ACR advocates recently returned to Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress as part of the Advocates for Arthritis fly-in conference on Sept. 26. This annual event brings together rheumatology professionals to advocate on behalf of the rheumatology community. Core issues on which the advocates focused this year include lowering the out-of-pocket cost of…
The ACR Early Career Investigators (ECI) Subcommittee has organized two sessions at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in San Diego. These sessions are devoted to serving the needs of early career investigators including junior faculty, fellows, graduate students and post-docs. Both sessions provide unique opportunities to optimize the research landscape for early career investigators. Mentoring…
Connect with colleagues at the Basic Research Conference (BRC) and the Clinical Research Conference (CRC) pre-meeting courses at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting! The ACR has an exceptional array of research leaders lined up for this year’s BRC and CRC courses on Friday, Nov. 3, and Saturday, Nov. 4, in San Diego. Get ready to…
The ACR Rheumatology Research Workshop (RRW) is a two-day meeting designed to promote interactions between early and established investigators to foster collaboration and facilitate career mentoring. The RRW is targeted to rheumatology fellows, junior faculty, medical/graduate students, and residents interested in learning more about how to succeed in a research career for rheumatology. RRW is…
All healthcare professionals who work in rheumatology had to start adapting to a new landscape of reporting and documentation on Jan. 1 of this year when the Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Act, or MACRA, began. As the changeover continues, the Sunday ARHP session, Your New Role in the Era of…
Changes to reimbursement introduced by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) will affect your Medicare income for 2019. “Rheumatologists generally know that MACRA is up and running,” says Angus Worthing, MD, FACR, FACP, clinical assistant professor of rheumatology at Georgetown University Medical Center and chair of the ACR’s Government Affairs Committee. “Virtually every…
With the advent of biosimilars to the marketplace, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) now requires modifiers to identify the manufacturer of a biosimilar/biological product on Part B claims. Modifiers were put in place to provide the CMS with the necessary data needed to track claims payments, as well as the ability to…
Take the Challenge. ICD-10 Codes R76.1—Raised antibody titer L20.8—Other atopic dermatitis R20.2—Paresthesia of skin R20.1—Hypoesthesia of skin CPT Codes 99358 and 99359 Rationale The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) typically does not allow separate payment for physician services that do not require face-to-face time with a patient, but as of Jan. 1, 2017,…
In Part 1 of this series, we covered the vital role of medical decision making in determining the final level to bill for a patient encounter. Medical decision making is the key component in coding because it reflects the intensity of the provider’s cognitive labor. This implies that there’s an unseen component involved in the…
What is RheumPAC? RheumPAC is the ACR’s nonpartisan political action committee (PAC) that works to elect and support pro-rheumatology candidates. It is the only PAC dedicated to the interests of the rheumatology profession. RheumPAC was created 10 years ago with the mission of educating, electing and supporting federal lawmakers who understand and can positively address…