The Association of Rheumatology Professionals (ARP) and European League Against Rheumatism Health Professionals in Rheumatology (EULAR HPR) are, to a great extent, working toward addressing the same long-term goals and challenges. Despite differences in healthcare services, culture, organization and economical aspects across the Atlantic Ocean, we can help each other overcome these challenges and learn…
Kim Steinbarger, PT, MHS, knows how physical and occupational therapy can make a difference for patients with rheumatic diseases. Ms. Steinbarger was just two years into her career as a physical therapist (PT) when she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in 1991. “I’ve seen how regular exercise serves as an important tool in managing…
An integral part of the rheumatology care team, social workers can address specific issues related to a patient’s overall wellbeing. Here are some insights into how rheumatologists can better partner with social workers as part of the interdisciplinary team to ensure better patient outcomes…
Involving pharmacists in the management of chronic diseases benefits patients, says Wendy Ramey, BSPharm, RPh, CSP, a clinical pharmacy specialist in rheumatology at the University of Kentucky, Lexington. She knows this personally. As someone with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Ms. Ramey knows pharmacists can play an important role in patient education and encouraging adherence to medications….
CHICAGO—The osteoporosis session at the 2018 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting opened with a discussion by Kenneth Saag, MD, MSc, professor of medicine at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, in which he highlighted adverse events associated with osteoporosis medications. Dr. Saag began his presentation by emphasizing that, above all, the audience should keep in mind that the…
A note from ARP President Hazel L. Breland, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA: Some time has passed since the ACR first published its NP/PA Rheumatology Curriculum Outline. Originally developed to serve as a guide for rheumatologists to onboard a nurse practitioner (NP) or physician assistant (PA) into the rheumatology practice setting, the ACR has realized this valuable resource…
What does a new patient experience as symptoms develop and diagnosis is confirmed? The ARP Practice Committee is developing persona-based case studies to help answer this and other questions. The latest topic is juvenile idiopathic arthritis…
CHICAGO—To drive home the importance of how social determinants can make or break a person’s health, Jillian Rose, LCSW, MPH, the director of community, engagement, diversity and research at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, told a story about a gardener planting flowers at the 2018 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting. In the story,…
Bob and Jan Richardson’s separate paths to physical therapy and rheumatology involve wrestling and horses—although not at the same time. Their intertwining stories also involve a fair amount of serendipity. Mr. Bob Richardson For Bob Richardson, PT, MEd, the path started in the late 1950s, when he was wrapping up a fulfilling college wrestling career…
Winston Churchill once said, “There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction.” So—with this, our first presidential column of 2019—we are bringing you news of a change or two. First, ARHP, our health professionals’ membership division, has changed its name to the Association of Rheumatology Professionals, or ARP. This new…