Articles By Jack Cush, MD
Biologic High Out of Pocket Costs for Medicare Patients
Specialty tier drugs, including biologics, accounts for nearly half of all medication spending by Medicare Part D patients. High out-of-pocket costs for these patients is a major concern.
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Pain Drives the Use of Medical Marijuana
A report from the University of Michigan examined state-wide medical marijuana showing most of it is used for chronic pain.
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Compounded Pain Creams - Expensive Placebos?
The Annals of Internal Medicine reports that the growth and use of compounded pain creams is unwarranted as they were no better than placebo in a randomized controlled trial, suggesting their higher costs are unjustifiable compared to other topical commercially available agents (lidocain
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Opioid Use in Osteoarthritis Varies by State
A study in Arthritis & Rheumatology shows that there is substantial statewide variation in rates of treatment with long‐term opioid therapy in osteoarthritis - not fully explained by differences in access to healthcare providers, varying case‐mix, or state‐level policies.
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Elevated Fracture Risk in Lupus
A Medicaid study of lupus (SLE) patients finds that fracture risks are elevated in low‐income SLE and lupus nephritis patients compared to those without SLE.
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RheumNow Podcast - Scurvy and Mechanics (2-1-19)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews new journal articles, news reports, and more from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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Update on Pregnancy Management in RA
Two recent reports offer good news to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) women who are planning to become pregnant.
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No Difference in Oral or IV Antibiotics for Bone & Joint Infections
Research from the NEJM shows that oral antibiotic therapy was noninferior to intravenous antibiotic therapy when used during the first six weeks for complex orthopedic infections.
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Ixekizumab and Complete Resolution of Enthesitis and Dactylitis
IL-17 inhibitors have proven to be effective in psoriatic arthritis. Analyses of ixekizumab-treated PsA patients with enthesitis or dactylitis shows this approach to yield significant improvements in enthesitis and dactylitis.
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How to Best Use RheumNow
This “How to Use RheumNow” blog is intended to help those of you who would like to get better use and quick hints on consuming RheumNow content. This is also a good opportunity to get some feedback from you on what we could do better or how we could serve your interests and online education. What keeps you up at night? We would really like to know.
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