CHICAGO—Could the addition of a pharmacist to rheumatology care teams improve patient satisfaction, decrease staff burnout or reduce medication-related problems? Three panelists in Integrating Pharmacists into the Workforce, a session at the 2018 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, shared positive experiences with this interdisciplinary care model. Less Burnout, More Satisfaction Ten years ago, the Arthritis Treatment Center…
CHICAGO—Reproductive health can be a concern for patients with rheumatic diseases, and practitioners in both disciplines often work closely together. The Reproductive Health in Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases Guideline, a draft of new clinical recommendations developed by an ACR-convened group for pregnant women, post-menopausal women, lactating women, and women and men trying to conceive or…
BETHESDA, MD—Rheumatologists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and from Jerusalem, Israel, have identified deficiency of adenosine deaminase 2 (DADA2) as an important cause of familial polyarteritis nodosa, which tends to present in childhood and can manifest with hematologic, immunologic and inflammatory signs, says Chip Chambers, MD, founder and president of the DADA2 Foundation….
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…
A 76-year-old Caucasian male with a history of abdominal aortic aneurysm repair five years earlier presented with three months duration of worsening periumbilical abdominal pain associated with nausea, non-bloody emesis, decreased appetite, fatigue and a 40 lb. weight loss. He denied having fever, chills, night sweats, temporal headaches, vision loss, chest pain, shortness of breath and…
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…
One of my fellows could take better care of his patients if it weren’t for the attendings getting in his way. Or so he tells me. I can hear the howls of protest already. This statement isn’t fair—it is too broad, it doesn’t fairly depict the nuances of the situation or his point of view. First,…
Vasculitis is a group of chronic inflammatory diseases in which the blood vessel is the target of an immune reaction. They can be secondary to connective tissue disease, idiopathic or due to infection, neoplasm or drugs.1 Primary angiitis of the central nervous system (PACNS) is a rare syndrome characterized by inflammatory cell infiltration and necrosis…
Note: Although originally posted in January 2018, the advice below remains valid. We see this issue recur each year. As we begin another new year, many rheumatology practices will again receive prior authorization requests from Medicare Part D for all methotrexate prescriptions. When methotrexate is used as a chemotherapeutic drug, it’s covered by Part B,…
A proof-of-concept study including 10 patients treated for dermatomyositis with tofacitinib, an FDA-approved drug for RA and psoriatic arthritis, shows strong clinical efficacy…