Rheumatology

During a session at the 2017 American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in San Diego, California, a cardiologist joined rheumatologists to give a detailed look at the relationship between rheumatic conditions and cardiovascular disease.

Occupations related to potential noxious airborne agents are related to an increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to recent research.

At the Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in Washington, DC, several experts presented their progress in harnessing technology to help teenagers and young adults manage their juvenile arthritis.

Be careful what you wish for:  SGR and FFS will be models of the past; the success of the APM and MIPS will rely on compensation, collaboration and participation; and, to date, much remains to be done in the development of quality-based payment reform under MACRA. 

Telehealth broadly is about creating care connections across boundaries, care that encourages patients’ independence, prevention and wellness; and care that can be leveraged for needed interventions. If we get telehealth right we can reduce impact of what we know is a growing health workforce shortage and concurrently create a healthier, more engaged patient base.

Two leading academic rheumatologists who took part in a live discussion with A. Mark Fendrick, MD, co-editor-in-chief of The American Journal of Managed Care, agreed that getting an accurate early diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is key to getting the patient started on disease modifying therapy. Today's goal, they said, is remission of the disease, not just managing symptoms.

A formulary restriction policy in a Medicare population was associated with lower celecoxib utilization; however, higher gastrointestinal- and arthritis-related medical costs were observed.

The widespread adoption of telemedicine during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as reimbursement parity that was enacted by CMS, should be continued once the public health emergency passes, according to a new position statement by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).