Eight years ago, the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs embarked on a comprehensive review of the AMA Code of Medical Ethics. What emerged after years of hard effort, intensive feedback and thoughtful revisions was a modernized version of the guide, which the AMA House of Delegates voted to adopt in…
With a new federal administration and Republican-controlled Congress taking the helm in 2017, the ACR Government Affairs Committee has identified top legislative and regulatory priorities for the year. “The main priority is going to be helping represent the rheumatology community as Medicare is reformed, because the era of MACRA started Jan. 1,” says Angus Worthing,…
The makers of FX006, a steroid injection for treating pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis, have submitted a new drug application to the FDA…
By examining the phenotypic plasticity of cartilage and tendon cells, researchers found that oxidative stress and P13K signaling pathways are key modulators of the phenotype of musculoskeletal cells. Using monolayer and three-dimensional cultures, the experiments confirmed that dedifferentiation occurs via reductions in expression of genes for cartilage (Col2a1, Agcn) and tendon (Tnmd, Serpinf1)…
My nurse, Joanne, took me aside before I began my next consult. “Room No. 5, breast implant patient. Her lawyer organized the records.” She handed me a hefty three-ring notebook organized by color-coded tabs. “Her attorney called just now,” Joanne raised an eyebrow, “and told me to tell you that, to save time, he highlighted…
As the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) is implemented in January with new models for quality-based reimbursement payments, rheumatologists must seize control of how they will be paid now—and in the future. This message was stressed by speakers during Holy MACRA! How to Survive and Thrive in the Era of MACRA,…
It is a great honor to serve you as the 80th president of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). The ACR is a leader in the world of rheumatology. Therefore, with this privilege also comes enormous responsibility. A Brief History of the ACR The first efforts to study and control the rheumatic diseases in the…
“Obesity is an inflammatory state, so it is in the landscape of the rheumatologist,” says Christopher Ritchlin, MD, MPH. And the more attention rheumatologists pay to obesity, the better…
NEW YORK (Reuters)—The largest lobbying group for health insurers has asked U.S. lawmakers weighing the fate of Obamacare to push back the due date for 2018 individual insurance submissions to regulators in hopes of obtaining greater clarity on the program’s future later on. Republican leaders including President-elect Donald Trump and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch…
In May, the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) published its recommendations for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis (PsA).1 The updated recommendations represent advances in drug development and availability since previous recommendations published in 2009, as well changes in treatment paradigms and the importance of associated aspects of the disease.2…