Video: Every Case Tells a Story| Webinar: ACR/CHEST ILD Guidelines in Practice

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

Clusters of Autoimmune Liver Disease Suggest Environmental Trigger

Reuters Staff  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—A large population-based study from the U.K. provides more evidence that some autoimmune liver diseases may be triggered by exposure to something in the environment. The study found a significant clustering of cases of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) in well-defined regions of north-east England…

Coding Corner Question: How to Bill a Rituximab Infusion Visit?

  |  

A 66-year-old female patient returns for a second infusion of rituximab for her diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis in multiple sites. She is rheumatoid factor positive. She says the pain in her knees, elbows and neck has slightly improved. She rates the severity of her pain at a 7 on a 10-point scale, which is an…

Coding Corner Answer: How to Bill a Rituximab Infusion Visit?

  |  

Take the challenge. CPT Codes: 96413, 96415 x 3, J9312 x 5, 96375, J2920 Diagnoses: M05.79 Coding Rationale As of Jan. 1, 2019, the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code for rituximab was changed from J9310 rituximab 100 mg, to the new HCPCS code J9312 (injection, rituximab, 100 mg). According to a Verywell Health…

Time Plays an Important Role in Selecting the Best Services Billing Code

  |  

The evaluation and management (E/M) code set in the American Medical Association’s Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) book lists descriptors, as well as typical times for patient visits. These times are averages of how long it takes a physician to complete all components of a visit at each level. Because the specific times identified in the…

New ACR Treasurer Selected

  |  

The ACR welcomes David Karp, MD, PhD, UT Southwestern, Dallas, to serve as ACR treasurer for 2019. As a returning member of the Executive Committee, Dr. Karp brings a breadth of ACR volunteer experience. His past roles have included serving as the Rheumatology Research Foundation president, as well as an ACR board member.

Why Fellows Should Care about ACR Advocacy

  |  

As a physician, I am an advocate. I am an advocate for my patients individually and collectively, and I am an advocate for my field: pediatric rheumatology. My own experiences as a patient drive me to integrate my patients’ perspectives into my medical decision making, and although my academic training has prepared me to best…

New Research Foundation Award Supports the Future of Rheumatology

  |  

The workforce shortage in rheumatology is a critical issue the Rheumatology Research Foundation is tackling. The number of patients with rheumatic disease is growing exponentially, and that means more health professionals and innovative approaches are needed to ensure rheumatology practices are set up to offer the best care. In 2018, the ARP released a core…

Dr. Brit Adler Treks Across Glaciers & Forages for Mushrooms

  |  

In November 2017, Brit Adler, MD, an instructor in the Division of Rheumatology at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, was traveling across a glacier in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range in Peru. At nearly 15,000 feet high, the hikers in the caravan were secured to each other by ropes secured to harnesses. At that altitude, no…

U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Allergan Bid to Use Tribe to Shield Drug Patents

Lawrence Hurley  |  

WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The U.S. Supreme Court has cast aside pharmaceutical company Allergan Plc.’s unorthodox bid to shield patents from a federal administrative court’s review by transferring them to a Native American tribe. The justices left in place a lower court ruling upholding the authority of a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office tribunal to decide the validity…

Ethics Forum: Patient Safety at Home—What Are Our Legal & Ethical Responsibilities?

Sarah F. Keller, MD, & Marcy B. Bolster, MD  |  

A 60-year-old woman with a six-month history of retroperitoneal fibrosis transfers her care to you. She initially presented with severe bilateral flank pain radiating to the abdomen and chest. A computerized tomography (CT) angiogram of the abdomen demonstrated an infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm surrounded by a thick inflammatory rind entangling the left renal vein and…