ACR on Air

The weekend of Convergence 2023 continues! Dr. Sindhu Johnson presented the new 2023 ACR Interstitial Lung Disease Guidelines (which can be found here ) and joins us today as its first author. Learn all about the recommendations, monitoring, how to approach treatment and when to change it as well as what gaps were noticed that inspired the new guidelines and the intent of the guidelines going forw...

Welcome to "ACR Convergence on Air" (ACoA)! Our daily coverage of ACR Convergence 2023! First up: what is thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) and what is its significance for rheumatology? How does TMA present in clinic and what are the challenges in diagnosing it? Chief of the Division of Hematology and Medical Director of the Clinical Coagulation and the Platelet Antibody Laboratories at Duke Unive...

ACR Convergence 2023 begins this Saturday! Dr. Hausmann gets on the mic for this short preview to unveil all of the exciting new things you'll hear, all week long, on our podcast! Be sure to wake up with Jon this Saturday morning, and every morning, during this year's Convergence!

Your patients are seeing you regularly, and things are going well. What else could they possibly need ? In this week's episode , we discussed the support a patient organization can contribute between visits to your office and the type of support they provide patients, such as navigating the pitfalls of insurance coverage, managing the complexities of school, work, family, relationships with a chro...

ACR Convergence 2023 is very nearly here , and with it only being a few weeks away, it's also time for our annual preview episode! What's new this year? What returning favorites are coming back? What can we expect from the San Diego Convention Center? Jon talks to our AMPC Chair, Dr. Sharon Kolasinski once more to tease this year's meeting, which in many ways builds on your feedback from last year...

Most may find the topic of advocacy to be uninteresting or too big to tackle with such busy schedules. However, our guests this week, Dr. Belinda Birnbaum, MD and Lennie Shewmaker McDaniel, JD, truly breathe life into this matter while explaining the role the American College of Rheumatology ha s on Capitol Hill and how you (yes YOU) can play an important and rewarding role. We discuss what RheumP...

Congratulations, you've completed your rheumatology fellowship! Armed with the knowledge , skills and passion for treating complex rheumatic disease you're set to go off into the world and help those who need your set of skills most. So. .. How do you do that? Our next guest, Dr. Sunil Abra ham joins us to unpack and demystify this next challenge in your career – from his experience. We discuss th...

No matter what stage of your career   you're in, the   Rheumatology Research Foundation can help and support your research endeavors. This week, we discuss many of the grants The Foundation offers, not just to medical students and early career investigators, but also to medical educators, community rheumatologists and fellowship programs. We've invited Dr. Ted Mikuls , MD, MSPH, the chair of the S...

Our eyes : reflections of the soul, can say more than lips without need of translation and give us a glimpse into st ories only a journey can record. Our next guest knows this all too well as he's made a career of looking at rheumat ic disease through a differ ent lens. Quite literally. Join us this week for an illum inating discussion with Dr. James T. Rosenbaum, MD, rheumatologi st and author of...

In this week's episode, we've invited Dr. Irene Blanco, MD, MS, to the show for a discuss ion regarding healthcare dispar ities . What are healthcare disparities ? What causes them? Are there any disparities specific to r heumatology ?   We examin e the consequences , explore the impact of patient outcomes, and the challenges faced by communities   and some solutions you and your practice can enga...

Health research methodologist and clinical epidemiologist, Dr. Emily Sirotich , PhD is our guest this week who sheds light on a growing paradig m shift in medicine: patient part icipation in r esearch. Once only considered to be the beneficiaries of rese arch and care, Dr. Sirotich is here to discuss with us the evolving role patients and pat ient organizations have and how they are helping to lea...

Sarcoidosis: What is it? Why does it occur? Are there any potential environmental triggers? Our guest, Dr. Adam Morgenthau, sheds light on these and more, including making the diagnosis of sarcoidosis, the need for imaging or biopsy and how it will distinguish between organ involvement and organ damage. And, perhaps just as important, we discuss when to treat it, including the various medications...

This week, we invited Dr. Paul Dellaripa to discuss why patients and providers should be concerned regarding increases in heat, pollution, and allergens and how they may negatively impact people with rheumatic diseases. We discuss how environmental factors could contribute to the development of autoimmunity in people who were otherwise previously healthy and how these factors may also cause exacer...

This week we've invited Dr. Lauren Henderson of Boston Children's Hospital to discuss what Macrophage Activation Syndrome (M AS) is, how to diagnose it and which medications are used to treat it. Dr. Henderson also explains her efforts to partner with healthcare professionals in other fields ( who may use a different name for M AS ) see king to understand what treatments they use when confronted w...

Join us this week for a very special episode, that is just as much a personal story as it is an educational discussion. Dr. Jon Hausmann discusses a vasculitis disease that affects cartilage, particularly around the ears, nose , joints , eyes and throat, known as Relapsing Polychon dritis (RP) . Our guest , board certified in internal medicine, critical care, infectious diseases, and rheumatology...

Calcium Pyrophosphate Deposition ( CPPD) - is  one of the most common inflammatory arthritis in the world, and yet, it  doesn't receive  the recognition it deserves. Our discussion today will feature everything you've ever wanted to know about this disease. We 'll review  the basics , diagnosis through arthrocentesis and various imaging studies, creating classification criteria for CPPD, treating...

This week we discuss a pressing issue facing healthcare in the United States: The shortage of rheumatologists nationwide. With millions of Amer ican suffering from rheumatic diseases, the demand for specialized care has never been greater. Meanwhile, the supply of rheumatologists has not kept pace with this demand. Leaving many patients struggling to access the care they need. Today, we are joined...

Gout, despite being one of the most well-known and recognizable rheumatic diseases, still has large populations of people struggling with its management, as they do not receive urate-lowering treatment, even when they qualify. Of those who receive this treatment, only a small percentage reach their target urate goal. To shed some light on this, we've invited Dr. Nicola Dalbeth , a Specialist Rheum...

Founder of Attune Health and Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA , Dr. Swamy Venuturupalli is our guest today! We discuss innovative tech solutions designed to keep you, the clinician , working smarter , not harder. Dr. Venuturupalli explains some of his favorite tech adoptions in his practice , such as use of VR , AI, social media, and other sof...

" Rheumatology For A l l " is an organization with a global mission: To increase access to rheumatology care in under-resourced regions. They aim to create self-sustaining rheumatology training programs by funding the education of local physicians to become rheumatologists and provide educational programs for local physicians. Much of the organization's work is done in d eveloping nations througho...

This week w e discuss what a biosimilar is, why they're causing such controversy and why they've taken seven years, since the FDA approv ed Amgevita , to come to market. We review the evidence behind the safety and efficacy of these drugs, the data from switching from a bio-originator to a biosimilar, and how the approval of the drugs may lower the health care costs and improve access to the se me...

This week, we have the distinct privilege to interview Dr. Dan Kaster, "The Father of Autio inflammatory Diseases". His discoveries have taught us a great deal about how the immune system works, both in health and disease. His work has contributed to finding effective treatments for conditions that previously caused significant suffering and early death. Discussions around the many autoinflammator...

This week, our guest is Assoc. Prof. Of Medicine in Rheumatology at Loma L inda Univ. And board certified from the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine and Chair of ACR's Government Affairs Committee, Dr. Christina Downey. Dr. Downey d iscusses and shares with us how to c ounsel and provide small and practical steps for patients to improve their wellness as well as t ips on staying healthy while j...

In this episode, we take a deep dive into the life of a researcher.  We've invited Dr. Jeffrey Sparks to share with us how he ended up as an R01 independent researcher. We'll learn how the sausage is made, as they say, of a successful grant submission.  Jeff will share with us how he became interested in research, the skills he gained along the way, how mentors were necessary for his success, and...

This week, Dr. Alfred Kim joins Dr. Hausmann for a reflective episode, highlighting memorable moments and key learning takeaways from ACR Convergence 2022, in our final episode of the year. Have a happy and healthy new year.