Exclusive: ACR Convergence 2024| Focus Rheums

An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

Shared Decision Making, Good Disease Control Are Key Components of JIA Management

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A group led by Sarah Ringold, MD, MS, assistant professor of rheumatology at Seattle Children’s Hospital, has developed a new guideline intended to provide recommendations for the treatment and monitoring of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) manifesting as non-systemic polyarthritis, sacroiliitis or enthesitis.1,2 Key Updates The new recommendations appear in both Arthritis & Rheumatology…

Medicaid Work Rules Likely to Penalize Chronically Ill

Lisa Rapaport  |  

(Reuters Health)—States that require adults on Medicaid to work a set number of hours to get benefits may find many people lose coverage because behavioral health conditions and other chronic health problems make it hard for them to work, a U.S. study suggests. Medicaid, a joint federal and state health program for the poor, allows…

Insights into Celiac Disease & Systemic Autoimmune Diseases

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Little is known about the immunopathogenic relationship between celiac disease and systemic autoimmune diseases, such as primary Sjögren’s syndrome and systemic sclerosis. But new research indicates that screening for celiac disease may benefit patients newly diagnosed with systemic autoimmune diseases, as well as supports the idea that celiac disease may accelerate the development of systemic autoimmune disease…

Trump Calls on Congress to Protect Patients from Surprise Medical Bills

Reuters Staff  |  

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—U.S. President Donald Trump called on Congress on Thursday to pass legislation to protect patients from surprise medical bills from out-of-network doctors that can unnecessarily cost patients tens of thousands of dollars. In remarks at the White House, Trump unveiled principles the administration will send to congressional lawmakers to incorporate into a legislative package…

Trump Slams Drugmakers, Vows to Let U.S. States Buy Cheaper Medicines Abroad

Reuters Staff  |  

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—U.S. President Donald Trump slammed the pharmaceutical industry for high prices of prescription drugs on Thursday and vowed to allow U.S. states to buy medicines from other countries if they cost less. Trump, who campaigned on a platform to reduce drug prices for U.S. consumers, has taken few concrete steps to lower medication costs…

U.S. to Require Drugmakers to Show Prices in TV Ads

Reuters Staff  |  

(Reuters)—U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Wednesday said it will require drugmakers to disclose the list price for their prescription drugs in direct-to-consumer television advertisements, part of the Trump administration’s efforts to lower costs for U.S. consumers. The list price should be included if it is equal to or greater than $35 for…

Results from Many Large Clinical Trials Remain Unpublished Years Later

Will Boggs MD  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Results from a substantial proportion of large, registered, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) can go unpublished for years after their completion, researchers report. “These unpublished and unreported trials include a vast number of patients, about 90,000,” Dr. John P. A. Ioannidis from Stanford University in California told Reuters Health. “Many people think that…

How Does Health Literacy Affect the Patient Global Assessment?

Arthritis Care & Research  |  

For RA patients, a low score on the patient global assessment of disease activity as measured by a visual analog scale (PGA-VAS) is necessary to confirm remission. However, limited patient health literacy combined with the complexity of the scale may result in discrepancies between the PGA-VAS and provider assessments of disease activity. New research examined the patient perspective on the PGA-VAS and its connections to health literacy and disease state…