For the past 16 years, the website, creakyjoints.org, founded by arthritis patient Seth Ginsberg and social entrepreneur Louis Tharp, has offered arthritis patients and their families a safe online community where they can receive meaningful support and education. In March, the online portal added a new initiative—Arthritis Power, the first-ever patient-led, patient-generated, app-based research registry…
In June 2014, 10 members of a church group returned to St. Louis from Haiti, where they had contracted chikungunya virus (CHIKV), a mosquito-transmitted alphavirus previously unknown in the Western hemisphere that produces inflammatory arthritis symptoms. Because CHIKV-related arthritis mimics seronegative RA, a group of clinicians, immunologists, virologists and geneticists at the Washington University in…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has toughened the existing warnings for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) due to their stroke and myocardial infarction (MI) risk increase.1 Due to a continual review of these products, FDA is requiring label updates for all prescription NSAIDs. Over-the-counter (OTC) NSAIDs already list the increased risk of MI and…
“Each project adds new knowledge that brings us a little closer to the cure,” Joan Bathon, MD, of Columbia University Medical Center, says of the Rheumatology Research Foundation’s 8th Annual Investigators’ Meeting in San Diego. Dr. Bathon was one of more than 30 investigators who presented the latest progress on research funded by the Foundation’s…
The Annual Meeting Planning Committee believes the best ideas come from our members! We need your input in developing educational content that best suits the needs of our target audience. Take advantage of an opportunity to share your ideas with your colleagues by submitting a proposal for the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting. The deadline to…
Nathan Wei, MD, FACP, FACR, admits that he didn’t exactly agree with the amount certain things were encouraged in his family. “Aspects such as academics and music were focused on so much,” he says. “I wanted to break out from that upbringing. I wanted to add in more of what I wanted to do.” And…
Take the challenge. CPT: 20611-LT, J7325 X 1 ICD-9: 715.16—Osteoarthritis, localized, primary, lower leg ICD-10: M17.12—Unilateral pri- mary osteoarthritis, left knee Note: When billing for 20611—Arthrocentesis, aspiration and/or injection, major joint or bursa (e.g., shoulder, hip, knee, subacromial bursa), with permanent recording and reporting, there must be a permanent photograph of the needle placement in…
Coding for a Knee Injection A 68-year-old female patient with primary osteoarthritis of the left knee returns to the office for her scheduled hyaluronan injection. The patient reports that her knee is a little tender, but on a scale of 1–10, it is a 4. She is stiff in the morning for 10–20 minutes. The…
Maximize your meeting experience by taking advantage of the following resources: Mobile App—Create a personalized schedule, receive meeting alerts, submit session evaluations, search maps and more. Session Tracker—A printed resource you can use to record your hours of participation as you go. The session tracker will be available on site and online. Searchable Abstract Site—Search…
Advance Registration Ends Wednesday, Oct. 21 Time is running out to register at advance rates for the 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, to be held Nov. 6–11 in San Francisco. Attendees will receive firsthand access to the latest innovations, research and clinical applications transforming rheumatic disease care. Expand your knowledge into new areas of rheumatology by…