A 52-year-old man living in greater Boston with a history of hypertension presented at our rheumatology clinic with bilateral knee pain and swelling. He had been in his usual state of health until four months earlier when he developed right knee pain and swelling without an incipient trauma, which did not improve with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory…
A meta-analysis confirms prior research suggesting exercise therapy benefits patients with knee and hip osteoarthritis (OA). The study found greater improvements in pain, function, performance and quality of life in patients with milder, as opposed to more severe, OA…
The House of Delegates (HOD) is the policy-making body of the American Medical Association (AMA), and twice a year, representatives of all seated specialties, service societies and state medical associations review hundreds of resolutions to determine which will become AMA policies. Once those policies and priorities are determined or updated, we benefit from the AMA…
As the practice of step therapy grows more pervasive throughout the insurance industry, the protocols become increasingly confusing to navigate. Steps vary from insurer to insurer based on plan type, and formulary differences are too often based on economic incentives rather than outcome-based medicine. Patients are often left hanging in the balance while physicians’ offices…
Your 2018 MIPS performance feedback and final score from the CMS are now available on the Quality Payment Program website. To learn more about performance feedback, view the frequently asked questions document from the CMS. The payment adjustment you will receive in 2020 is based on your score for the 2018 performance year. If you…
(Reuters)—The Trump administration on Thursday scrapped one of its most ambitious proposals for lowering prescription medicine prices, backing down from a policy that would have required health insurers to pass on billions of dollars in rebates they receive from drugmakers to Medicare patients. The decision represents a new setback to President Donald Trump’s efforts to…
A post-hoc analysis showed upadacitinib is safe and effective for treating RA patients when used with methotrexate or non-methotrexate csDMARDs…
A five-year study in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis found drug-induced disease remission did not persist once adalimumab was stopped after long-term treatment.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Pregnancy outcomes in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have improved markedly over the past two decades, although pregnancy risks remain higher than in women without lupus, according to a trends analysis. “Thirty years ago, most women with SLE were advised to avoid pregnancy because of high risks for maternal and fetal…
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters)—The future of Obamacare could be at stake on Tuesday when a coalition of Democratic-led states and House of Representatives urge a federal appeals court to overturn a Texas judge’s ruling that the U.S. healthcare reform law is unconstitutional. Republicans have repeatedly tried to repeal Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act (ACA), since…