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Not-for-Profit to Offer 20 Generic Drugs in 2019 to Alleviate Shortages

Jilian Mincer  |  

(Reuters)—A new not-for-profit supplier of generic drugs formed by a consortium of hospitals systems said it expects this year to be able to provide about 20 products to alleviate shortages of medicines used during surgeries and to treat life-threatening conditions, such as septic shock. Since the start-up of Civica Rx spearheaded by Intermountain Healthcare was…

Rheumatology Board Certification: Exploring Change

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The ACR has been engaged in a measured, inclusive process with rheumatologists to determine if rheumatology board certification should move from the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) to the American Board of Allergy and Immunology (ABAI), which would become a new, combined board of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology. “As ACR leaders have traveled around…

Do Osteoporosis Screening Guidelines Meet Patient Needs?

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A recent study found that clinical practice guidelines for osteoporosis screening vary in quality and recommendations—even within the same country. Assessing guidelines from 13 countries, researchers found osteoporosis screening standards have not improved over time and many fail to include patients in guideline development…

Med Student Documentation Guidelines Need Careful Implementation

Will Boggs, MD  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—New student-documentation guidelines from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) require careful implementation to avoid reductions in meaningful teaching physician involvement, according to a new report. The revised Medicare Claims Processing Manual allows the teaching physician to verify in the medical record any student documentation of services, rather than re-documenting…

Walgreens & Microsoft Partner to Develop Digital Healthcare Services

Reuters Staff  |  

(Reuters)—Drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc and Microsoft Corp said on Tuesday they have entered a seven-year agreement to research and develop new methods of delivering healthcare services through digital devices. As a part of the deal, the companies will focus on virtually connecting people with Walgreens stores and provide services on therapeutic areas ranging…

2019 RheumPAC Resolutions

Zachary Wallace, MD, MSc  |  

This year’s RheumPAC members are excited to build on their 2018 accomplishments. In 2018, we raised $144,000 from 323 individual investors. Thank you to everyone who invested and to those who supported advocacy for ACR/ARP, its members and our patients. We also introduced a new way for non-individuals (e.g., rheumatology practices, state and local rheumatology…

Rheumatology Advocacy in 2019

Angus B. Worthing, MD, FACP, FACR  |  

A belated Happy New Year to my fellow advocates! Here’s your first update for 2019 on what the rheumatology community should know is going on in Washington, D.C., right now. Current Climate On Jan. 3, the 116th Congress gaveled into session with Democrats in control of the House of Representatives and Republicans still the majority in the…

Coding Corner Answers: Billing for Joint Injection within a Series

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Take the challenge. CPT: 20611-LT, J7325-EJ ICD-10: M17.12, E66.01, Z68.41 Coding/Billing Rationale No evaluation and management (E/M) code was added because there was no significant and/or separate identifiable reason for an E/M service to be billed with this scheduled visit for her series of injections. The joint injection was billed with ultrasound guidance due to…