The Stark law and the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) are the U.S. healthcare system’s primary fraud and abuse laws, and highly anticipated proposed reform plans from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) were finally unveiled on Oct. 17, 2019. The proposed reforms would 1) clarify certain requirements…
A recent study published in Lupus Science & Medicine lays out five of the top barriers impeding progress in lupus diagnosis and treatment.1 The Addressing Lupus Pillars for Health Advancement project (ALPHA), led by the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA), researchers at the Tufts School of Medicine Center for the Study of Drug Development (Tufts…
ATLANTA—The rheumatology profession faces a severe shortfall of practitioners that threatens the ability to address patients’ needs. “Even if we doubled the number of positions for fellowship training, we wouldn’t meet the increasing demand on our workforce,” said Marcy B. Bolster, MD, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston, and director of the…
ATLANTA—The Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), headquartered in New York City, uses community-based participatory research (CBPR) models to develop patient programs. One popular self-help program for arthritis patients evolved from a different initiative focused on orthopedic pain management, according to speakers in a session at the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting. According to Titilayo Ologhobo, MPH,…
In Arkansas, where according to the Arthritis Foundation 672,000 people live with arthritis, it’s not unusual for patients to travel at least 100 miles to see a rheumatologist.1 Michael Saitta, MD, a rheumatologist at the Arthritis Center of the Ozarks, Fayetteville, and president of the Arkansas Rheumatology Association (ARA), says patient access is a huge…
The Johns Hopkins Lupus Center, Baltimore, has described its experience using hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) levels.1 Forty-four percent of its patients had levels below 500 ng/mL (partial nonadherence); 13% were severely nonadherent (<200 ng/mL). They were shown their results and educated on HCQ adherence. Adherence then improved to 80%; those with lower HCQ levels had higher disease…
ACR representatives updated members on recent insurance issues…
As a veteran rheumatologist, I remember the clinical trials of etanercept’s (Enbrel’s) efficacy. And when the drug was first approved in 1998, I participated in those clinical trials and realized the effectiveness was astonishing. It was easy to tell which patients were treated with etanercept vs. those who received placebo, even though both groups were…
When insurance company practices put patients at risk, advocacy is an important tool physicians can use to make a real difference. You can make a difference.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Ultrasound guidance does not improve the effectiveness of treat-to-target therapy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), new findings confirm. “Incorporating ultrasound information in treatment decisions did not lead to reduced MRI inflammation or less structural damage compared with a conventional treatment strategy,” Dr. Ulf Sundin of Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, and colleagues write in Rheumatology….