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Updates and Meeting Minutes

  • 6/1/20
    • We have discussed next steps for the joint Steering Committee/CASC meeting. The tentative date is Monday June 15, 5pm EST, to take the place of the usual Steering Committee meeting. The goal of this meeting is to discuss CASC projects further, in particular internal projects using GRA provider registry data. By June 15, we anticipate that those policies will be more finalized after open discussion.In the interim, a few projects from the CASC priority grid could get underway:  T6 Literature Review
    • Topic: COVID-19 infection in patients with rheumatic disease.Given the nature of published reports thus far (ie, mostly case series), a narrative or scoping type of review might be the most appropriate. The goal of the review would be to describe what has been published so far. The review should also inform/caution readers about the limitations and biases of the data that we have so far.Ideally, the team would need 2 leads (to increase availability and distribute workload) with experience performing literature reviews. There have been a few trainees interested in getting involved in GRA projects – this is one project that would be ideal for them.  See list of volunteers here https://rheumcovid-19registry.slack.com/archives/CVBML7W5T/p1588201628102800. The team also needs to consider logistics and support – this would include a research librarian to assist with the database search. We will need to discuss with the ACR whether we would have the support of their Distiller software as with the T4 and T5 literature reviews.Rheumatology trainee survey
    • Topic: Assess how rheumatology training has been impacted by the pandemic.This survey is currently under development by several CASC members (@Aruni Jayatilleke@Kristen Young@Mike@Liz Graef). The involvement of additional members outside of the US is requested as the goal of the survey is to have global reach. Of note: The survey is expanding upon the trainee surveys already sent out from ACR FIT/ViRL.Telemedicine survey.
    • Topic: Impact of COVID-19 in rheumatology practices and providers in different practice settings: telemedicine issues, impact on private practice/groups.While we recognize that this topic was ranked lower on the priority list, the survey design and data collection would require the least amount of resources at this time. The GRA patient researchers have also identified a similar project (but with surveys aimed at patients) that they would like to pursue, and they request a collaboration with clinicians.The ask: Who is interested and available to work on this project? Who would be interested in leading the project? Initial steps would be to meet with the patient research group and see whether these proposals could be conducive to to concurrent and complementary projects (with advisors from both teams on each), or whether it would make more sense to combine them. @Emily Sirotich can identify appropriate points of contact for the patient researchers.  
  • 5/27/20 
    • Priority grid: Thank you for your work organizing the grid. These are outstanding ideas. We apologize for the delay due to the Memorial Day weekend in the US. We are communicating with the ACR Task Force regarding sharing our priority grids, and it sounds like they are also in the process of finalizing theirs. Based on the conversation that the GRA liaisons have with the ACR Task Force, we should be able to get back to the CASC on what topics are “approved” for the GRA and CASC to take on. Other projects might be better suited as a collaboration between CASC members and the ACR.
    • nternal projects: We have received inquiries and proposals for internal projects using data from the GRA provider registry and the patient surveys. We have drafted a proposal for the formation of teams within the CASC to take on these projects. We are finalizing the policy within the SC and will share it here shortly. We will need to discuss the logistics and timeline with the rest of the SC for when these internal projects can begin. This is dependent on clearing up remaining barriers in terms of sharing and analysis of the GRA data.
    • CASC/SC call: We will plan for a combined Zoom call with the CASC and the SC at a time that would work out for most time zones. We will send a Doodle poll via email once a set of dates are confirmed with the SC. We hope that an agenda can be circulated to prepare everyone for this call to ensure it runs as efficiently as possible, and all questions are answered. We are submitting a document to the SC meeting for Monday 6/1 outlining next steps, and proposing how to move these forward promptly. We will update you via the channel in the 24 hours after that meeting  
  • May 8, 2020 CASC Meeting Minutes (Word document)