A 43-year-old woman is establishing care in your new urban clinic after her previous rheumatologist stopped accepting her Medicaid insurance more than a year ago. Since that time, she has been trying to find a new rheumatologist who will accept Medicaid. She lives 90 miles away in a small town without a rheumatologist. Seven years…
A recent study in The Journal of Rheumatology sheds light on the importance of preconceptional cardiovascular health in women with systemic lupus erythematosus. Although many questions remain, improved cardiovascular health measures seem to positively affect pregnancy outcomes, suggesting a potential role for preconception cardiovascular interventions.1 Women with lupus now have healthier pregnancies than in the…
The traditional model for subspecialist consultations on hospitalized patients by outpatient-based rheumatologists may seem straightforward. Hospitalists (the inpatient specialists who now manage most in-hospital medical care in the majority of U.S. hospitals) typically call upon the rheumatologist’s expertise for joint swelling and a rash or fever of unknown origin, says Lianne Gensler, MD, of the…
(Reuters Health)—About a quarter of the dollars spent on healthcare in the U.S. may be wasted, a new analysis suggests. Six types of waste in healthcare could be costing as much as $935 billion annually, according to the study published in JAMA.1,2 The biggest source of waste is “administrative complexity,” says the study’s lead author…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Mortality rates in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) decreased from 1999 to 2017, according to records from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “The mortality attributed to several rare diseases [e.g., hypersensitivity pneumonitis] has increased in recent years,” Alexander W. Steinberg, MD, from Saint Joseph Hospital, Denver, tells…
According to new research, women with SLE are at the highest risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes during a lupus flare. The data may enable clinicians to use risk stratification and tailored monitoring to counsel SLE patients who are pregnant or considering pregnancy. Researchers also found that maternal age, lupus nephritis and antiphospholipid antibodies may affect pregnancy outcomes…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Nintedanib dramatically slows lung deterioration in patients with progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases, according to a new randomized study.1 Nintedanib has already been shown to be effective against idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The new trial, funded by the manufacturer, Boehringer Ingelheim, and presented t the European Respiratory Society International Congress 2019 in…
RheumPAC is the ACR’s non-partisan political action committee, which promotes the needs of rheumatology providers and patients. Advocacy efforts often focus on legislation to improve the day-to-day clinical care of rheumatology patients, such as establishing clinical exceptions to step therapy requirements and reforming the prior authorization process. In addition, the ACR and RheumPAC recognize the…
Betty Diamond, MD, Recognized as Distinguished Fellow by American Association of Immunologists At its annual meeting in May in San Diego, the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) recognized Betty Diamond, MD, as a distinguished fellow. Dr. Diamond is professor and head of the Center for Autoimmune, Musculoskeletal and Hematopoietic Diseases at the Feinstein Institutes for…
I was honored to be invited by Paula to write this column about my aspirations for the ACR’s future. As one might expect, I am also humbled by the prospect of trying to encapsulate the vision that has already been so elegantly provided by ACR leadership and its board of directors: “As the leading authority…