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Pharmacy Benefit Managers at Odds with Specialty Pharmacies
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.
Read ArticleBiology of Bone Remodeling in Psoriatic Disease
Paine and Ritchlin have reviewed the evidence that new bone formation is centered around enthesial sites and that such findings are evident in psoriatic arthritis as well as psoriasis patients without arthritis.
Read ArticleIs Baricitinib Really Better Than Adalimumab in RA: Trial Results Reviewed
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.
Read ArticleAre We Using Methotrexate Appropriately?
Methotrexate is a mainstay drug in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Yet, we may not be using it long enough or optimizing its use.
Read ArticleACP Releases Paper on Impact of 'Concierge' on Patient Care
The American College of Physicians released a position paper exploring factors driving the growth of “concierge” and other “direct patient contracting practices” (DPCPs) and the “limited” evidence on their impact on patient care.
Read ArticleConcern Still Lingers for Silicone Breast Implants
What do you tell your patients who are considering augmentation mammoplasty? Or who question the safety of prior implants?
Read ArticleWestern Diet Increased the Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Liu and coworkers from Boston presented abstract #1213, with data from the NHS II Survey. They examined 93,859 women (without RA) and their dietary data from 1991 to 2011.
Read Article2015 ACR RA Guidelines Released– Finally!
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.
Read ArticleInvokana Decreases Autoimmune Risk
In September, the FDA issued warnings that the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) inihibitor Invokana may cause a dose-dependant increased risk of bone fractures. This was based on a review of nin
Read ArticleIncreasing Trends for Prescription Drugs, But Not for Arthritis Drugs
JAMA reports the results of trends in drug use in the USA over a 13 year period using data derived 37959 adults survey in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
Read ArticleEconomic Burden of ANCA-Associated Vasculitis in the USA
To assess the prevalence and magnitude of healthcare costs associated with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) in the USA, researchers analyzed adminstrative data from Truven Health MarketScan Commercial and Medicare Supplemental databases.
Read ArticleWine, Lupus, Pregnancy and Biosimilars: October 2015 -Top Social Media News
In October 2015, RheumNow published 76 tweets about impactful news, research and teaching points that impact the rheumatology community. In October, RN had a reach (impressions) of 49,500, 79 mentions, and over 2000 visits to RheumNow.com to check out what we publish.
Read ArticleMore Adverse Events with Off-Label Drug Use
Off-label use of prescription drugs was associated with adverse drug events in a study of patients in Canada, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.
Repeat Skin Cancer Risk with Methotrexate and Biologics
Using Medicare claims data, a retrospective cohort study analyzed the risk of a second non-melanomatous skin cancer (NMSC) in 9460 individuals (6841 with RA and 2788 with IBD).
Read ArticleDSB: Drug Shortages - October 2015
Each month, RheumNow reviews compiled listings of drug shortages germane to the practive of rheumatology using several sources. If you have suggestions or information about specific drug shortages or drug safety issues please email us at info@rheumnow.
Read ArticleNo Correlation Between Urate Crystal Identification and Cardiovascular Risk
A Danish cohort study examined patients with hyperuricemia and compared outcomes in those proven to have urate crystal deposition (317 patients) and matched 1:1 to patients without urate crystals.
Read ArticleDownward Trends in US Mortality Statistics
Using death certificate data from US National Vital Statistics System of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, JAMA reports a downward trend in death rates in the USA from 1969 - 2013).
Read ArticleObamacare Deficient in Rheumatologists, Other Specialists
The October 27 issue of JAMA reports a study of federal marketplace insurance plans shows roughly 15 percent completely lacked in-network physicians for at least one specialty, a practice found among multiple states and issuers.
Read ArticleVertebral Fractures in 10% of Spondyloarthritis Patients
Vertebral fractures are not uncommon in patients with ankylosing spondylitis and spondyloarthritis.
Read ArticleIV Cyclophosphamide Equal to Mycophenolate in Lupus Nephritis
A comparison of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and low-dose cyclophosphamide IV (CYC) in the treatment of lupus nephritis (LN) was examined in 173 patients with class III, IV, or V LN.
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