Susan Bernstein is a freelance journalist based in Atlanta. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla. Susan has worked as a professional journalist, writer, book author and editor for 25 years. She served in full-time positions with both the Arthritis Foundation and the American College of Rheumatology. She began working as a freelance journalist in 2011. Susan is the author of numerous Web and print articles on a variety of medical topics and is the author of three patient health books published by the Arthritis Foundation.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Patients with juvenile rheumatic diseases are thriving in an era of highly effective therapies, successful self-management strategies, better understanding of genetic links to autoimmunity risk and improved efforts to listen to and engage with these young patients. That bright picture for young people with arthritis was presented by pediatrics at the ACR/ARHP Concurrent Abstract…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—In the next 15 years, it will be increasingly difficult to provide adequate care for rising numbers of patients with rheumatic diseases due to a severe shortage of trained rheumatology healthcare providers, according to the ACR’s 2015 Workforce Study of Rheumatology Specialists in the United States. The full study is available online, and panelists…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Rheumatology researchers look for next-generation treatments, healthy interventions, and genetic and microbial clues to disease pathogenesis and therapy response, according to new studies presented at a Nov. 15, 2016, press conference at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting. OA & Physical Function How do you know when a patient with knee osteoarthritis (OA) has the…
ATLANTA—Despite a downpour outside, ACR and ARHP leaders enjoyed sunny news about the Rheumatology Informatics System for Effectiveness (RISE) Registry at the on Jan. 21. RISE now includes data on more than 4 million patient encounters, and attendees were charged with thinking of ways to increase utilization of the registry and better use its valuable information….
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Total joint arthroplasty is one of the most common surgical procedures performed on adults with end-stage arthritis. One recent estimate showed that 2.5 million individuals in the U.S. are living with a total hip replacement and 4.7 million are living with knee replacements. For their patients with inflammatory arthritis, rheumatologists and orthopedic surgeons must…
Glucocorticoids are widely prescribed by rheumatologists, and the effects of daily and cumulative doses of these drugs on bone mineral density (BMD) are important elements of a draft clinical guideline document presented on Nov. 13 at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. Leaders of the ACR guideline project discussed their recommendations at the…
As the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) is implemented in January with new models for quality-based reimbursement payments, rheumatologists must seize control of how they will be paid now—and in the future. This message was stressed by speakers during Holy MACRA! How to Survive and Thrive in the Era of MACRA,…
When treating adolescent patients who are making the important, sometimes bumpy crossing from a pediatric to an adult rheumatology practice, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. “We have to be flexible on the receiving end when talking with these patients, and flexible with their families, too,” says Peter A. Nigrovic, MD, director of the Center for Adults…
Sweeping changes in how physicians are paid for patient care are on the way. The Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Act of 2015, or MACRA, tossed out the Sustainable Growth Rate formula and ties reimbursement to quality measures. A Helpful Presentation Because 2017 is the first performance year under the new…
Will there be enough rheumatology clinicians available to treat a growing patient population in the future? Not unless serious steps are taken now, according to the American College of Rheumatology’s 2015 Workforce Study of Rheumatology Specialists in the United States. The study’s complete findings will be presented at a panel discussion session at the 2016…