At present, the U.S. has approximately 5,000 full-time adult rheumatologists. By the year 2025, that number will decline to roughly 3,600.1 Sounds dire, right? Hold that thought. Question: What country has 99 million people and no adult rheumatologists? Answer: Ethiopia.2 The Nigerian Story And then there is Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, with roughly 170…
On May 11, ACR leaders representing the Board of Directors, Affiliate Society Council, Government Affairs Committee (GAC), Committee on Rheumatologic Care, RheumPAC Committee and Insurance Subcommittee went to Capitol Hill to advocate on behalf of the ACR/ARHP membership and our patients. The group, which represents 27 states and the District of Columbia, conducted meetings in…
Introduction Interest in rheumatology continues to grow, with more than 240 new adult and pediatric fellows to begin their training in the coming academic year. Given the broad and diverse career opportunities, it is an ACR goal to help guide trainees in their career decisions and professional development. Rheumatology fellowship often marks the transition from…
In recent years, providers and practice groups have been worrying about Meaningful Use (MU) and gaining knowledge on using certified electronic health record (EHR) technology to avoid payment penalties, earn incentives and increase practice efficiency. Now, with the release of the final rule for MACRA payment reform, physicians will have two options for payment paths:…
On May 11, ACR President Sharad Lakhanpal, MBBS, MD, and other College members will be in Washington, D.C., to speak in support of proposed legislation or a joint resolution that would repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). IPAB Defined In an attempt to control future Medicare expenditures, one element of the Patient Protection and…
For patients with rheumatic disease, general treatment guidelines for managing cardiovascular risk are suboptimal, says Katherine Liao, MD. A patient’s level of disease activity and inflammation affect their risk…
On May 11, ACR leaders will fly to Capitol Hill to meet with Congressional leaders on behalf of ACR and ARHP members. With so many pressing policy issues facing the medical community this year, we hope that you, too, will let your members of Congress know where you stand on the following issues: Support Medical…
Some rheumatologists find that an option other than working in a private practice makes the most sense for them. The reasons rheumatologists choose hospital or academic employment vary. Individual Choice When Lisa Criscione-Schreiber, MD, MEd, associate professor of medicine and rheumatology training program director, Duke University, Durham, N.C., was finishing her fellowship in 2003, she…
Systemic autoimmune diseases are thought to result from immune dysregulation in genetically susceptible individuals who were exposed to environmental risk factors. Many studies have identified genetic risk factors for these diseases, but concordance rates among monozygotic twins are 25–40%, suggesting that nonheritable environmental factors play a more prominent role.1,2 Through carefully conducted epidemiologic and other…
In the good old days, physicians routinely made house calls. The decision to visit the literal bedside of a patient was practical: hospital services were primitive and often offered too little benefit to justify an emergency journey by the patient. These physicians carried leather bags, sometimes called Gladstones, that were filled with instruments for eventualities…