Rheum Advisor on Air

Compared with men, women have a higher incidence of autoimmune disease and are more affected by rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs).

Therefore, in light of the American Medical Association (AMA)'s Women in Medicine Month, we're highlighting the importance of recognizing women's health in rheumatology. The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) also recently released guidelines for the management of reproductive health in women with RMDs.

Our featured guest is Mehret Birru-Talabi, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and associate rheumatology fellowship program director in the Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology at the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

We will also be getting an expert input from lead author of the ACR guidelines on reproductive health in RMDs, Lisa Sammaritano, MD, attending physician, director of the Rheumatology Reproductive Health Program at the Barbara Volcker Center for Women and Rheumatic Disease in the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, and professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, New York.

With the increase in remote monitoring of patients and the provision of telemedicine services during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the role of digital health in medicine, as wearables, electronic health records, sensors, apps, and other technologies, has come to the forefront.

Especially in chronic care like rheumatology, the advent of digital health innovations and the digitization of healthcare has created new avenues for both clinicians and patients toward more efficient disease management and, in turn, potentially better health outcomes.

Our featured guests are W. Benjamin Nowell, PhD, MSW, director of patient-centered research at Global Healthy Living Foundation (GHLF) and CreakyJoints®, and Jeffrey Curtis, MD, MS, MPH, professor of medicine in the Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Although biosimilars have been proven to have equivalent efficacy and no clinically meaningful differences in safety and immunogenicity from their reference products, its use in rheumatology has generated much debate among clinicians, patients, drug manufacturers, and payers. While several of these biopharmaceuticals are still in the pipeline, biosimilars of originators, including adalimumab, etanercept, and infliximab have been approved for the treatment of patients with rheumatic diseases.

In this episode, we get further insight into the current state of biosimilars development and adoption in the United States vs other countries, interchangeability among adult and pediatric patients with rheumatologic conditions, nonmedical switching to biosimilars, and an overview of its potential cost benefits for the healthcare system.

Our featured guest is Jonathan Kay, MD, professor of medicine and population and quantitative health sciences, Timothy S. and Elaine L. Peterson Chair in Rheumatology, and director of clinical research, Division of Rheumatology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts.

In this episode, we get expert perspectives on the immunopathology and management of the cytokine storm in adult and pediatric patients with COVID-19.

Our featured guests are Scott W. Canna, MD, assistant professor of the departments of pediatrics and immunology at the University of Pittsburgh Children's Hospital and Randy Q. Cron, MD, PhD, professor of pediatrics and medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and director of the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology at Children's of Alabama.

Ethnic/racial and gender disparities remain deep-rooted in medicine and rheumatology today. In this episode and in what is one of the most pertinent topics of our times, we discuss and highlight the disproportionate burden of rheumatic diseases and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in ethnic minorities and the gender disparities observed in rheumatology care before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. How can rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals, in coalition with the patient community, address the issue of potential bias and the existing health disparities? Our featured guests are Candace H. Feldman, MD, MPH, ScD and Rosalind Ramsey-Goldman, MD, DrPH, the authors of a recent article published in Arthritis and Rheumatology on the urgent action needed with regard to the widening disparities in patients with rheumatic diseases during COVID-19.

Telerheumatology is booming now, but will the use of technology persist after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resolves? Could it be the new normal?

In part 2 of this series, we're getting perspectives from an allopathic and an osteopathic physician specializing rheumatology on the evolution of telemedicine and what the future may look like for the management of rheumatologic conditions.

Our featured guest is Zsolt Kulcsar, DO, MPH, MBA, section chief at White Plains Hospital Physician Associates and physician lead of telehealth services and medical director at East Post Road Ventures in White Plains, New York.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought telehealth to the forefront of modern medicine. Telemedicine in rheumatology, or telerheumatology, may be the future of diagnosis and treatment in rheumatology. In this 2-part episode series, we're delving deeper into the world of telerheumatology, and asking, "Could this be the new normal?"

Our featured guest is John K. Botson, MD, RPh, CCD, president of Alaska Rheumatology Alliance and rheumatologist at Orthopedic Physicians Alaska.

COVID-19 has not only had a negative influence on the health of individuals globally, but it has also mentally and physically affected healthcare professionals. In this first episode, also in light of Mental Health Awareness Month, we discuss the effect of the pandemic specifically on the health of rheumatologists and rheumatology providers, and how this, in turn, may have an impact on clinical practices and delivering patient care.

Featured guest is Max I. Hamburger, MD, Founder and Executive Chairman of United Rheumatology and Managing Partner of Rheumatology Associates of Long Island, as well as the President of the New York State Rheumatology Society. Dr. Hamburger can be reached at: [email protected].

For more, visit RheumatologyAdvisor.com or follow us on Twitter.

In this series, we look at emerging topics in the field of rheumatology from various experts. These perspectives may be related to the diagnosis and treatment of rheumatic diseases, current guidelines, practice management, patient care, and much more.

Rheum Advisor on Air is the official podcast of Rheumatology Advisor, a leading publication founded by the Haymarket Medical Network.