The Price of Drugs Continues to Increase

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Drug prices increased an average of 10% in 2015 (after a 13.5% increase in 2014) and includes big name drugs from major pharmaceutical companies.

Lesinurad augments uric acid lowering effect in allopurinol non-responders

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As the never-ending battle with refractory gout continues, the need for more safe and effective treatments remains. Often, steady remission and target urate levels are not achieved with allopurinol alone.

Prescribing Rules

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If you are responsible for the outcome and welfare of patients – you need prescribing rules.

If you are supervising others or responsible for the training of those learning rheumatology – you need prescribing rules.

Combination or Monotherapy Tocilizumab in Rheumatoid Arthritis

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Several rheumatoid arthritis studies have shown that tocilizumab (TCZ) may be as effective as monotherapy when compared to combination therapy (methotrexate plu

2015 ACR RA Guidelines Released– Finally! (Best of 2015: #2)

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ACR 2015 RA treatment guidelines were published yesterday, nearly a year after they were preliminarily presented at the 2014 ACR meeting in Boston. After a year of review and revision these have been posted.

ICD-10: Preparing for the Next Y2K (Best of 2015)

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ICD-10 starts tomorrow, October 1st. Your Coding memory will have to increase 5-fold or more as we go from 16,000 to 68,000 new ICD-10 codes. How this will affect each of us remains to be seen. There’s a lot to learn, and many wonder if this will be the next “Y2K”.

CDC Reports Increases in Tularemia

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported a sharp rise in tularemia, especially in Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Nebraska.

RA Guidelines, Methotrexate and Mortal Risks in Gout: November 2015 top social media news

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Here's what you may have missed: in November 2015, RheumNow published 80 tweets on news, research and teaching points that impact the rheumatology community. We had a reach (impressions) of 79,100, 79 mentions, and over 3399 visits to RheumNow.com to check out what we publish.

EULAR 2015 Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment Guidelines

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The management of psoriatic disease, including psoriatic arthritis (PsA) has evolved significantly in the last decade.  Nevertheless, there are still some uncertainties - such as what the role of methotrexate should be, and when to use newer and novel therapies.

Drug Safety Update for November 2015

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The Down-Side of Electronic Medical Records. EMRs (or EHRs) have become increasingly utilized in daily practice. The benefits of these include better record-keeping, safe prescribing, patient and drug tracking, adverse event monitoring and checks for drug interaction.

Microvesicles May Ameliorate Arthritis Damage

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Microvesicles are emerging as a new mechanism of intercellular communication by transferring cellular lipid and protein components to target cells, yet their function in disease is only now being explored.

The Rising Price of Dermatologic Drugs

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Containment of health care costs was a primary goal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. But there is little evidence of success in curbing the rising price of prescription drugs. As such, many medications are unaffordable to those who need them.

ACP Says There are Reasons for Generics Over Branded Drugs

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The American College of Physicians (ACP) says that prescribing generic medications whenever possible can improve adherence to therapy, improve outcomes, and reduce costs for patients and the health care system. ACP’s best practice advice paper is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

EU Endorses Biosimilar Etanercept (SB4) from Samsung/Biogen

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Reuters today reported that a copy of the blockbuster biotech drug Enbrel (SB4) was recommended for approval in Europe on Friday, making it the second so-called biosimilar antibody medicine to win such a green light from the continent's regulators.

CMS Releases Final Rule on Joint Replacement

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MedPage Today reports that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a final rule governing payment for hip and knee replacements for Medicare patients this week that includes several concessions to stakeholders, such as delaying implementation from early 2016 to later in

AMA Proposes Ban on Television Drug Ads

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The American Medical Association has called for a ban on direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising for prescription drugs and medical devices, noting these forms of advertising drive up health care costs and often mislead the public.

SB4 - A Second Biosimilar Up For Review in Europe

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A biosimilar of etanercept (Enbrel) made by the South Korean company Samsung Bioepis is under consideration by regulators in the European Union. Samsung Bioepis, a joint venture between Samsung Biologics and Biogen, is taking aim with its version of etanercept.

Are Guidelines Worth the Cost?

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A thoughtful perspective on the purpose, focus and cost of guideline efforts in rheumatology has been published in the journal Rheumatology.

Pharmacy Benefit Managers at Odds with Specialty Pharmacies

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Reuters and the Wall Street Journal have reported that the largest U.S. pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) of private prescription drug benefits have cut off at least eight pharmacies that work closely with drugmakers, intensifying scrutiny of a system that helps inflate drug prices.

Is Baricitinib Really Better Than Adalimumab in RA: Trial Results Reviewed

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Dr. Peter Taylor and colleagues presented their results of the 52-week BEAM trial wherein baricitinib (a JAK 1, 2 inhibitor) was compared to adalimumab in both clinical and radiographic outcomes. This was the most viewed abstract online at the ACR website.