Pfizer announced results Wednesday from its FDA-mandated postmarketing safety study of tofacitinib (Xeljanz), and they don't bode well for the drug and possibly others in its class.
Compared with patients taking tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors, those assigned to tofacitinib (5
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The 2021 Medscape Survey on Physician burnout ranks rheumatology second, just behind Critical Care medicine.
The survey included over 12,000 physcians from 20 specialties. While 42% of MDs claimed to be burnt-out, Rheumatologists claimed this 50% of the time. The top 3 this year were Critical
A press release from Montreal Heart Institute announced that the COLCORONA clinical trial provided evidence of the protective effect of colchicine; demonstrating a 21% reduced risk of death or hospitalizations in patients with COVID-19 compared to placebo. COLCORONA trial was a contact-less,
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On January 22nd, the FDA approved voclosporin (Lupkynis) for use in adults with active lupus nephritis; voclosporin is a calcineurin-inhibitor immunosuppressant indicated for use in combination with a background immunosuppressive therapy. FDA approval was based on data from the pivotal AURORA
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Health equity in the telehealth age has assumed added importance since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The Federal Communications Commission estimates that about 21 million Americans don't have access to the Internet in their homes. Other sources estimate it is closer to 162 million. However,
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The CDC has addressed the effects and the issues of domestic and international travel on its website. Below is a sampling of key advice.
Read Article"If you're having trouble paying for your medications, Drug Company X may be able to help."
You may have heard sentences like this at the end of pharmaceutical ads on television, and some clinicians may wonder what exactly the companies do to help their patients. The help usually
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2020 was historic, memorable and game-changing. Under the cloud of COVID-19, there were many significant and memorable advances and setbacks for the rheumatology world. In our accounting of most read articles for 2020, (not surprisingly) 17/20 were COVID-related. Below, are our top news items
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The diagnosis of axial spondyloarthritis (and anklylosing spondylitis) (axSpA) is often delayed and usually not diagnosed by rheumatologists; a recent metanalysis shows that longer delays were attributable to lower education levels, younger age at onset and absence of extra-articular
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According to a recent report in Annals of Rheumatic Disease, public enthusiasm for hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) created significant access issues for rheumatic patients in the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite public, political and quasi research evidence supporting
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The fate of the Trump administration's "most favored nation" (MFN) rule for bringing down prescription drug prices remains uncertain as President-elect Joe Biden prepares to assume office later this month.
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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, journal articles and favorite blogs from this past week on RheumNow.com.
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A lupus cohort study from British Columbia, Canada has shown that medication adherence with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is associated with a 71% to 83% lower mortality.
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Non-adherence may be the single most untold risk to suboptimal outcomes in the care of musculoskeletal disease. It has been estimated that 30-80% of patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) are nonadherent to prescribed regimens. EULAR has commissioned a task force to
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MMWR has reported on a July 2020 survey study from 1,009 Health Resources and Services Administration–funded health centers showing that urban Health centers were more likely to provide virtual visits than those in rural areas.
Telehealth has expanded healthcare access, especially in
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The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) have jointly developed new classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); prompted by the need for criteria that were both highly sensitive and specific. The net result is improved
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After years of bemoaning the challenges of telemedicine, our rheumatology clinic transition entirely to a remote clinic in the space of a week. One of the few good things to come out of this crisis is that we may learn that in-person visits are not as critical as we thought, which may in turn
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The results of the National Residents Matching Program (NRMP) match in rheumatology are out and show that rheumatology fellowship was both competitive and highly sought after.
Rheumatology was among the most competitive of subspecialties, that included Allergy and Immunology,
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Lung cancer risk is often increased with inflammation and autoimmune disease; a recent analysis suggests that patients with autoimmune disease do not have worse survival, even though they may have received less than the standard-of-care treatments.
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Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on RheumNow.com.
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid's CY 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule provides much-needed increases in Medicare reimbursement for the evaluation and management (E/M) services provided by rheumatologists and other cognitive care specialties to Medicare beneficiaries.
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Colchicine, the old gout drug often cited as a cheap anti-inflammatory, hasn't been such a good deal since FDA approval, a study in JAMA Internal Medicine showed.
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"The US has nearly 4.5% of the world’s population but accounts for more than 40% of global drug spending" reports JAMA Internal Medicine. US drug prices are nearly double those of Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, and the US spends twice as much on retail and nonretail
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