with arthritis do not receive this counseling, resulting in a greater prevalence of physical inactivity for this patient population…
Funding drives arthritis research breakthroughs and prevention programs, and advocates from the ACR, Arthritis Foundation and the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) pitched funding increases to lawmakers at a lunchtime briefing held Feb. 1 in Washington, D.C., in cooperation with the Congressional Arthritis Caucus. During the briefing, titled $300 Billion Crisis: The High Cost…
Milestones are at the core of the current system designed to evaluate medical residency and fellowship programs and their participants. But are all milestones meaningful for medical education? This idea was at the center of a debate during the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, during which speakers explored the advantages and drawbacks of using training milestones for rheumatology fellowships…
LATE-BREAKING NEWS Editor’s note: The ACR praises Congressional leaders for passing today’s (2/9) sweeping spending agreement, which includes a technical provision reversing a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) policy that would have linked physicians’ quality payment adjustments to Medicare Part B drug costs starting in 2019. The ACR also applauded the inclusion of…
Rheumatologists working in every practice setting face a number of challenges that can seem insurmountable. How do you cost-effectively manage administrative burdens? How do you establish an efficient and effective approach to capturing quality metrics? How do you maintain the critical elements of the care you provide, such as diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasound and patient access…