Articles By Jack Cush, MD
A Rheumatology State of Mind (Best of 2015)
A 2013 study reported that people from Denmark were the happiest. Reasons were postulated, but it was suggested it was because their expectations were so low.
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ICD-10: Preparing for the Next Y2K (Best of 2015)
ICD-10 starts tomorrow, October 1st. Your Coding memory will have to increase 5-fold or more as we go from 16,000 to 68,000 new ICD-10 codes. How this will affect each of us remains to be seen. There’s a lot to learn, and many wonder if this will be the next “Y2K”.
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Strange ICD-10 Codes (Best of 2015)
The range of categories and diagnostic possibilities is astronomical with the new ICD-10 and its 68,000 codes.
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Top 5 and Bottom 5 Joints (Best of 2015)
Who knows or ponders the articulations (joints) more so than the rheumatologist or orthopedist? We know their anatomy, their contours, tender sites and how to examine them. Adults have over 200 bones and up to 360 joints. Imagine if you had to do a DAS360?
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The Differential Diagnosis of Heel Pain (Best of 2015)
A slim, yoga bending, middle aged school teacher seeks a rheumatology consultation to determine the cause and cure for her left lateral heel pain for the past 6 months. No trauma, no crazy footwear and no systemic symptoms, uveitis, or peripheral/axial arthritis.
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Famous Rheumatologist Quotes – Part I (Best of 2015: #8)
A famous quote from Verna Wright, MD,states, “Clinicians may all too easily spend years writing“doing well” in the notes of a patient who has become progressively crippled before their eyes".
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Building a Better Rheumatologist (Best of 2015)
There’s a certain comfort to work that is rote, mechanistic and almost automatic.
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Alcohol and Methotrexate - What Do You Advise? (Best of 2015: #9)
What are your rules on methotrexate and alcohol use? How about casual, social or occasional alcohol use? If one alcoholic beverage is ok, what about 2, 3 or six while taking MTX?
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Preventing Hepatitis B Reactivation Due to Immunosuppressive Drug Treatments (Best of 2015)
Reactivation of hepatitis B virus infection can have devastating consequences, especially amongst those patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy.
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