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

Little Evidence Shows Cannabis Helps Chronic Pain or PTSD

Lisa Rapaport  |  

(Reuters Health)—Even though pain and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are among the most common reasons people use medical marijuana in the U.S., there isn’t much proof cannabis works for either one of these conditions, two research reviews suggest. That’s because there hasn’t been enough high-quality research to produce conclusive evidence of the benefits or harms…

S.C. Sues Purdue, Maker of OxyContin, Over Deceptive Marketing

Nate Raymond  |  

(Reuters)—On Tuesday, South Carolina sued Purdue Pharma LP, becoming the latest state or local government to accuse the OxyContin maker of deceptive marketing practices that have contributed to a national opioid addiction epidemic. The lawsuit by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, filed in Richland County Court of Common Pleas in Columbia, accuses the company…

ACR Seeks Legislation to Help Ease Workforce Shortage

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With a shortage of rheumatologists in the U.S. already a problem and projected to get far worse, the ACR is advocating the passage of a variety of laws that would help narrow the gap. Legislation being fought for by ACR advocacy leaders involves streamlining visa processing for foreign physicians and promoting incentives for physicians to…

Overlooking HIPAA Risks Can Lead to Costly Breach

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Is your office at risk? Are all your business associate agreements (BAAs) in place, and is your office HIPAA compliant? As promised, and as part of its continued efforts to assess and enforce compliance with the HIPAA Privacy, Security and Breach Notification Rules, the Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) continues…

N.Y. Rheumatologist Makes Advocacy a Priority

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In 2005, not long after he became a private practice rheumatologist on Long Island, N.Y., Howard Blumstein, MD, dipped his toe into the advocacy pool at the encouragement of his partner, Max Hamburger, MD. “I thought it would be interesting to learn more about the issues that affect our patients and our practices, and I…

Registries & Benchmarking: Implementation of Best Practices Can Work—If Done Right

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MADRID—Determining what is a best practice in rheumatology and then implementing improvements based on what you find can be fraught with complexity, an expert said during the 2017 Annual European Congress on Rheumatology (EULAR). Examples are emerging of benchmarking projects in which electronic registers are used to improve patient care, said William Dixon, MD, chair…

Calcium Crystal Deposition in Rheumatic Diseases: Mechanisms & Evaluation of Calcium Crystal Deposits Explored

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MADRID—Calcification in osteoarthritis (OA) involves a series of pathways and interactions that feed off each other in a process that bears some resemblance to the transformation of cartilage to bone that takes place in the embryonic stage of human development, a researcher said here at the 2017 Annual European Congress on Rheumatology (EULAR). “My hypothesis…

The Role of Macrophages in Inflammation & Fibrosis: Macrophages May Predict Progressive Skin Disease

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MADRID—Research into pharmacodynamic biomarkers has shown that macrophages may have an important role in the pathogenesis of several diseases, including systemic sclerosis, an expert said at the 2017 Annual European Congress on Rheumatology (EULAR). The findings were discussed in a session that also covered how an understanding of M1 macrophages’ role in fibrosis has evolved…

Comorbidities & Risk Factors for Developing SLE

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MADRID—Researchers have found that systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is independently linked with bipolar disorder and say the findings point to a need for greater awareness of psychiatric problems in patients with SLE. In work led by investigators at Tel Aviv University in Israel and presented at the 2017 Annual European Congress on Rheumatology (EULAR), researchers…