And speaking of global initiatives, our Simple Tasks Awareness campaign has been embraced by other countries and officially adopted by the British Society of Rheumatology and APLAR (Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology). The Committee on Communications and Marketing (CMC) strives to disseminate up-to-date information for our members through The Rheumatologist and more streamlined and targeted emails, such as ACR@Work and eNewsRheum. The CMC, which Kelly Weselman, MD, chairs, and Joan Roth (ACR staff) have applied creative solutions to bring about innovative communications for our members. Give us feedback on our efforts.
Treatment Guidelines, Criteria & Quality Measures Development
The Quality of Care Committee (QOC) activities have had exponential growth. ACR guideline, criteria and quality measure development is subject to strict policies to ensure minimal conflict of interest, and these ACR products are recognized worldwide. ACR guidelines include evidence-based recommendations that are rigorously developed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology. To ensure the guidelines remain up to date and to more efficiently produce and disseminate treatment guidelines, the ACR has brought oversight of the literature review and guideline development activities in house. Although requiring significant investment, once guidelines are able to be updated on a more regular basis, the payoffs will be realized.
This year, QOC activities included completion of final papers for joint ACR/EULAR Sjögren’s classification criteria, myositis classification criteria, myositis response criteria, a new glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP) guideline and a joint ACR/AAHKS (American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons) guideline focused on the perioperative management of rheumatic disease medications in people undergoing total hip or knee arthroplasty.
In addition, QOC focuses on the development, maintenance and use of quality measures in rheumatology. Quality measures are often used to define value in our specialty and assess the process and outcome of rheumatologic care, and they are key components in the MACRA incentive payment system, so it’s important that the ACR’s voice be heard in discussions about how and where measures are used. The QOC works with CORC to ensure this happens.
Although numerous volunteers have contributed to the incredible productivity of the QOC, I want to especially thank Liana Fraenkel, MD, and Lisa Suter, MD, as well as Amy Miller (ACR staff).
Our guidelines and criteria are disseminated through our journals, Arthritis & Rheumatology and Arthritis Care & Research. These publications continue to disseminate the finest basic and clinical research. Their international status is something about which all of our members should be proud.
The results of the ACR 2015 Workforce Study will be presented at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
Conclusion
In summary, this has been a wonderful year. The ACR has had numerous accomplishments due to the dedication and commitment of many people. Our leadership taskforce has implemented numerous changes to continue to recruit vibrant, diverse volunteers and leaders with the right skills to continue our success into the future. If you already volunteer, a big thank you. If you haven’t yet, I hope you consider getting involved with one of the many activities of the ACR.
