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ACR Responds to Final Medicare Payment Rule from CMS

ACR

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) today issued the following statement in response to the final Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) for calendar year 2027 (CY27) from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Dr. John Cush
@RheumNow
The Concern about Seronegative RA A current review of seronegative RA (SNRA) by D’Onofrio, et al in npj Autoimmunity shows the diverse fate of seronegative RA - which can resolve, persist or become refractory. Clearly dedicated trials of SNRA are needed to better predict. https://t.co/98VDKucMgX
Dr. John Cush
@RheumNow
Exagen studies 192 established RA pts (383 controls) for Abs: CCP2, RF IgA, RF IgM, PAD4 (IgA, IgG). RA signif assoc w/ CCP2+ (OR 110), RF (>7), PAD4 (3.5-5.9). In CCP neg - only PAD4 IgG (2.87) & RF (2.2) assoc w/ RA, w/ only small Dx gain (ΔAUC 0.02–0.04). https://t.co/isf7aMf24O
Dr. John Cush
@RheumNow
43 biopsy-proven Giant cell arteritis in Black Caribbeans - GCA incidence rate 1.76/100K pY (1/2 rate of whites) w/ 4 fold incr betw 1993 & 2014. Mean Age 76; F:M ratio 4.4. Initial Sxs HA (65%), jaw claud (33%), scalp tender (37%), anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (26%) & PMR https://t.co/lHAeNdOqbj

Exercise Can Improve Pain

Jack Cush, MD

This pooled meta-analyses (n=197,392) shows that exercise reduced pain versus control immediately after the intervention (SMD −0.59; 95% CI −0.65 to −0.53; P0.001). The benefit held across musculoskeletal, inflammatory, neurologic and cancer pain, and for every modality tested.

Dr. John Cush
@RheumNow
Ambient AI in Rheumatology Practice: Less Typing or Less Human? Rheumatology has become a sedentary, computer-based job. We sit at our computers to pre-chart, type during patient visits, and bring notes home to finish on laptops while sitting on the couch. Do you spend more https://t.co/zr56f7iCrJ

Petri SLE Pearls: An Update

Kathryn H. Dao, M.D.

At the CCR West 2026 conference in Huntington Beach, California, Dr. Michelle Petri updated her Petri Pearls. Some are derived from new data, while others are from her extensive experience caring for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). As always, her observations and wisdom have

Supervised Physiotherapy Wins after ACL Repair

Jack Cush, MD

The Annals of Internal Medicine has shown that chronic knee symptoms following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) surgery is significantly lessened by a program of physiotherapist-supervised exercise therapy with education compared to single education and self-directed

Link Between Obesity and Psoriatic Arthritis

Jack Cush, MD

Obesity is an incidental comorbidity in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). It is a modifiable, mechanistically active driver of disease onset, severity, and treatment failure. A new comprehensive review in RMD Open (Madsen et al., 2026) synthesizes 49 studies suggesting that weight management belongs in

Dr. John Cush
@RheumNow
🚨 Registration opens October 1! RheumNow Live 2027 returns January 30–31 for our 9th Annual CME Meeting. 📍 Dallas + Online 📅 January 30–31, 2027 🎓 High-impact CME. Expert faculty. Real-world rheumatology. The rheumatology meeting that sets the tone for the year ahead. https://t.co/1u27pab4Ee
Dr. John Cush
@RheumNow
AI Diagnosing Rheumatic Disease? Prof. Valmed, a large language model (LLM) cleared by European regulators for medical diagnosis, outperformed human physicians for diagnosing rheumatologic conditions in terms of speed but not accuracy, a randomized trial showed. https://t.co/WVKlRGHFL1

AI Diagnosing Rheumatic Disease?

MedPage Today

Prof. Valmed, a large language model (LLM) cleared by European regulators for medical diagnosis, outperformed human physicians for diagnosing rheumatologic conditions in terms of speed but not accuracy, a randomized trial showed.

Dr. John Cush
@RheumNow
Music and Pain Relief A new scoping review in Pain Reports by Bradt et al., examines the effect of MBIs on pain management. While its efficacy is well established, how or why music relieves pain has never been fully explained. This systematic review is based on 663 records and https://t.co/HBCURxB9WC
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