The Affiliate Society Council (ASC), a subcommittee of the Committee on Rheumatologic Care, will replace the Regional Advisory Council as a support mechanism for the ACR when working with rheumatology programs at the local and national level. It launched in January. The ASC and the ACR will work in conjunction with state and local societies on practice advocacy issues and create best practices for information sharing.
The first meeting of the ACR’s newly formed ASC was February 24–26, in conjunction with the ACR’s “Advocates for Arthritis” advocacy visit. The meeting was well attended, with an agenda that included training on structure and strategic planning for affiliate delegates and training for Capitol Hill visits.
State and local societies that join the ASC will benefit from:
- Yearly presentations from ACR-certified professional coders;
- Yearly presentations from an ACR board member providing ACR updates;
- Policy analysis from the ACR health policy department;
- Information on federal legislation;
- Access to current information on reimbursement and insurance issues;
- Participating in discussions on the ACR list serve for societies;
- Web site development using the ACR design template;
- Bi-annual meetings held at the ACR’s “Advocates for Arthritis” visit and Annual Scientific Meeting; and
- Appointing one representative to attend the ASC meetings.
ACR director of practice management Antanya Chung, CPC, CCP, states that the ACR is looking forward to finding new ways to reach out to physicians at the local level through the ASC. “The ACR is excited to bring this new program to state and local societies,” she says. “Strengthening communication with individual physicians and providing practice support is a top priority this year.”
For more information regarding the ASC or to download an application, visit www.rheumatology.org/practice, or contact Antanya Chung at (404) 633-3777, ext. 818 or achung@rheumatology.org.
Sample Office Forms
During the last quarter of 2007, the practice support section of the ACR Web site was updated to include new sample forms.
These forms can help ACR members organize and streamline the daily activities in their practices. Members are encouraged to visit this section of the site to download useful forms, including:
- Disease Activity Score Sheet;
- Health Assessment Questionnaire; and
- Super Bill.
You can also share forms that may be helpful to your fellow rheumatologists. If you have sample forms that could assist other offices, please fax them to the ACR office at (404) 633-1870, attention Melesia.
To download forms, visit www.rheumatology.org/practice and click on the Sample Office Forms link. If you have questions, contact Melesia Tillman, CPC, at (404) 633-3777 or mtillman@rheumatology.org.