May 16, 2020

In This Community Health Clinic, the Rheumatologist Is In In this week's Rheumatology Network news roundup, we highlight an interview we conducted with Brian LaMoreaux, M.D., M.S., a medical director at Horizon Therapeutics and a volunteer clinical rheumatologist with CommunityHealth in Chicago. In this interview, he shares with us his experience as a rheumatologist in a community where healthcare is not always easy to come by.

DMARDs Not Linked to Poor Outcomes in SARS-CoV-2 RA Patients Data collected by doctors in Italy when the country was hit by COVID-19 should allow rheumatologists to feel more comfortable in advising patients with chronic arthritis to continue taking immunosuppressive targeted therapies. The data show that chronic arthritis patients treated with DMARDs do not seem to be at increased risk of respiratory or life-threatening complications from SARS-CoV-2.   Who should screen for hyperlipidaemia in RA patients? Rheumatologists or primary care physicians? Risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as hyperlidipaemia are not being picked up and managed in patients with rheumatology arthritis because it often falls through the gap between rheumatology and primary care provision.   Job Opportunities in Rheumatology Visit Rheumatology Network for easy access to new job opportunities in rheumatology. As a service to our readers, we've posted a national "Job Board" in the upper right-hand corner of the site. Suggestions for other content sections? Email the editor at areyes@mmhgroup.com.