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

Rheumatology and the Patient-Centered Home

J. Timothy Harrington, MD, and Eric D. Newman, MD  |  Issue: July 2010  |  

The momentum already gained in support of the Medical Home requires that rheumatologists and the ACR become advocates for subspecialty leadership in chronic disease care.37 We believe strongly that we put our patients and our specialty at risk if we do nothing, ignore the current health policy direction, continue to deliver healthcare as has been done for the past 100 years, are not proactively working with our colleagues in primary care to define our role, and do not contribute substantially to redesigning how chronic disease care is implemented. The recently approved ACR Position Statement on the Medical Home is an important first step in the right direction.7

Dr. Harrington is professor in the division of rheumatology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison. Dr. Newman is director of the department of rheumatology and vice-chair of the division of medicine at Geisinger Health System in Danville, Pa.

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