More than 16,000 physicians, health professionals, and industry partners from over 100 countries will come together in San Diego this fall for the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, the world’s premier networking and educational event in rheumatology.
With over 450 sessions covering a wide variety of tracks and topics, the Annual Meeting educational experience is maximized for all attendees through diverse presentations of today’s most cutting-edge clinical and basic science, as well as the most up-to-date information on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of rheumatic diseases. No matter where in the world you practice or conduct research, the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting has something for you.
sor“Biosimilars, pain management, and infectious diseases with arthritis symptoms are just a few of the topics that will be of great interest to global attendees, as these issues know no borders,” said Richard Loeser, MD, Chair of the Annual Meeting Planning Committee. “International attendees at the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in 2017 will also enjoy a higher number of available slots on the popular Poster Tours, including those led in Spanish, and more tours overall.”
The opportunity to see and hear from the world’s top clinicians and investigators in rheumatology is invaluable, according to Enrique R. Soriano, MD, President-elect of the Pan-American League of Rheumatology Associations (PANLAR), and Chief of Rheumatology at Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires in Argentina.
“Many of the people who have published the most important papers you’ve read over the past year will be at the Annual Meeting,” Dr. Soriano said. “It’s very nice to hear from some of the field’s most relevant investigators and be able to put faces to their names.”
For rheumatologists with specific interests, Dr. Soriano said the vast number of abstract sessions, workshops, and meet-the-professor sessions offer the most current updates covering the range of rheumatologic science and clinical care.
“Also, be sure to take time to see all the posters in your field, as you will often find top rheumatologists standing by their posters, ready to answer your questions,” he said. “Spending time in the poster sessions allows you to interact with investigators in a way that the oral presentations do not.”
To get a broader view of what’s new in rheumatology, Dr. Soriano encourages everyone to begin the meeting with ACR: Year in Review on Sunday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 am; and wrap up their meeting experience with Rheumatology Roundup: Highlights From the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 8, at 7:30 am.
“The Annual Meeting is not only a chance to benefit from the experience and expertise of some of the most renowned names in rheumatology, but also an invaluable opportunity for young researchers to showcase their work and network with rheumatologists from different parts of the world,” said Olufemi Adelowo, MD, MACR, President of the African League of Associations of Rheumatology (AFLAR), and Professor of Medicine and Consultant Rheumatologist at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria.
Among the sessions Dr. Adelowo believes will be of particular interest to international attendees are the two-day pre-meeting ACR Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Course for Rheumatologists on Friday, Nov. 3, and Saturday, Nov. 4; Great Debate: Biosimilars…To Switch or Not to Switch? That Is the Question, on Sunday, Nov. 5, at 2:30 pm; and ILAR Session: How Rheumatologists Are Trained Around the Globe on Tuesday, Nov. 7, at 2:30 pm.
“People from all over the world come to the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting to present high-quality research and discuss the current standards and recent progress in various fields of rheumatology,” said Kazuhiko Yamamoto, MD, President of the Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology (APLAR) and Head of the Laboratory for Autoimmune Diseases at RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences in Yokohama, Japan.
Dr. Yamamoto said Annual Meeting’s Study Groups, which will be held daily from 1:00 – 2:00 pm, provide great opportunities to make personal contact with researchers and clinicians from so many different countries. Among this year’s study groups, he invites attendees to take part in Research Advances in Rheumatoid Arthritis in Asia-Pacific Area Study Group on Monday, Nov. 6, at 1:00 pm.
Study Groups vary between 20-50 people, but some attract as many as 70 attendees, and draw an international mix of meeting attendees. This year, study groups will focus on topics that appeal across international borders and world regions, including biologics, vaccinations, tapering strategies, refractory arthritis, and diagnosing and managing patients with rheumatic disease.
International attendees can get more information on planning and maximizing their Annual Meeting experience at www.rheumatology.org/Annual-Meeting/International-Attendees.