News
CMS Final Rule on Prior Authorization Reforms
Prior authorizations and paperwork are killing medical providers; the good news is that a new CMS rule may lessen the burden. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that they have finalized the CMS Interoperability and Prior Authorization Final Rule, designed to improve prior authorization processes and reduce burden on patients, providers, and payers, with a resultant $15 billion of estimated savings over ten years.
Fertility and Rheumatoid Onset
MedPage Today
British women whose capability of bearing children either started late or ended early -- naturally or otherwise -- were at increased risk for developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), compared with women with earlier menarche or later menopause, researchers found.
2023 EULAR Non-pharmacological Management of Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis: 2023 update
EULAR has published the 2023 updated recommendations for the optimal non-pharmacological management of hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA).
Tic-Borne Disorders Causing Chronic Arthritis?
Findings from a population based cross-sectional study suggests that while up to 20% of patients have antibodies to tick-borne exposures, only a minority reported musculoskeletal symptoms.
Sodium Channels, Carbemazepine and Osteoarthritis Progression
A study published in Nature suggests that therapies affecting sodium channels could be employed to treat osteoarthritis.
SLE: A Mutated Gene and TLR7 Overexpression
EurekAlert!
A group of researchers lead by Min Ae Lee-Kirsch from the Department of Pediatrics, Medical Faculty, TUD Dresden University of Technology (Germany), studied four patients from two families who developed symptoms of SLE in the first years of life.
2023 Rheumatology Year in Review
Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights, advances and hot topics in rheumatology from 2023 and the RheumNow website.
2023 was a year of growth and new horizons while returning to operational and practice standards (in care and education) established before the pandemic.
Increased CV Comorbidity in Dermatomyositis
A cohort study suggest that patients with dermatomyositis (DM) are at an increased risk for multiple comorbidities, including chronic kidney and cardiovascular disease,
Drug-Induced Dermatomyositis
A JAMA Dermatology systematic review of drug-induced dermatomyositis (DM) found the most commonly implicated agents include hydroxyurea, immune checkpoint inhibitors, statins and lipid-lowering agents, penicillamine, and tumor necrosis factor inhibitors.
2023 Rheumatology Year in Review
Here is my top 10 list (in no particular order) of 2023 advances, game-changers, and developments that changed, or will soon change, rheumatologic practices.
Hormonal Status Increases RA Risk
EurekAlert!
Early menopause—before the age of 45—taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and having 4 or more children are among several hormonal and reproductive factors linked to a heightened risk of rheumatoid arthritis in women, finds a large long term study published in the open access journal
