The Handoff: Your Week in Rheumatology News – 1/6/17

–Lawrence O. Gostin, JD, and colleagues ponder where the new US presidential administration will take the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in a new JAMA viewpoint article.

–Speaking of the ACA: Gail R. Wilensky, PhD, of Project HOPE, highlights the challenges in ensuring that 20 million newly-insured people retain coverage should the ACA be repealed.

–The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) recently revised its recommendations for the management of early arthritis, including faster referral to specialists after onset of symptoms.

–Analysis by the OMERACT Task Force found that identifiable early MRI changes can predict long-term joint damage in RA. Results were recently published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

–Isaac Kohane, MD, PhD, of Harvard Medical School, spoke to Cardiology Advisor about the future of artificial intelligence in clinical medicine.

–A patient’s explanatory style is directly linked to risk of elevated mortality among those with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a study published in the Journal of Rheumatology found.

–Smartphone apps have the potential to improve both medical care and patient satisfaction in RA, according to Alexis R. Ogdie-Beatty, MD, MSCE, of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

–A rule meant to reduce costs linked to rising prescription drug prices under Medicare Part B has been scrapped, according to US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).   

–Personality traits can be linked to RA risk and mortality rate in patients with existing RA, according to research published in the Journal of Rheumatology.

–Health.com compiled the top 9 things that patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) want people to know. Read them here.

–Three-year apremilast (Otezla®, Celgene) monotherapy resulted in improved PsA symptoms.

–Is the influenza vaccine safe for adults with systemic lupus erythematosus? Researchers from Taipei Medical University found that it is. 

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