Rheumatology Practice Management October 2019 Vol 7 No 1

Grand Rapids, MI—Getting to the root of what patients really want begins with abandoning assumptions, according to Kari Kalgren, LBC, LSSGB, Director, K2 Health Training Solutions, Charlotte, NC. Read More ›

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a plant-based compound that has grown in popularity over the past several years, especially among individuals seeking relief from chronic pain. However, there is a lack of scientific data regarding the safety and efficacy of CBD-based products, as well as uncertainty about their legality, which has led to confusion among patients and healthcare providers. To provide some clarity on these issues, the Arthritis Foundation has released the first guidance for adults with arthritis who are considering trying, or who are already using, CBD to alleviate pain associated with their disease. Read More ›

San Francisco, CA—At the Coalition of State Rheumatology Organizations (CSRO) 2019 Fellows Conference, James S. Haliczer, Esq, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Haliczer, Pettis & Schwamm, PA, Fort Lauderdale, FL, offered valuable advice to attendees regarding medical malpractice lawsuits. Read More ›

San Francisco, CA—Seth Ginsberg, BS, Co-Founder, CreakyJoints, and Co-Founder and President, Global Healthy Living Foundation, Upper Nyack, NY, knows firsthand how it feels to be a rheumatology patient. Diagnosed with spondyloarthropathy when he was an adolescent, he co-founded CreakyJoints, an online patient community for people with all forms of arthritis, at age 18 years. Mr Ginsberg shared his insights with attendees of the Coalition of State Rheumatology Organizations (CSRO) 2019 Fellows Conference, in a session titled “10 Things Patients Want (New) Rheumatologists to Know,” which was based on responses elicited from his organization’s online community. Read More ›

Grand Rapids, MI—The events and circumstances that individuals experience during their formative years contribute to a unique generational “personality.” As the approach to healthcare continues to become more personalized, it is important for practice managers to recognize what sets one generation apart from the next, and the ways in which care should be tailored to these individual groups. Read More ›

Grand Rapids, MI—Many individuals do not like to broach the topics of finances and healthcare, but financial toxicity caused by the high price of healthcare is nondiscriminatory, and therefore incredibly necessary to discuss with patients. Concerns about money affect the choices made by the insured and uninsured alike and, in turn, greatly influence their health outcomes. Read More ›

In today’s fast-paced healthcare environment, managing health benefits requires dexterity, foresight, and collaboration. At the inaugural multistakeholder Employer-Provider Interface Council (EPIC) of the Hospital Quality Foundation interactive Leadership Conference that took place on June 11, 2019, the relationships among employer plan sponsors, employee healthcare consumers, and healthcare providers were explored. To understand how health benefits are managed to deliver value to stakeholders, several speakers discussed the importance of how to define and derive value in the rapidly changing healthcare industry. Each presentation was followed by reactions from a stakeholders panel from various segments of the healthcare industry, including consumer advocacy, employer, payer, government, and provider. Read More ›

On August 16, 2019, the FDA approved upadacitinib (Rinvoq, AbbVie) for the treatment of adult patients with moderate-to-severe active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have had an inadequate response or intolerance to methotrexate. Read More ›

On August 26, 2019, the FDA approved a new indication for ixekizumab (Taltz; Eli Lilly) for the treatment of patients with active ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Ixekizumab has received previous FDA approval for the treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy, as well as for the treatment of patients with active psoriatic arthritis. Read More ›