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

Articles by From the College

Managing Patient Records

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Physician practices handle patient records that contain sensitive information—including financial, demographic, and medical data—on a day-to-day basis. This type of information can put a practice, as well as the patient, at risk if not handled properly. Rheumatology practices should make sure that they have policies and procedures in place for keeping and distributing patient records. In fact, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has set a national standard for the privacy of health information.

Are You a Meaningful User?

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As a follow-up to last month’s article (August 2010) about the final rule for the electronic health record (EHR) stimulus program—which offers up to $64,000 to eligible providers who are meaningful users of an EHR system—this month we will explore the minimum requirements for successful meaningful use, which take effect in 2011 and will build gradually each year of the program.

Coding Education at the Annual Meeting

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The Certified Rheumatology Coding Course and Exam will be available November 6–7 during the ACR/ ARHP Annual Scientific Meeting in Atlanta. This educational session is designed to increase knowledge of coding and billing compliance for physicians, fellows-in-training, practice managers, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and coders/billers in rheumatology practices.

Annual Scientific Meeting: Health Professionals’ Perspective

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Rheumatology health professionals seeking continuing education should include the ACR/ARHP Annual Scientific Meeting on their list of must-attend meetings. No other conference offers more in rheumatic disease education and research, and this meeting provides a forum to network with over 11,000 physicians, scientists, and health professionals.

Your Coders Are as Good as Their Coding Tools

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Are your coders equipped with the latest coding information? Every year there are changes to the diagnoses and procedure codes, whether this is deletion or newly created codes. Along with coding updates, insurance carriers frequently adjust, delete, or create medical policies to reflect updates to procedures or diagnose codes.

Unique Meeting Accelerates RA Research

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More than 50 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) investigators from across the U.S. recently met in Ft. Worth, Texas, to share information, present data and results from their innovative RA research projects, and brainstorm ways to work more closely together to find a cure for the disease.

Congress Approves Six-Month “Doc Fix”—Now What?

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Congress’ May 24 vote to rescind the 21% Medicare pay cut for six months illustrates how important it is for rheumatology professionals and patients to be involved in the legislative process. It was the thousands of calls, e-mails, and letters from medical professionals and patients that spurred Congress to take action. However, the battle is not yet over. Medicare physician payments face the same 21% cut beginning December 1.