Are outcomes better in a specialized lupus clinic compared with care provided in a general rheumatology setting? New research from Rush University, Chicago, studies this important care management question and finds the specialized clinic does indeed produce better outcomes.1 A big part of the difference may be due to the added experience specialty clinic clinicians…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Dozens of rheumatology leaders met with more than 100 politicos on Capitol Hill in mid-May as part of the ACR’s annual Advocacy Leadership Conference. Armed with research and advocacy training concerning a handful of important issues, rheumatologists, rheumatology interprofessional team members, government affairs specialists and others met with federal lawmakers, legislative aides and correspondents….
We are nearing the halfway point of 2019 and are one-quarter of the way through the ACR’s recently launched Access 2020 campaign, an advocacy campaign to increase ACR/ARP access to decision makers and the rulemaking process through RheumPAC by raising $300,000 and increasing the number of ACR/ARP members who contribute to 900. Progress Report So…
Broken hips are among the most serious injuries incurred by older adults, and many fractures are preventable. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 300,000 people over the age of 65 are hospitalized each year for hip fractures, with women (who have lower bone density than men) experiencing three-quarters of all…
We have often heard it said that opportunity arises from challenges. Challenge, of course, is really just a polite way of saying problem—and for our patients, problems abound when it comes to obtaining timely and affordable access to the rheumatologic care they need. Access in this context has many meanings: There is access to life-changing…
Imagine leaving the hospital after suffering a heart attack without being treated for hypertension or being started on a beta blocker. What would we think of the hospital where patients are never educated about the relationship between treating hypertension and reducing myocardial infarction and stroke risk? Unfortunately, this happens every day with osteoporosis and fractures…
Presentation A 30-year-old woman presented to her rheumatologist for left foot pain of three weeks’ duration. She was followed for systemic lupus erythematosus manifesting in arthritis and hemolytic anemia, as well as anti-nuclear antibody and Smith antibody positivity, and was treated with hydroxychloroquine and prednisone in the 2.5–10 mg per day range. She was symptom…
Dozens of rheumatology leaders met with more than 100 politicos on Capitol Hill in mid-May, per the ACR’s annual Advocacy Leadership Conference. Armed with research and advocacy training concerning a handful of important issues, rheumatologists, researchers, government affairs specialists and others met with federal lawmakers, legislative aides and correspondents. The two-day conference, which featured the…
On May 16, ACR and ARP leaders serving on the Board of Directors, Affiliate Society Council, Government Affairs Committee, Committee on Rheumatologic Care, RheumPAC and Insurance Subcommittee will go to Capitol Hill to advocate on behalf of the College’s membership and our patients. The group represents 31 states and the District of Columbia, and will…
The advent of quality-based healthcare, such as the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), requires rheumatology professionals to demonstrate their practice is based on interventions supported by the best available evidence and that their practice, in turn, provides quality care. These requirements have increased the need for methods to measure and quantify…