A common case scenario in our practice in North Dakota is a woman with rheumatoid arthritis on methotrexate monotherapy. She is a member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate people and lives 90 miles from our rheumatology clinic. She currently has moderate disease activity, indicating the need for additional treatment. She does not have her own…
Now in its 16th year, the Wisconsin Rheumatology Association engages and supports rheumatology professionals through advocacy sessions, annual meetings and continuing medical education-accredited events.
In rural America, where rheumatology offices are fewer and farther between, the expansion of telemedicine has been a boon during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, lab closures and reduced hospital services have made monitoring patients’ medications more challenging.
In Arkansas, where according to the Arthritis Foundation 672,000 people live with arthritis, it’s not unusual for patients to travel at least 100 miles to see a rheumatologist.1 Michael Saitta, MD, a rheumatologist at the Arthritis Center of the Ozarks, Fayetteville, and president of the Arkansas Rheumatology Association (ARA), says patient access is a huge…
(Reuters Health)—Telemedicine has been touted as a solution to the dearth of doctors in rural America. But the same places where residents must drive many miles to see a physician often also have limited broadband access, a new study suggests. About 25% of Americans live in rural communities while a mere 10% of physicians practice…
Dominick Sudano, MD, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona and rheumatologist at Banner University Medical Center, Tucson, Ariz., knows how tough it is for patients living in remote areas to obtain a rheumatology consultation. “It’s not unusual for patients living in rural areas of Arizona to wait four to six months for a…
Do you want to practice near a highway off-ramp or a supermarket? Where a rural rheumatology practice is located may be the key to success…
For arthritis patients who live in farming communities, just getting to rheumatologist Lynne Peterson, MD’s, office in Bismarck, N.D., can take a lot of time and energy. “Because of the shortage of rheumatologists, patients living in rural areas tend to receive inadequate rheumatologic evaluation and care,” says Dr. Peterson, whose clinic is located at Sanford…
Four years ago, a series of articles in The Rheumatologist talked about the practice of rheumatology in rural settings. Since then, changes have occurred, with the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), differences in reimbursement and the trek toward value-based payment systems. One major concern expressed in the original article was the fact that…
NEW YORK (Reuters)—The federal appeals court in New York struck down a U.S. regulation that made it harder for hospitals to provide better medical care at lower cost by claiming they were “rural” for some purposes and “urban” for others. Thursday’s decision by the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is a victory for hospitals…