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…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—People with persistent pain need better access to psychosocial care, according to a position statement from the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM). “Psychosocial approaches to pain management need to be available for all individuals with persistent pain in all healthcare settings,” Dr. E. Amy Janke from the University of the Sciences, in…
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…
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…
The FDA has designated upadacitinib a breakthrough therapy to treat adults with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis…
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm former pharmaceutical industry executive and lobbyist Alex Azar as the next Health and Human Services secretary. Azar will oversee the Trump administration’s response to the opioid epidemic, its efforts to weaken the Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare, and address rising prescription drug prices. The Senate…
The ABCs of MACRA The transition year under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) is at an end. MACRA repealed the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) methodology for updates to the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and replaced it with a value-driven payment system. The new approach to payment is called the…
SAN DIEGO—At the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in San Diego in November, 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 ARHP winners about their individual contributions. In addition, we profile the new class…