Picket Lines: June 27 was marked on my calendar as the day to watch. No doubt the union organizers shrewdly selected it to be their strike day because of its proximity to July 1, an auspicious date for teaching hospitals, when rookie interns and residents anxiously assume their heightened roles of responsibility within the medical…
The ACR and its Rheumatology Research Foundation continue to work together to provide support for the rheumatology and patient communities. Both organizations are committed to advancing the field of rheumatology with a dedication to expanding the workforce. With a growing number of patients being diagnosed with a rheumatic disease and living longer with the disease,…
Practitioners at Orthopaedics and Rheumatology of the North Shore, in Skokie, Ill., have implemented practices for hiring and personnel management that help prevent employee time theft. Communication is open, employees are invested in the practice, and managers work to ensure employees are listened to and have clear guidelines to work by…
Do your employees waste time during the day or get easily distracted by personal issues? In a rheumatology practice, time equals money and time theft can affect all aspects of the practice—from office morale to patient satisfaction. Here are a few tips for keeping employees and managers on track to create a more effective working environment…
In three clinical trials, ixekizumab proved more effective than placebo or etanercept at increasing the work attendance and productivity of patients with plaque psoriasis…
Medicare and other insurers are using patient satisfaction to determine provider payment. But according to one expert, rheumatologists who look at their practice with a critical eye, listen and ask their patients the right questions may improve their patient relationships and their practice…
Sometimes, life calls for you to be out of the office for a length of time. Whether the absence is planned or not, it’s important to consider the best actions to take given the circumstances to ensure patients are cared for during your absence. Alexa Meara, MD, clinical instructor and rheumatologist, The Ohio State University…
In 2008, the American College of Rheumatology Workforce Study Advisory Group published a comprehensive rheumatology workforce analysis.1 It concluded: Based on assessment of supply and demand under current scenarios, the demand for rheumatologists is expected to exceed supply in the coming decades. Strategies for the profession to adapt to this changing health care landscape include…
A recent JAMA Pediatrics article found that 83% of clinicians admitted to coming to work while sick and 95% admitted to knowing that it could be dangerous for their patients.1 “The decision to work sick is shaped by systems-level and sociocultural factors,” the study authors wrote. In speaking with rheumatologists on the matter, I found…
(Reuters Health)—Breathing textile dust on the job is linked to an almost tripled risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a Malaysian study suggests. While smoking is a known risk factor for RA, the findings add to evidence suggesting that environmental factors could trigger RA in some people, the researchers note in their report in Annals…