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An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

Coding Corner Answers: Using NP/PA Services in Practice

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Take the challenge. Scenario 1—A: The nurse practitioner may act as the supervising physician if it’s within the scope of practice for the NP and should be coded as follows: CPT: 96413, 96415, J1745 x 30, J1200 x 1 Diagnosis ICD:10: M05.79 Scenario 2—A: To qualify as an incident-to service, the PA can provide the…

Coding Corner Questions: Using NP/PA Services in Practice

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Scenario 1: Direct Billing A 70-year-old female patient with rheumatoid arthritis in multiple joints and positive rheumatoid factor returns to the practice for her fourth infusion of infliximab with the nurse practitioner (NP). She reports no fevers, cough, dyspnea or concurrent illness. She rates the severity of her joint pain at 6 on a 10-point…

Don’t Miss 2020 E/M Coding Workshop in New Orleans

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Access to good training and education on practice management and coding issues has proved beneficial to physician success. Getting up-to-date information on compliance, insurance reimbursement, office efficiency, coding and billing is crucial for effective and efficient practice management. The ACR’s Committee on Rheumatologic Care (CORC) has created the premier one-day E/M Documentation Trends and Best…

VERA Aims to Expand Rheumatology Care for the Underserved

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The ACR’s Volunteers to Expand Rheumatology Access (VERA) initiative recently launched a new webpage to provide helpful information to rheumatology healthcare providers interested in volunteering to care for uninsured and under­insured patients with rheumatic disease. This resource, VolunteerRheumCare.org, provides answers to frequently asked questions related to providing free care, as well as links to organizations…

The Rheumatology Research Foundation Welcomes New Leaders

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The Rheumatology Research Foundation has appointed S. Louis Bridges Jr., MD, PhD, to serve as president for a two-year term. Dr. Bridges has served as the director of the University of Alabama–Birmingham (UAB) Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology since 2009. He is also the director of the UAB Comprehensive Arthritis, Musculo­skeletal, Bone and Autoimmunity…

Proposed Changes May Loosen Federal Fraud & Abuse Laws

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The Stark law and the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) are the U.S. healthcare system’s primary fraud and abuse laws, and highly anticipated proposed reform plans from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) were finally unveiled on Oct. 17, 2019. The proposed reforms would 1) clarify certain requirements…

5 Challenges in the Treatment & Diagnosis of Lupus

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A recent study published in Lupus Science & Medicine lays out five of the top barriers impeding progress in lupus diagnosis and treatment.1 The Addressing Lupus Pillars for Health Advancement project (ALPHA), led by the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA), researchers at the Tufts School of Medicine Center for the Study of Drug Development (Tufts…

How to Diagnose Upper Extremity Injuries

Mike Fillon  |  

ATLANTA—Two ways to investigate injuries to the upper extremities are by in-depth physical examinations and ultrasound. In a Clinical Practice session at the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting, Anatomy: Correlating Physical Exam and Ultrasound in Common Sports Injuries of the Upper Extremity, Carlin Senter, MD, FACP, associate professor of primary care sports medicine at the University…

From Chronic Low Back Pain to Axial Spondyloarthritis

Mike Fillon  |  

ATLANTA—Research into possible genetic drivers of the axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), including the role of the genetic marker HLA-B27, is advancing, John D. Reveille, MD, professor and vice chair of medicine at the University of Texas McGovern Medical School, Houston, told attendees at the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting. Dr. Reveille delivered the Philip Hench, MD, Memorial…

Tactics for Bolstering the Rheumatology Workforce

Mike Fillon  |  

ATLANTA—The rheumatology profession faces a severe shortfall of practitioners that threatens the ability to address patients’ needs. “Even if we doubled the number of positions for fellowship training, we wouldn’t meet the increasing demand on our workforce,” said Marcy B. Bolster, MD, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston, and director of the…