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40% of Arthritis Patients Fail to Receive Exercise Guidance
The latest issue of CDC’s MMWR reports that exercise counseling among arthritis patients increased from 52% to 61% (2002 to 2014); hence ~40% do not receive health care provider counseling, suggesting the need for provider education and training in exercise counseling, and improved electroni
Read ArticleMalcolm Gladwell Weighs in on Humanizing Doctors Through Aesthetic Interests
Malcolm Gladwell (along with coauthor David Epstein) is well known for his national bestsellers The Tipping Point, Blink, and Out¬liers; all addressing the psychosociologic side of human behaviors and trends.
Read ArticleNew BSR 2017 Gout Guidelines (Best of 2017)
The British Society for Rheumatology/British Health Professionals in Rheumatology first published a guideline for the management of gout in 2007. They have just updated and published their new guideline, largely because of new therapies, an increasing incidence of gout, low penetrance of urate lowering therapies, and the inability to achieve a target serum uric acid level.
Read Article2017 Update of Treat to Target Recommendations for SpA/PsA
A 2017 international committee of experts met to assess and revise its earlier 2012 recommendations regarding treating to target in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and axial peripheral spondyloarthritis (SpA).
Read ArticleRheumatology Year in Review
During 2017, the improvements and refinements seen during previous years in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis have been extending to other conditions ranging from psoriatic arthritis to lupus and for both monoclonal antibodies and oral small molecule medications.
Read ArticleFibromyalgia Diagnosed by Two Simple Tests
Researchers from the Oregon Health Science Center have reported that fibromyalgia can be distinguished from chronic pain by primary care providers (PCPs) who employ two simple screening tests: BP cuff-evoked pain and a single patient question, and pain induced by pinching the Achilles tendon.&nbs
Read ArticleThe ACR17 RheumNow Week in Review - 1 December 2017
Dr Jack Cush reviews nighlights and news from the past 2 weeks on RheumNow.com. This week's report includes new drug approvals, disappointing ACR guidelines, Lyme & Zika, infertility, dermatomyositis skin outcomes and myositis-associated cancer testing.
Read ArticleACR Clinical Guidelines Flawed by Low Evidence
JAMA Internal Medicine has reported that recommendations and clinical practice guidelines from the American College of Rheumatology are often based on expert opinion, but lack rigorous (grade A) evidence to support many of their recommendations.
Read ArticlePhysician Visit Times Vary Worldwide
A metanalysis published in BMJ Open shows that for half of the world’s population, primary care doctor visits last less than five minutes and that the range is from 48 seconds in Bangladesh to 22.5 minutes in Sweden (US PCP visit averages at 20 minutes).
Read ArticlePrevalence of Arthritis Grossly Underestimated
Researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine have published a new report showing that arthritis affected 91 million adults in the US in 2015 or 37% of the poplulation. Their prevalence estimate is 68% higher than previously reported arthritis national estimates.
Read ArticleOpioid Crisis Costs US $500 Billion
Reuters reports that the opioid crisis has cost the United States as much as $504 billion in 2015, based on a White House economists report released this week. The White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) said the toll from the opioid crisis represented 2.8% of gross dom
Read ArticleRheumNow ACR 2017 Awards
The Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology is a gargantuan educational and professional event that is on nearly everyone's radar each year. RheumNow had an expansive effort to cover this meeting and you can review the work of our faculty at ACR17.RheumNow.com. But we have decided to take this one step further and today we are announcing our 2017 RheumNow ACR Awards.
Read ArticleACR Award Recipients 2017
The American College of Rheumatology opened the 2017 meeting by inducting the new president (Dr. David Daikh) and officers and announcing its 2017 Award Winners. These recognitions are given annually to members who exhibit outstanding contributions to the field of rheumatology.
Read ArticlePodcast of ACR17 - Day 4
Care to learn what you missed at last weeks ACR 2017 meeting in San Diego? Here are 4 one hour audio podcasts - each with a compliation of 2-4 minute reports from Drs. Cush, Kavanaugh, the RheumNow Faculty and other rheumatology thought leaders and researchers. Another good way to learn from RheumNow.
Read ArticlePodcast of ACR 17 - Day 3
Check out this compilation of our ACR17 Day 3 broadcasts, merged into a single one hour podcast !
Read ArticlePodcast of ACR17 Day 2
Check out this compilation of our ACR17 Day 2 videocasts merged into a one hour podcast !
Read ArticleACR 2017 Playbook
The annual ACR/ARHP meeting, which begins today, Sunday November 5th, is for many the premier meeting in rheumatology. The good news is that RheumNow and its expanded faculty will cover the meeting today and each day until Thursday. I haven’t missed an ACR meeting since 1984. In this span of 30 years I have acquired insights on how to navigate such a big meeting. When I say big, I mean over 15,000 attendees from over 100 countries swarming throughout a convention center that has the elements of the Texas state fair, Costco gone wild and a sold-out Margaritaville concert. Here's my ACR Playbook.
Read ArticleThe Greatest Rheumatologist - Part II
Wow! I hope you read part I of yesterday's “Greatest Rheumatologist” article. So many big names and yet, other names and stories that were equally inspirational.
If you read the comments of the part I article you can clearly see several themes emerge.
Read ArticleThe Greatest Rheumatologist - Part I
Who is the greatest rheumatologist? What makes for a great rheum? Is it clinical acumen, scientific achievement, educational prowess or years of unrivaled service or mentoring? Rheumatologists are quite opinionated on this subject and very nostalgic about their mentors and leaders. When I’ve posed this question in small groups, it’s plain to see how moved they become when discussing mentors or peers who influenced them. Thus, I posed this question to many of our leaders and mentors: who do you think of as the greatest rheumatologist?
Read ArticleICYMI: The Greatest Rheumatologist - Part I
Who is the greatest rheumatologist? What makes for a great rheum? Is it clinical acumen, scientific achievement, educational prowess or years of unrivaled service or mentoring? Rheumatologists are quite opinionated on this subject and very nostalgic about their mentors and leaders. When I’ve posed this question in small groups, it’s plain to see how moved they become when discussing mentors or peers who influenced them. Thus, I posed this question to many of our leaders and mentors: who do you think of as the greatest rheumatologist?
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