The growing rheumatologist workforce shortage has loomed over the profession, threatening to undercut the delivery of care to the increasing number of patients with rheumatic conditions. “The workforce shortage is an existential threat to the field of rheumatology and to the care we deliver to our patients,” says ACR President Kenneth Saag, MD, who lauded…
When it comes to experiencing burnout, time spent in an electronic health records (EHR) system appears to be only a minor contributing factor. Although clinicians and other healthcare professionals may log many hours at the keyboard putting information into the EHR, other factors likely play a bigger role in the workplace exhaustion and feelings of…
A clinical conundrum that rheumatologists often face is making a diagnostic or therapeutic decision in the absence of evidence-based data to guide clinical decision making. MedNet is a digital community of physicians created to improve knowledge sharing among physicians and help ensure patients get the highest quality care. The goal of the platform, according to…
When it comes to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and cardiovascular events (CVEs), the rheumatology community is woefully lacking in information, say researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) David Geffen School of Medicine and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Their recent work on biomarkers associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular events in women with…
Lupus & Perinatal Outcomes Adverse perinatal outcomes before & after diagnosis with systemic lupus erythematosus among African American Women By Meghan Angley, PhD, & S. Sam Lim, MD Why was this study done? Previous studies have suggested that women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) may experience adverse perinatal outcomes, including preterm and small-for-gestational-age birth, in…
Erosive Polyarticular Chronic Tophaceous Gout in a Young Man A 27-year-old man was referred to us for joint pain and nodular swelling over multiple joints. His symptoms started when he was 13 years old, but he was sub-optimally treated. On examination, we found marked digital deformity, with multiple large tophi over the small joints of…
After months of hard work—and with insightful input from many ACR/ARP members, staff, committees and the Board of Directors—we are pleased to introduce the ACR’s 2022–27 strategic plan. This plan sets the stage for our numerous activities in the next few years and cultivates innovational approaches to support our diverse membership. This new plan will…
The COVID-19 pandemic has filled hospitals with patients with rapidly progressive respiratory failure and diffuse bilateral opacities on chest X-ray.1 Additionally, many patients with severe COVID-19 develop acute kidney injury and require dialysis.2 Pulmonary-renal syndromes are also important to consider in this setting. Although alveolar hemorrhage is a cardinal feature of this syndrome, many patients…
On Dec. 27, 2017, RaDonda Vaught killed Charlene Murphey, allegedly. Ms. Murphey was a lifelong resident of Gallatin, a suburb of Nashville, Tenn. She was well known from having worked at the local Walmart for 24 years, before she retired in 2012, when she was 65 years old.1 On Dec. 24, 2017, she was helping…
During the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in Washington, D.C., we were asked to evaluate a 14-year-old boy admitted to the pediatric hospitalist service. He had been healthy until two weeks before, when he noted a sore throat, and soon after he developed fevers and rashes without congestion, shortness of breath, conjunctivitis or swollen lymph…