ACR on Air Podcast

This month’s show focuses on advocacy in the rheumatology space. Our host chats with Lennie Shewmaker McDaniel, director of congressional affairs for the ACR, and Amanda Grimm Wiegrefe, the ACR’s director of regulatory affairs about advocacy wins and losses for 2020, the upcoming priorities for 2021, and how listeners can get involved.

Speaker Amanda Grimm Wiegrefe - Amanda Grimm Wiegrefe is the director of regulatory affairs for the American College of Rheumatology. In this staff role, she is responsible for all activities and policies within the Executive Branch, including CMS, FDA, CDC, and NIH. Amanda has over 10 years of experience working with a number of specialty societies, including dermatology, psychiatry, and cardiothoracic surgery. She has a Master of Science, Health Sciences in Regulatory Affairs from the George Washington University.

Speaker Lennie Shewmaker McDaniel - Lennie Shewmaker McDaniel, JD, is the director of congressional affairs for the American College of Rheumatology. Her 14 years of public policy experience includes roles as legislative staff managing healthcare for a Member of the House majority leadership, representing a portfolio of healthcare organization clients for a private government relations firm, managing a PAC representing over 60 Members of Congress, and serving on the finance and policy teams of multiple political campaigns. Lennie holds a degree in political science and writing from Birmingham-Southern College and a Jurist Doctorate from the University of Georgia School of Law.

Resources:

• American College of Rheumatology Legislative Action Center
• Advocates for Arthritis
• RheumPAC
• The Affordable Care Act
• Hydroxychloriquine
• Telehealth
• American College of Rheumatology Workforce Study
• American College of Rheumatology Step Therapy Position Statement
• Most Favored Nation

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This month our host chats with Dr. Liz Ferucci about a study that focuses on telehealth use for rheumatoid arthritis follow ups. Dr. Suleman Bhana also joins as a special guest. The study was published in the American College of Rheumatology’s journal, Arthritis & Rheumatology.

Speaker Elizabeth Ferucci, MD, MPH's, Elizabeth Ferucci, MD, MPH’s, primary appointment is at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium in Anchorage, Alaska. She is also an affiliate associate professor in the division of rheumatology, department of medicine at the University of Washington. She earned a medical degree from New York University School of Medicine and a master’s degree in public health from John Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Ferucci's primary research interest is the epidemiology of autoimmune diseases in Alaska Native and American Indian people, especially rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, which are present at high rates in Alaska Native people. She also focuses on improving health outcomes in these populations.

Speaker Suleman Bhana, MD - Suleman Bhana, MD, chair of the ACR Communications and Marketing Committee, is a rheumatologist at Crystal Run Healthcare in Middletown, New York.

Resources:

• Factors Associated with Use of Telemedicine for Follow-up of Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Follow up study: Outcomes and quality of care in rheumatoid arthritis with or without video telemedicine follow‐up visits
• RAPID 3 Score
• Quality Measures
• ACR Convergence 2020
• ACR Convergence 2020 Abstracts
• ACR Advocacy
• Telemedicine
• Alaska Native Tribal Consortium

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This month’s show features a guest author discussing, Dr. Yusuf Yazici, discussing his team’s efforts to create a drug treatment for osteoarthritis. The study was published in the American College of Rheumatology’s journal, Arthritis & Rheumatology.

Speaker Yusuf Yazici, MD - Yusuf Yazici, MD, is a clinical associate professor in the department of medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and the chief medical officer at Samumed. He completed his medical degree at Istanbul University, a residency at Creighton University School of Medicine and his fellowship at the Hospital for Special Surgery. He has a special interest in in Behcet’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and vasculitis.

Speaker Suleman Bhana, MD - Suleman Bhana, MD, chair of the ACR Communications and Marketing Committee, is a rheumatologist at Crystal Run Healthcare in Middletown, New York.

Resources:

• Osteoarthritis Fact Sheet
• Rheumatoid Arthritis Fact Sheet
• Lorecivivint, a Novel Intraarticular CDC‐like Kinase 2 and Dual‐Specificity Tyrosine Phosphorylation‐Regulated Kinase 1A Inhibitor and Wnt Pathway Modulator for the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Phase II Randomized Trial
• WOMAC Osteoarthritis Index

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This month we’re giving you a preview of ACR Convergence 2020, the ACR’s annual meeting, which will be held November 5–9 in an all-virtual environment. Our host chats with Vicki Shanmugam, MD, and Swamy Venuturupalli, MD, about the shift to a virtual event this year, what’s changing and staying the same, must-attend sessions, including special COVID-19 discussions, and what participants can expect from this all-encompassing experience.

Speaker Vicki Shanmugam, MD - Vicki Shanmugam, MD, is Director of the George Washington University Division of Rheumatology at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. A native of London, she has an active clinical practice caring for patients with autoimmune diseases, vasculitis, and Hidradenitis Suppurativa. Her research interests include the interplay between the host immune response in the wound bed microbiome in patients with Hidradenitis along with targeted biologic therapies for Hidradenitis Suppurativa and Scleroderma. Dr. Shanmugam currently serves as Chair of the Annual Meeting Planning Committee for the ACR.

Speaker Swamy Venuturupalli, MD - Swamy Venuturupalli, MD, is the founder of Attune Health which is based in Los Angeles. He is dedicated to taking care of patients and conducting research that aims to find cures for rheumatic diseases. During his career, he has been involved in over 150 clinical trials of cutting-edge therapies for illnesses such as inflammatory muscle disease, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and other autoimmune diseases. Dr. Venuturupalli currently serves as Chair of the Education Committee for the ACR.

Resources:

• ACR Convergence 2020
• ACR Convergence Program
• Global Rheumatology Alliance
• ACR Convergence Registration

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September is Rheumatic Disease Awareness Month, RDAM for short, and in this episode, we’re talking with Dr. Kanika Monga about a few of the 100+ rheumatic diseases, the 54 million Americans with a rheumatic condition, and the results of a nationwide patient survey. RDAM is hosted every September by the American College of Rheumatology and its Simple Tasks™ awareness campaign.

Speaker Kanika Monga - Kanika Monga, MD, is a member of the American College of Rheumatology’s Communication and Marketing Committee. She completed her internship and residency training at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston and performed her fellowship in rheumatology there as well. Dr. Monga’s interests include medical journalism and patient advocacy. She has also done research on work disability and spondyloarthritis. She also has a special interest in media, radio and providing overall awareness and understanding of rheumatology and rheumatic diseases.

Resources:

• Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Statistics for Rheumatic Disease
• ACR Convergence 2020
• ACR COVID-19 Guidances
• Simple Tasks – Rheumatic Disease Awareness Month
• Rheumatic Disease Awareness Month 2020 Survey Results
• Osteoarthritis Patient Fact Sheet
• Lupus Patient Fact Sheet
• Rheumatoid Arthritis Patient Fact Sheet
• Rheumatology Workforce Shortage Study
• Advocates for Arthritis
• Step Therapy

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