Newsroom

Lupus Initiative panel moderator, award winning journalist Brenda Blackmon, shares her story.

Reducing Disparities in the Delivery of Healthcare to Patients with Lupus: A Q&A with Sam Lim, MD, Consortium Chair of the Lupus Initiative

ACR board president asks medical practitioners, “Are you unbiased? Are you sure?”

As the need to reduce the high burden of preventable disease and premature death experienced by racial and ethnic minorities increases, recognizing and managing bias becomes an important clinical concern, one that no provider can afford to ignore.

We all know that systemic lupus erythematosus disproportionately impacts women and racial and ethnic minorities. We also know that people of lower socioeconomic status are often diagnosed later and have poorer outcomes after diagnosis. The groups that are genetically at greater risk for SLE, namely women and minorities, are also more likely to be poor and uninsured.

Over the past three years, members of The Lupus Initiative consortium have worked together to transform lupus education by leading an effort aimed at eliminating ethnic, racial, and gender disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of lupus through education. Because of these unique collaborations, this catalytic effort not only has the potential to produce meaningful outcomes; it has also established an effective model for success in educational philanthropy.

Lupus Initiative consortium chair offers insights on the special challenges of lupus diagnosis in primary care and sheds light on how primary care physicians can ensure better outcomes for their patients with lupus.

Lupus Initiative consortium member pens an article highlighting how lupus is a touchstone for the U.S. healthcare system and care for vulnerable patients.

Former ACR board president underscores how The Lupus Initiative offers a strategic & proactive approach to patient care for the medical profession.

The Lupus Initiative salutes patients & providers that are advancing lupus care.

Excerpted from FDA News Release, dated March 9, 2011 The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Benlysta (belimumab) for the treatment of lupus patients with active autoantibody- positive systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).  The last drugs to receive FDA approval…