Healio Rheumatology

Healio AI partners with Holland Foundation for Sight Restoration

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 19:41:12 Z

Healio AI announced an official partnership with The Holland Foundation for Sight Restoration, which is dedicated to helping those with severe ocular surface disease.
“Staying current with the most up to date medical opinions and treatment strategies is at the essence of what it means to be a physician and use best practices to treat patients,” Stephen S. Lane, MD, chair of the board of directors for The Holland Foundation for Sight Restoration (HFSR), said in a press release from The Wyanoke Group. “Today we have wonderful tools at our fingertips to gain these insights with trusted sources of

Will new reforms fix the ‘fundamentally broken’ PBM system?

Emma Bascom — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 13:55:51 Z

The recent federal reforms to pharmacy benefit managers are a meaningful step in the right direction, but the work is not over yet, according to experts.
In January 2025, the Federal Trade Commission released a report that revealed pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) overcharged for specialty generic medications — in many cases by hundreds and thousands of percent — for billions in profits. And, according to a report on U.S. Pharmacies and Pharmacy Benefit Managers, the three largest PBMs in the United States — Optum Rx (a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group), Caremark Rx (a subsidiary of CVS Health

ACR releases new guidelines for juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Karen Onel, MD; Rob Volansky — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 09:30:00 Z

Early and aggressive intervention is recommended for children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, according to new 2026 guidelines from the American College of Rheumatology.
“If a child has damage from untreated or undertreated arthritis, that will follow them forever,” Karen Onel, MD, chief of the division of pediatric rheumatology at the Hospital for Special Surgery, and professor of clinical pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine, told Healio. “We know that some children with get off medication over time as the arthritis regresses. However, if damage has already happened

FDA expands Tremfya’s label in psoriatic arthritis

Rob Volansky — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:30:00 Z

The FDA has approved a label expansion for the interleukin-23 inhibitor guselkumab to include the inhibition of structural joint damage progression in adults with psoriatic arthritis.
The label update follows data from the APEX trial, in which guselkumab (Tremfya, Janssen) yielded significantly lower rates of radiographic progression compared with placebo at 24 weeks. The analysis, which was published by Philip J. Mease, MD, of Swedish Medical Center and the University of Washington, and colleagues in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases in December, included more than 1,000 biologic-naïve

Women more likely to misrepresent Match preferences vs. men

Lucas Laboy — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:41:16 Z

Gendered differences may impact how medical students rank their preferred schools when matching for residency, according to study data published in Organization Science.
Across two studies, the data show that men and women navigate the Main Residency Match differently and highlight the need for improved education on the process, according to Samuel E. Skowronek, PhD, assistant professor of management at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, and Joyce C. He, PhD, assistant professor of management and organizations at UCLA Anderson School of Management.
“The National Resident

CMS implements work requirements for Medicaid

Emma Bascom — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:15:23 Z

CMS has issued an interim final rule that implements new work requirements for adults on Medicaid.
The new statutory requirement will apply to adults who are aged 19 to 64, not pregnant and “enrolled in the Medicaid adult group or in certain section 1115 demonstrations that provide minimum essential coverage to adult beneficiaries,” according to a CMS fact sheet. As of now, 43 states and Washington D.C. offer coverage to these populations and must implement the new requirement.
Those who are affected will now be required to engage in qualifying activities — employment, community service or some

EULAR updates physical activity recommendations in arthritis care

Max R. Wursta — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 09:30:00 Z

Educational and behavioral strategies employing technology may aid efforts to promote physical activity and reduce sedentary behavior in patients with inflammatory arthritis and osteoarthritis, according to updated EULAR recommendations.
The updates and revisions to EULAR’s 2018 physical activity recommendations were published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
The recommendations, developed by a multidisciplinary task force, include four overarching principles and 11 recommendations that address standard of care, physical activity measurement, intervention modalities, dosing and

Repurposed treatments show promise for cutaneous vasculitis

Justin Cooper; Gabrielle M. Grasso — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 15:24:01 Z

CLEVELAND — Researchers are uncovering triggers and treatments for cutaneous vasculitis, an inflammatory condition that damages the skin’s blood vessels, according to a speaker at Cleveland Clinic’s Medical Dermatology Therapy Update IV.
“About 80% percent of patients who present with cutaneous small vessel vasculitis or vasculitis in the skin have skin-limited disease,” Evan Piette, MD, director of the cutaneous vasculitis clinic at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, told Healio. “About 12% have systemic IgA vasculitis, and around 8% have another systemic vasculitis or connective tissue disease.”

Survey: What health care professionals want from AI tools

Lucas Laboy — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 14:53:15 Z

Health care professionals want AI tools that are clinically accurate, offer privacy protections and can be integrated into existing workflows, according to data from a Healio survey.
In March, Healio fielded a 27-item survey to understand how health care professionals are using AI in practice and their sentiments toward AI tools. Among 618 eligible respondents (49.5% men), 52.3% were physicians and 48.4% had more than 21 years of experience. Respondents’ primary affiliations were with private practices (45.1%), academic medical centers (21.4%) and community hospitals (19.9%), among other

Aspirin increases major hemorrhage risk in giant cell arteritis

Rob Volansky — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 09:30:00 Z

Low-dose aspirin initiated giant cell arteritis diagnosis reduced the risk for major adverse cardiac events at 1 and 3 years, but increased risk for major hemorrhage at 1 year, according to data published in JAMA Network Open.
“As in other inflammatory diseases,1 patients with GCA face an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD),” Maxime Beydon, MD, MPH, of Sorbonne University and Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, and colleagues wrote. “This risk is highest in the months following GCA diagnosis, when vascular inflammation is maximal and exposure to corticosteroids

Vunakizumab bests placebo in radiographic axial spondyloarthritis

Rob Volansky — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 09:30:00 Z

Vunakizumab, a novel interleukin 17a monoclonal antibody, is superior to placebo in radiographic axial spondyloarthritis symptom improvement, according to data published in JAMA Network Open.
“Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the recommended first-line pharmacologic treatment for [radiographic axial SpA (r-axSpA)],” Jian Zhu, MD, of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army General Hospital, in Beijing, and colleagues wrote. “For persistently high disease activity despite NSAID treatment, biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are subsequent treatment options.

Q&A: New JAMA resource shows ‘labor of love’ behind clinical trials

Andrew (Drew) Rhoades; Alison J, Huang, MD, MPhil, MAS — Fri, 29 May 2026 14:55:40 Z

JAMA Network announced a new resource called JAMA+ Trials that is “designed to elevate the visibility, accessibility and understanding of trusted clinical trial research across medicine,” according to a press release.
The platform features a searchable collection of recent trials across the JAMA Network’s 13 journals, a rotating set of trial themes designed to stimulate conversation and debate about trials, as well as tailored educational resources on trial design, conduct and reporting.
Alison J. Huang, MD, MPhil, MAS, a clinical epidemiologist and trialist who has led

Biologics coordinators drive treatment choice in rheumatology

Rob Volansky — Fri, 29 May 2026 09:30:00 Z

Biologics coordinators exert much control over the medications used in rheumatology clinics, with 80% reporting “significant” influence over biosimilar brand selection, according to findings from a recent survey by Spherix Global Insights.
“The fact that biologic coordinators report having significant influence over biosimilar brand selection highlights how central these roles have become in modern rheumatology practices,” Ryan Rex, senior director of insights at Spherix Global Insights, told Healio. “While physicians ultimately prescribe therapy, coordinators are the individuals navigating

‘Always use preservative-free eye drops’ in Sjögren’s disease

Justin Cooper — Thu, 28 May 2026 14:07:29 Z

To manage dry eye symptoms in Sjögren’s disease, use preservative-free eye drops and treat meibomian gland dysfunction, according to a paper published in Journal of Clinical Medicine.
“Dryness (sicca) of mucosal surfaces is the hallmark of adult-onset Sjögren’s disease,” Elizabeth J. Price, MD, FRCP, of Great Western Hospital, United Kingdom, and colleagues wrote. “In our experience, clinicians frequently lack confidence in managing the sicca symptoms effectively. Successful management requires an understanding of the condition and personalization of care.”
For a special issue of the journal

Rheumatic diseases linked to persistent COVID antigen positivity

Max R. Wursta — Thu, 28 May 2026 09:30:00 Z

Patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease demonstrate an increased persistence of SARS-CoV-2 antigen positivity up to 6 months after COVID-19 infection, according to data published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.
“Longer duration of SARS-CoV-2 antigen persistence in the blood has been associated with various outcomes including higher risk of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19,” Naomi J. Patel, MD, MPH, from the division of rheumatology, inflammation and immunity at Mass General Brigham, told Healio. “Individuals with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs) are

Levi-04 reduces knee osteoarthritis pain, improves function

Max R. Wursta — Wed, 27 May 2026 12:36:48 Z

A novel neurotrophin-3 inhibitor significantly reduced pain and improved function vs. placebo for patients with knee osteoarthritis, according to results presented at the Osteoarthritis Research Society International World Congress.
LEVI-04 (Levicept) is a p75 neurotrophin receptor-Fc fusion protein that inhibits neurotrophin-3 to treat pain in patients with knee OA.
“Some OA therapies have shown statistical improvements in knee pain and function vs. placebo, but it is not always clear whether the improvement would be enough to be recognised as meaningful to patients and researchers,”

Prednisolone fails to reduce arterial lesions in Kawasaki disease

Jason Laday — Tue, 26 May 2026 09:30:00 Z

Adding prednisolone to standard therapy for Kawasaki disease failed to prevent coronary artery lesions 1 month following disease onset, according to data published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
“The current standard primary treatment for Kawasaki disease is high-dose intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) with aspirin,” Siyuan Lin, MD, of the Children’s Hospital of Fudan University and National Children’s Medical Center, in Shanghai, and colleagues wrote. “However, coronary-artery lesions develop in approximately 10% to 20% of treated patients, and 8% to 25%

HHS rolls back changes to rules for membership on CDC vaccine panel

Sara Kellner — Fri, 22 May 2026 16:31:34 Z

A rewritten charter for the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee that would have loosened the rules for membership to allow for less qualified members has been withdrawn.
A document published in the Federal Register on May 19 states that the renewal for the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices charter was withdrawn due to “an administrative error in meeting the revised public notification timing requirements under the revised Federal Advisory Committee Act regulations, as amended in December 2025. As a result, the charter lapsed and the committee must be re-established.”
The previous

Healio partners with NPACE to integrate AI in continuing education

Andrew (Drew) Rhoades — Fri, 22 May 2026 13:40:36 Z

Healio has partnered with the Nurse Practitioner Associates for Continuing Education, or NPACE, to integrate its Healio AI tool into NPACE’s in-person and on-demand CME.
“NPACE is excited to further our collaboration with Healio and the new Healio AI tool,” NPACE Chief Operating Officer Josh Plotkin said in a press release. “AI is quickly ascending to the forefront of being used by advanced practice providers. Healio’s AI tool, being predicated on medical research, studies and professional insights, will enhance professional development and learning across NPACE

Treatment options for cutaneous lupus are expanding

Gabrielle M. Grasso; Justin Cooper — Fri, 22 May 2026 13:26:55 Z

CLEVELAND — For the first time in decades, targeted therapies to treat cutaneous lupus erythematosus are advancing through the research pipeline, driven by both dermatologic and rheumatologic advancements, according to a speaker.
Although there has not been a single approved drug for cutaneous lupus in 75 years, researchers are hopeful that emerging treatments will soon be available for patients, Benjamin Chong, MD, professor of dermatology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, said during a presentation at Cleveland Clinic’s Medical Dermatology Therapy Update IV.
“The