Medications for serious or life-threatening conditions may receive accelerated approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by showing an effect on surrogate measures that are reasonably likely to predict a treatment’s clinical benefit. Post-approval confirmatory drug trials are then required to determine whether or not these effects translate into clinical improvements. In recent…
Preconception planning is essential to help women with autoimmune disease have optimal pregnancy outcomes. Unplanned pregnancy can also negatively impact disease course in some patients. Yet many rheumatologic patients of childbearing age do not receive adequate contraception or prepregnancy education and counseling. Rheumatologists must work collaboratively with other healthcare providers to make sure rheumatic patients…
Dr. Sherine Gabriel Joins Board of Trustees In July, ACR Past President Sherine E. Gabriel, MD, MSc, joined the New York Academy of Medicine Board of Trustees. Dr. Gabriel is a distinguished professor and dean of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. As dean emerita of Mayo Medical School, Dr. Gabriel developed successful clinical research training and career development…
Total hip replacement (THR) surgery is an effective way to reduce pain and improve function in people with advanced hip osteoarthritis (OA). In light of aging populations, there’s a need to use contemporary, population-level data to plan for future service provision. In a study designed to compare THR data across countries, researchers demonstrated a significant increase in the overall use of and lifetime risk for THR from 2003 to 2013. Women consistently had a higher lifetime risk of surgery than men in all five countries studied, whereas men in all five countries demonstrated a significant increase in lifetime risk for THR over time…
It seems like yesterday I was asked to write my first presidential column, and here I am penning my last. It’s incredible how fast the time goes and yet how much gets done. That progress is made possible by the dedicated and talented group of ACR volunteers and staff. This year, the College has had…
My dear electronic health records How do I dislike thee? Let me count the ways Adaptation of Sonnet 43 By Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 1806–1861 As my tenure as physician editor winds down, it’s worth reviewing some of the more nettlesome issues confronting clinicians that have been previously discussed in these pages and gauge their current…
CHICAGO (Reuters)—U.S. scientists on Wednesday unveiled two new molecular editing tools designed to fix mutations that cause the majority of human genetic diseases, some of which have no known treatment. One technique, by David Liu of Harvard University and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, offers a highly precise way to fix single-letter mistakes…
(Reuters)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration plans to encourage opioid addicts to use less harmful opioid drugs such as methadone and buprenorphine, a radical shift in policy that could agitate those in the addiction field who believe abstinence is the only effective treatment. Speaking before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Wednesday, FDA…
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters)—Tom Westerman voted for Donald Trump in last year’s election but says he might not do so again after the president cut off billions of dollars in Obamacare subsidies to health insurance companies. “It really upset me,” said Westerman, 63, a self-described “middle-class guy” with an annual household income of about $60,000 in the…
The ACR is taking steps to clarify a proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that, as currently written, would consider the cost of Part B drugs when calculating physician reimbursement under the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). “The ACR is concerned about this, because large cuts to reimbursement for pass-through…