Doctor Visits, Complex Cases and Good Outcomes

In this week's newsround up from Rheumatology Network:

The American College of Rheumatology has issued a COVID-19 treatment guidance for pediatric patients with rheumatic disease. The organization stresses the importance of continuing to vaccinate, but they suggest that parents forgo COVID-19 antibody testing for their children.

And, in this month’s Awkward Conversations column from Dr. Kim Gorgens, she asks “What’s your communication style with patients?” Is it paternalistic? Informative? Or, collaborative? Patients generally respond better to collaborative-decision making, but not always. I encourage you to visit our site to read her column.

We continue the discussion on patient-doctor communications in today’s interview with Dr. Candace Feldman, a rheumatologist with Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Her NIH-funded research focuses on racial, ethnic and socioeconomic health disparities in lupus. Dr. Feldman, who also holds a doctorate in public health, was the 2019 recipient of the Lupus Foundation’s Young Investigator Prize. She serves on the Editorial Board of Arthritis Care & Research, on the Board of Directors of the American College of Rheumatology, and on the Medical and Scientific Advisory Board of the Lupus Foundation of America.