Latest News
CRA Platinum Member News: Information and resources for patients considering an autoinjector to manage the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
Giving appropriate patients the option to self-administer¹ACTEMRA® (tocilizumab) is available in different routes of administration to meet patients’ needs. Some patients may prefer the ACTEMRA ACTPen® autoinjector, which is self-administered once a week or once every...
CRA Platinum Member News: Continued coverage for patients with RA
Payer coverage information for select RA patients in California
California legislators must prioritize patients over profits
In the battle against chronic diseases, patients face an unexpected adversary: 'copay accumulators' jeopardizing access to life-saving medications, forcing impossible choices between health and sustenance. CRA President, Samy Metyas, MD shares his opinion and urges CA...
CRA Diamond Member News: Pfizer Study Recruitment
Pfizer’s Myositis Research Do you have patients with Dermatomyositis or Polymyositis who may be eligible to participate in an ongoing Phase 3 clinical research study? • This study is currently recruiting in 9 states in the USA and will add additional sites...
Rheumatologists Face Challenges in Identifying High-Quality COVID-19 Literature
Apart from the high transmission rate globally, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has seen a record number of clinical studies registered on ClinicalTrials.gov.From January 2020 to May 2020, there have been 17,998 published articles and 4385 preprints...
What Happens When COVID-19 Collides With Flu Season?
Many questions remain about how flu season might affect the pandemic, and vice versa. For example, would coinfection with influenza worsen the course of COVID-19? Experts also aren’t certain whether influenza vaccination could help protect against COVID-19 or whether...
Oxford University to Study Adalimumab as Potential COVID-19 Treatment
Oxford University said on Wednesday it will study whether the prescription medicine, adalimumab (Humira), is an effective treatment for COVID-19 patients—the latest effort to repurpose existing drugs as potential coronavirus therapies.
ANTHEM’S SPECIALTY PHARMACY MANDATE
It was brought to the CRA’s attention that Anthem Blue Cross recently notified physicians that effective December 1, 2020, it will expand its specialty medication policy to also apply to its commercial PPO and EPO plans. This new PPO policy, which goes into effect for...
CRA Press Release – October 29, 2020 re: Anthem SPP Mandate
The CRA issued a press release today outlining the dangerous policy change Anthem plans to implement for PPO and EPO subscribers. We have sent a letter to Beth Andersen, Anthem’s California Plan President requesting a meeting and reconsideration of a proposed policy...
Manuscript with ORAL Surveillance Data Available in the New England Journal of Medicine January 27 Issue
A manuscript has been published on ORAL Surveillance within the January 27 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The manuscript is entitled Cardiovascular and Cancer Risk with Tofacitinib in Rheumatoid Arthritis. This peer-reviewed publication reports results...
CRA Diamond Member News: Pfizer Medical Portal Open
The new Pfizer Medical portal is now live The new Pfizer Medical portal is a personalized digital experience that easily connects you to cross-therapeutic Pfizer medical content and experts—all in one place. Explore these resources at pfizermedical.pfizerpro.com....
CRA Diamond Member News: AS: Lessons from HCP Journeys
AS Diagnosis: Lessons from Two Rheumatologists’ Journeys With approximately 3 out of every 1000 people in North America living with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), based on a 2013 prevalence study, properly targeted care and diagnoses are key. Watch these videos to learn...