If you speak to any advocate for rheumatology, each of us has an “Aha! moment,” when we learned the importance of advocacy. My own came a dozen years ago. I was meeting with a legislative aide to a local congressman who was a senior member of the committee overseeing Medicare. He introduced himself as the…
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…
On Feb. 16, ACR leaders, insurers, pharmaceutical representatives, patients, patient advocacy representatives and more met in Scottsdale, Ariz. They came together for the first annual RISE Summit, aimed at setting strategic priorities and goals for the Rheumatology Informatics System for Effectiveness (RISE) Registry, the qualified clinical data registry developed by the ACR. The Rise of…
Thousands of attendees travel to the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting from outside the U.S. to learn, network and exchange ideas. From Nov. 3–8 in San Diego, speakers from more than 30 different countries are scheduled to participate. The ACR is taking action to maintain diverse attendance in a challenging climate for international travel. New traveler vetting and…
In response to the required changes in reimbursement from fee for service to value-based payment under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015, the ACR is exploring development of a rheumatology-specific alternative payment model (APM) for rheumatologists and practices, which would provide an additional option for payment other than the Merit-Based Incentive…
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare disease affecting about 49,000 U.S. adults, and it is strongly associated with high levels of morbidity and mortality.1 Of the few available antifibrotic therapies, none is targeted for SSc. However, reason for optimism exists for antifibrotic treatments in early development and clinical trials, says Jörg H.W. Distler, MD, Heisenberg Professor…
Are you a physician with a patient who no longer requires medical treatment? Do you have a patient you believe would be better served by another physician, specialist or practice due to a developing condition? Do you want to terminate a patient relationship because it is costing more than it is worth to your practice?…
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….
Complement can deposit in various tissues, and previous studies have associated complement deposition with an increased risk for all-cause mortality and stroke. Now, new research underscores the relationship between rheumatic disease, the complement system and cardiovascular disease. In particular, inflammatory rheumatic disease status appears to be uniquely associated with mononuclear cell infiltrates in the vascular…
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…