Results from a 20-year, cohort study add to the evidence that depression increases the risk of developing an autoimmune disease, specifically SLE in women. Lead investigator Andrea Roberts, PhD, says, “There may be direct biological effects of depression that increase the risk of autoimmune disease.”…
Patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) may have worse overall oral health than the general population. A recent study revealed an association between AS and oral ulcers…
Upadacitinib is an investigational, oral, small molecule JAK1-selective inhibitor, which recently completed phase 3 clinical trials for treating patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In late 2018, AbbVie Inc. submitted a New Drug Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as well as a marketing authorization application to the European Medicines Agency,…
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled an ambitious proposal to move all Americans into the government’s Medicare health insurance program, tapping into public frustration over the rising cost of healthcare that has become a key issue for the party as it seeks to gain control of Congress and the White House in…
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters)—U.S. Senators called drug pricing practices “morally repugnant” and told drug company executives they do not want to hear them blame others for the high prices, taking an aggressive stance at the start of a Senate hearing on the rising costs of prescription medicines. Executives from Abbvie Inc., AstraZeneca PLC., Sanofi SA, Pfizer…
According to results of a recent study of all-cause and cause-specific mortality trends of end-stage renal disease due to lupus nephritis from 1995 to 2014, the all-cause premature mortality rate improved among white, African American and Hispanic patients, with reduced risk of death from CVD and infection. Jorge et al. observed a 32% reduction in mortality. This improved survival may be explained by a combination of improvements in the management of ESRD and of underlying SLE…
In the next few weeks, you may be selected to participate in an AMA/Specialty Society RVS Update Committee (RUC) survey for physician office visits (99202-99205, 99211-99215) and a new prolonged services code (99XXX). As you may know, the components of the Medicare Physician Payment Schedule are physician work, practice expense and professional liability insurance. This…
The 2019–2020 legislative cycle in the states holds real hope and opportunity for critical reforms to protect rheumatology practices and patients. It is important to note that because of the state legislative process, bill passage almost always comes later in the legislative session. Although the rheumatology community has not yet seen many official wins, early…
A note from ARP President Hazel L. Breland, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA: Some time has passed since the ACR first published its NP/PA Rheumatology Curriculum Outline. Originally developed to serve as a guide for rheumatologists to onboard a nurse practitioner (NP) or physician assistant (PA) into the rheumatology practice setting, the ACR has realized this valuable resource…
Join us for the Rheumatology Documentation and Coding Workshop taking place during the 2019 State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium, Friday, April 5 in Chicago. The Rheumatology Documentation and Coding Workshop will take a deep dive into the new Medicare coding and documentation requirements for evaluation and management coding, medical decision making and specificity in diagnosis coding. Due…