When working with a newly diagnosed patient to determine a treatment plan, ensure the patient has a good understanding of the diagnosis, the options available and what the options entail. “It is important to help patients understand that there are choices, and that their decisions should be based on what matters to them,” says Susan…
Recruiting new patients requires a multi-faceted approach. A rheumatologist must have a solid brand and marketing platform, as well as an active strategy to attract and convert new patients. This might involve embracing social media, having a website, developing a referral network, being involved in your community and nurturing existing patients. Your brand includes such…
“No more excuses.” At least, that’s what Amanda Nelson, MD, MSCR, now tells her patients. As a rheumatologist, assistant professor in the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and clinical researcher at UNC’s onsite Thurston Arthritis Research Center, Dr. Nelson says patients often provide a litany of legitimate—and sometimes…
SAN FRANCISCO—To convey the plight of rheumatology patients in sub-Saharan Africa, Girish Mody, MD, head of rheumatology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and past president of the African League of Associations for Rheumatology, recounted a story during the 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting from the World Health Organization about a diabetes patient. The…
Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while acknowledging and non-judgmentally accepting one’s feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations. Known in Sanskrit as smrti, meaning “to remember,” in Pali, the language of early Buddhist scriptures, it is recognized by the word sati (mindfulness).1 Derived from ancient meditative Buddhist disciplines,…
Arthritis is the primary cause of disability among U.S. military veterans and the second most common reason for medical discharge from the U.S. Army. One in three veterans is diagnosed with arthritis, compared with one in five members of the general U.S. population. It is important to keep in mind that these statistics reflect only…
I tell my patients there are three types of science: 1) investigative science, which sometimes gets it right; 2) science in the courtroom, which is junk science; and 3) science in Washington, D.C., which is political science. Our decisions are based on art and science; our patients’ medications are brought to market based on science….
After years of speculation about potential cost savings and debates on safety, biosimilars are about to step onto the stage of rheumatic disease treatment. On Feb. 9, the Arthritis Advisory Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) met in Washington, D.C., and recommended the approval of CT-P13, a proposed biosimilar to infliximab (Remicade),…
SAN FRANCISCO—A broadening of the medical community’s horizons in how pain is regarded and treated in older adults, including those with osteoarthritis and other rheumatic diseases, is sorely needed, a researcher said at the 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting. Incidence Studies show that a large percentage of older adults each year see physicians for such issues…
Discussing aching joints, sore muscles and tender limbs is all in our day’s work. We are rheumatologists; we deal in misery. But trying to parse the true meaning of these terms is among the most vexing of clinical challenges.