Search results for: knee

Fed Up with Rising Costs, Big U.S. Firms Dig Into Healthcare

Caroline Humer | June 12, 2018

SAN JOSE, Calif., (Reuters)—At its Silicon Valley headquarters, network gear maker Cisco Systems Inc. is going to unusual lengths to take control of the relentless increase in its U.S. healthcare costs. The company is among a handful of large American employers who are getting more deeply involved in managing their workers’ health instead of looking…

Healthcare Providers Should Encourage Exercise for OA Patients

Lara C. Pullen, PhD | May 23, 2018

A systemic review supports the ideas that exercise benefits the physical and mental health of patients experiencing pain related to hip and/or knee osteoarthritis (OA). Overall, research indicates that patients who exercised had slightly lower rates of pain and greater physical function, as well as slightly improved self-efficacy and social function…

Rheumatology Coding Corner Question: Billing for an Inflectra Infusion

From the College | May 17, 2018

A 68-year-old female patient returns to the office for a second round of Inflectra (infliximab-dyyb) infusion for her rheumatoid arthritis with rheumatoid factor of multiple joints without organ or systems involvement. She reports pain, stiffness and swelling in her left and right knees and right elbow and rates the pain at a 9 on a…

Drug Safety: Fasinumab Evaluated in Clinical Trials, Plus Celecoxib May Not Pose Increased Heart Attack or Stroke Risk

Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP | May 15, 2018

After an independent review, ongoing clinical trials investigating the safety of fasinumab for treating hip or knee OA will discontinue the use of higher fasinumab doses…

New Arthritis Estimates Put Prevalence Numbers Much Higher Than Previously Thought

Catherine Kolonko | April 26, 2018

Arthritis is often associated with retirees, but a new analysis of government data suggests the disease is much more common in young and middle-aged adults than previously believed. Disease prevalence is currently estimated at about 54 million adults, but that number is greatly underestimated, especially among those 64 and younger, according to a study…

Study Urges Caution with Steroid Injections for Hip Osteoarthritis

Mary Beth Nierengarten | April 26, 2018

For patients with hip osteoarthritis (OA), pain management and maintaining function are primary therapy goals. Current guidelines offer recommendations on nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic approaches to addressing these issues in hip OA. For patients in whom pharmacologic management is considered, the use of intra-articular steroid injections is one option. In its 2012 guidelines (the most current…

Rheumatology Coding Corner Question: RA Follow-Up with Imaging

From the College | April 26, 2018

History A 39-year-old woman returns for follow-up for her rheumatoid arthritis. She has positive rheumatoid factor, but no organ or systemic involvement. She has joint swelling and pain in her left hand, right elbow and right knee. Her pain is at an 8 on a 10-point scale. She states the pain is worse in the…

Nonopioid Medication May Be as Effective as Opioids for Chronic Pain

Lara C. Pullen, PhD | April 16, 2018

A recent study compared the efficacy of opioids with nonopioid pain treatments in patients with chronic back pain and hip or knee osteoarthritis. After 12 months, researchers found that treatment with opioids was not superior to treatment with nonopioid medication, with only minor differences in patients’ functional responses to the medications…

When Rheumatology Becomes a Family Affair

Richard Quinn | March 17, 2018

Rheumatologists spend so many years treating the same patients, sometimes they start to feel like family. But for some doctors, it’s more than a feeling. The specialty attracts its fair share of relatives who can compare rheumatic notes, discuss complex cases and provide a built-in resource for advice. Brothers. Cousins. Fathers and daughters. In-laws. Husband…