Exclusive: ACR Convergence 2024| Focus Rheums

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

Articles tagged with "patient care"

Bigger May Not Be Better for China’s ‘Super Hospitals’

Alexandra Harney  |  

ZHENGZHOU, China (Reuters)—Just before midnight, the pavement outside the glowing high-rise towers of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University is littered with slumbering bodies. Splayed on colourful mats or tucked into folding cots, these are patients’ relatives. Inside, beds line hallways and crowd elevator lobbies, while relatives share gurneys with patients and doze in…

Healthcare Office Design, Staff Can Make Good Impression on Patients

Healthcare Office Design Can Make a Positive Difference for Rheumatology Patients

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When designing healthcare spaces to foster wellness, you should first understand the particular patient illness being served and then determine that population’s fundamental needs. “Providers who serve patients with rheumatoid conditions should identify the range of clinical presentations specific to their patient population,” advises Sharon E. Woodworth, AIA, ACHA, EDAC, Healthcare Practice Leader, Perkins+Will Architects,…

How to Deliver Difficult News about Patients' Diagnoses

How to Deliver Difficult News about Patients’ Diagnoses

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Telling a patient that he or she has been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis, fibromyalgia or another debilitating, painful and/or chronic condition can be upsetting for a patient to hear and difficult for a rheumatologist to convey. Given this, it’s important to prepare for the appointment. “Take a few minutes beforehand to contemplate…

Polymyalgia Rheumatica Misdiagnosis Results in Positive Outcome

Hiroshi Watanabe, MD, PhD  |  

In late February 2011, a 68-year-old woman visited the rheumatology outpatient clinic. She had been congenitally healthy and had been a field athlete in her early days. Beginning in early January 2011, she became aware of pain in her neck and both shoulders, with pain spreading to her lower back and thighs. She also became…

Hospital Consult Plan Relieves On-Call Burden for Rheumatologist

Kim Stewart, MD  |  

I found your recent article, “To Terminate or Not to Terminate?” (The Rheumatologist, April 2015), very relevant to my practice. The hospital system I practice in, Summa Health, Akron, Ohio, has two rheumatology groups with active hospital privileges. My partner and I are both part-time female rheumatologists who work for a hospital group, Summa Physicians…

The ACR’s State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium: Experts Discuss Jakinibs, Osteoarthritis, Membranous Lupus Nephritis

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CHICAGO—With the approval of the Jak inhibitors (i.e., jakinibs) tofacitinib and ruxolitinib—and others being investigated—rheumatologists need to arm themselves with an understanding of these drugs so they can think critically when evaluating them and deciding how to use them, said John O’Shea, MD, chief of the Molecular Immunology and Inflammation Branch of and scientific director…

The ACR’s State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium: Rheumatic, Malignant Disease Mimics Call for Diligence from Rheumatologists

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CHICAGO—David Daikh, MD, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco and chief of the Rheumatology Division at the San Francisco VA Medical Center, said the overlap between malignant disease and rheumatic disease means rheumatologists should stay aware that more may be going on than just a rheumatic disorder. He made his…

Rheumatologist Alain Alvarez, MD, Brings Passion for Dance to Medical Practice

Eric Butterman  |  

There can be a rhythm to rheumatology. At least that’s what Alain Alvarez, MD, can sometimes find. Listening, assessing, helping. It can be a successful dance when doctor and patient become partners, hoping to lead each other forward. When you consider this, it might be little surprise that Dr. Alvarez is also a dance teacher….