On May 16 and 17, ACR/ARHP leaders serving on the Board of Directors, Affiliate Society Council, Government Affairs Committee, Committee on Rheumatologic Care, RheumPAC Committee and Insurance Subcommittee once again went to Capitol Hill to advocate on behalf of ACR/ARHP members and their patients. The group represented 27 states and the District of Columbia, and…
Attended by over 15,000 rheumatology professionals from over 100 countries, the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting is the largest rheumatology meeting in the world and the premier educational event for physicians, health professionals and scientists who treat or research rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. The 2018 Annual Meeting will be held Oct. 19–24 in Chicago. Attendees will be…
In the coming fiscal year (July 1, 2018–June 30, 2019), the Rheumatology Research Foundation has committed to fund more than $9.4 million in rheumatology research and training. Approximately half of the awards will support efforts to recruit and train the next generation of rheumatology professionals. The remaining funds will be awarded to advance research projects…
For a provider of healthcare services, payer audits are always a possibility. Both government and private payers consistently monitor providers to prevent fraud, overpayment, and improper billing or coding procedures. Audits can be nerve-racking and intimidating, even if a provider is billing correctly. Improper billing can lead to civil and criminal sanctions. To alleviate some…
Lurie Prize Goes to Autoimmune Researcher Zhijian “James” Chen, PhD, is this year’s recipient of the Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences for his 2012 discovery of the enzyme cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS). Dr. Chen received the prize at the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health Award Ceremony in May. His work revealed the paradoxical…
In addition to the classroom and exam room, the other room Joseph Flood, MD, enjoys spending time in is the kitchen. With a mother who worked as a local tavern cook and a policeman father who enjoyed preparing tasty meals as much as arresting bad guys, Dr. Flood, a rheumatologist at the Columbus Arthritis Center…
CHICAGO—As Eric Ruderman, MD, professor of medicine in rheumatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, began his talk on psoriatic arthritis treatment at the ACR State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium in April, he marveled a bit at how much there was to cover. Drugs gaining prominence in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and dermatological…
CHICAGO—A 75-year-old woman with low bone density, who has had a fracture and has other risk factors for fracture, is treated with the bisphosphonate alendronate. After five years on the drug she comes back, wondering: Should I stop taking the drug? She’s had no additional fractures. Her bone density has improved, but her lumbar spine…
CHICAGO—High eosinophil counts that can’t be explained should concern rheumatologists and spark attempts to identify what’s happening, an expert said at the ACR State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium in April. “Eosinophil counts over 1,500 (per microliter) should provoke worry,” said Bruce Bochner, MD, professor of medicine in allergy and immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine…
CHICAGO—Neonatal lupus is a rare disorder, but its onset can be dramatic, and it can be fatal. Clinicians must be armed with information to manage it and help guide parents through difficult decisions, an expert said in April at the State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium. Despite the name, neonatal lupus does not mean that either the mother…