Doctors, payers collaborate to simplify and align quality measures
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and America’s Health Insurance Plans on Feb 16 announced a set of core quality measures across seven areas that will serve as the foundation for a... (Source: Rheumatology News)
Source: Rheumatology News - February 17, 2016 Category: Rheumatology Source Type: research
Consider comorbidities in psoriasis treatment for better outcomes
GRAND CAYMAN – Emerging data increasingly link psoriasis with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and depression, leading one expert to suggest a more integrated approach to care in patients with these... (Source: Rheumatology News)
Source: Rheumatology News - February 17, 2016 Category: Rheumatology Source Type: research
CMS clarifies how to report Medicare overpayments
There is finally some clarity about how to report and return Medicare overpayments, under a final rule... (Source: Rheumatology News)
Source: Rheumatology News - February 12, 2016 Category: Rheumatology Source Type: research
CMS extends deadline for 2015 EHR attestation
Physicians and hospitals will have an extra 2 weeks to attest to meaningful use of electronic health records in 2015. (Source: Rheumatology News)
Source: Rheumatology News - February 12, 2016 Category: Rheumatology Source Type: research
AMA spending tops health-sector lobbying
The health sector let itself be heard in Washington in 2015, as the American Medical Association and three other organizations spent their way into the lobbying top 10, according to the Center for... (Source: Rheumatology News)
Source: Rheumatology News - February 11, 2016 Category: Rheumatology Source Type: research
Fibromyalgia found in 20% with spondyloarthritis; could affect management decisions
The presence of fibromyalgia in patients who are undergoing treatment of spondyloarthritis (SpA) is associated with higher measures of disease activity and shorter duration of first-time treatment... (Source: Rheumatology News)
Source: Rheumatology News - February 11, 2016 Category: Rheumatology Source Type: research
Borrelia mayonii is new cause of Lyme disease variant
A new species of Borrelia has been linked to a variant of Lyme disease with symptoms that differ somewhat from typical Lyme borreliosis.
Of 100,545 routine clinical specimens tested at the... (Source: Rheumatology News)
Source: Rheumatology News - February 11, 2016 Category: Rheumatology Source Type: research
Law & Medicine: Which doctors get sued?
Question: Doctors are more prone to lawsuits if they:
A. Have been sued before.
B. Spend fewer dollars per hospitalized patient.
C. Show poor communication... (Source: Rheumatology News)
Source: Rheumatology News - February 10, 2016 Category: Rheumatology Source Type: research
House panel says Medicare biosimilar payment plan will stifle innovation
Questions linger as to whether federal health care payment policies will encourage – or stifle – the entry of more biosimilars into the marketplace.
Getting the biosimilar approval process right... (Source: Rheumatology News)
Source: Rheumatology News - February 10, 2016 Category: Rheumatology Source Type: research
Greater myocardial inflammation found in RA patients after heart attack
The presence of rheumatoid arthritis in individuals who died from a myocardial infarction was associated with greater inflammatory burden at different levels of myocardial tissue than in those... (Source: Rheumatology News)
Source: Rheumatology News - February 10, 2016 Category: Rheumatology Source Type: research
Biosimilar infliximab gains FDA Advisory Committee endorsement
A biosimilar agent to Remicade, the brand-name and reference form of infliximab, stayed on track to become the second biosimilar drug to enter the U.S. market... (Source: Rheumatology News)
Source: Rheumatology News - February 10, 2016 Category: Rheumatology Source Type: research
Data, new partnerships key to prepping for value-based care
AUSTIN, TEX. – Gathering data, seeking new partnerships, and showing leadership are the key ways to prepare for value-based medical practice, according to Houston-based health law attorney <a... (Source: Rheumatology News)
Source: Rheumatology News - February 9, 2016 Category: Rheumatology Source Type: research
Bringing a baby to the office
I’ve previously written about how my secretary took 8 weeks off for maternity leave. Well, she’s back now, and brought a new staff member with her.
I know several doctors who are horrified that I... (Source: Rheumatology News)
Source: Rheumatology News - February 9, 2016 Category: Rheumatology Source Type: research
SCCA2: Potential biomarker for psoriasis severity and treatment efficacy
The level of serum squamous cell carcinoma antigen 2 – an isoform of SCCA that is widely used as a tumor marker for SCC – was significantly higher in both skin and serum of patients with psoriasis,... (Source: Rheumatology News)
Source: Rheumatology News - February 9, 2016 Category: Rheumatology Source Type: research
USPSTF: Screen all adults for depression
All adults, including pregnant and postpartum women, should be screened for depression, according to new recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
The recommendation also calls for... (Source: Rheumatology News)
Source: Rheumatology News - February 8, 2016 Category: Rheumatology Source Type: research
