Exclusive: ACR Convergence 2024| Focus Rheums

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

U.S. Predicts 5.8% Average Rise in Healthcare Spending Through 2024

Caroline Humer  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters)—The U.S. government expects healthcare spending to increase by 5.8% annually on average from 2014 through 2024 as more Americans gain insurance coverage and the improved economy drives patients to visit doctors and hospitals. The aging population’s higher healthcare costs will also push health spending higher starting in 2019, according to a study…

Healthcare Improving for Older Americans

Andrew M. Seaman  |  

(Reuters Health)—The number of deaths, hospital stays and healthcare costs decreased among older Americans on Medicare over the past 15 years, according to a new study. “Although our health care system has its failings, we are making remarkable progress,” said Dr. Harlan Krumholz, the study’s lead author from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. “People…

Psoriasis, Psoriatic Arthritis Linked with Arrhythmia

Laura Newman  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Psoriasis is linked to a higher risk for arrhythmia, independent of classic cardiovascular (CV) risk factors, according to a study from Taiwan. “In my practice, arrhythmia as comorbidity is discussed during patient consultation along with other comorbidities,” said senior author Dr. Tsen-Fang Tsai of the Department of Dermatology at National Taiwan University…

Some Placebos More Effective Than Others in Osteoarthritis

Will Boggs, MD  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Some placebos are more effective than others, and these differences can influence the apparent outcomes of clinical trials, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis of osteoarthritis trials. “More surprising than the fact that all placebos are not equal is the magnitude of that difference,” Dr. Raveendhara R. Bannuru, from Tufts Medical…

Some Serious Drug Side Effects Not Reported to FDA Within 15 days

Lisa Rapaport  |  

(Reuters Health)—Companies fail to report roughly one in 10 serious and unexpected medication side effects to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) within a 15-day window specified by federal regulations to protect patient safety, a study finds. Drug manufacturers are also less likely to disclose serious adverse events within this window when patient deaths…

Some Public Hospitals Win, Others Lose with Obamacare

Robin Respaut  |  

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters)—A year and a half after the Affordable Care Act brought widespread reforms to the U.S. healthcare system, Chicago’s Cook County Health & Hospitals System has made its first profit in 180 years. Seven hundred miles south, the fortunes of Atlanta’s primary public hospital, Grady Health System, haven’t improved, and it remains as…

Evidence Lacking for Tests for Psoriasis Patients Using Biologic Agents

Will Boggs, MD  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Various organizations recommend dozens of screening and monitoring tests for patients with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis who are using systemic biologic agents, despite sparse evidence to support any of them. “At a population level, these medications have proven to be very safe and the evidence does not support such extensive and frequent…

Anthem to Buy Cigna to Create Biggest U.S. Health Insurer

Ankur Banerjee  |  

(Reuters)—Anthem Inc. said on Friday it would buy Cigna Corp. in a deal valued at $54.2 billion, creating the largest U.S. health insurer by membership. The deal—the biggest ever in the health insurance industry—comes three weeks after Aetna Inc agreed to buy Humana Inc for $37 billion and is part of an industry-wide consolidation following…