Exclusive: ACR Convergence 2024| Focus Rheums

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

Prior Authorizations Hurt Patients & Practices

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The ACR was part of a 16-member collaboration that created a set of 21 principles on prior authorization and utilization management, intended to ensure that patients receive timely and medically necessary care and medications and reduce the administrative burdens. More than 100 other healthcare organizations support those principles. Now, the AMA has released the results…

Write Your Letter to the Editor: The ACR Makes It Easy

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Elected officials and government entities make decisions every day that directly affect your practice and ability to treat patients. Although the ACR continues to be your eyes and ears in Washington, D.C., often the most effective agents of change are citizens, like you, who get involved in the legislative process. It’s easy to be an…

Make Advocacy a Healthy Habit: A Conversation with Christina Downey, MD

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While growing up in California’s capital city, Sacramento, Christina Downey, MD, learned early on that it’s important to speak up for what’s important to her. When she completed her fellowship and joined the ACR in 2015, she found her way to the ACR’s Advocacy 101 program, which trains rheumatologists to become advocates in Washington, D.C.,…

Supply & Demand: Where Will the Rheumatology Workforce Be in 2030?

Arthritis Care & Research  |  

According to the “2015 American College of Rheumatology Workforce Study: Supply and Demand Projections of Adult Rheumatology Workforce, 2015–2030,” the demand for rheumatologic care is projected to exceed supply of clinical adult rheumatology providers by 4,133 clinical FTEs by 2030. The research now being published estimates the baseline adult rheumatology workforce, as well as determined demographic and geographic factors relevant to the workforce. The research also highlights the need for innovative regional strategies to manage future access to and reduce barriers to care for rheumatology patients in underserved regions…

Tai Chi at Least as Good as Aerobic Exercise for Fibromyalgia

Anne Harding  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Tai chi improves fibromyalgia symptoms at least as effectively as aerobic exercise, according to a new trial. Aerobic exercise is the most commonly recommended non-drug treatment for fibromyalgia, Dr. Chenchen Wang of Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston and her colleagues note in The BMJ, online March 12.1 However, Dr. Wang…

Many in U.S. Take More Calcium Supplements than Necessary

Lisa Rapaport  |  

(Reuters Health)—Some adults in the U.S. who use supplements to get their daily requirement of calcium are taking higher doses than necessary, a recent study suggests. Researchers examined nationally representative survey data on dietary habits and vitamin and supplement use collected between 1999 and 2014 from 42,038 adults. About one in 20 adults got a…

Abaloparatide Appears Safe, Effective for Boosting BMD in Women 80 & Up

Reuters Staff  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Abaloparatide appears to be a safe and effective drug for increasing bone mineral density (BMD) in women 80 and older, new research shows. The study is a post hoc analysis of the Abaloparatide Comparator Trial in Vertebral Endpoints (ACTIVE) trial, which found patients who received abaloparatide subcutaneously for 18 months had increased…

Denosumab Boosts BMD after Teriparatide Treatment for Osteoporosis

Marilynn Larkin  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—After discontinuation of teriparatide, increases in bone mineral density (BMD) are greater with denosumab than with zoledronic acid, but whether that translates into a decreased fragility fracture risk remains unknown, researchers say. Teriparatide was the first anabolic treatment approved for osteoporosis in the U.S. It has been shown to increase BMD, and…