SLE Focus Rheum| RA Focus Rheum| Rheum for Everyone, Episode 12

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

From the College

Advocate at Home During the August Recess

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With lawmakers home for the summer recess, you have the opportunity to meet with them in their local offices and help them understand how key legislation affects patients and healthcare providers. The ACR offers tools, resources and more to help.

2022 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule Released

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In the proposed rule released July 13, the ACR is encouraged by the continued implementation of evaluation and management reimbursement adjustments to better reflect the work and expertise needed to treat complex patient populations, the extension of many telehealth flexibilities and the inclusion of the ACR’s proposed MACRA MIPS Value Pathway for rheumatology.

Virtual Recruitment in 2020 and Beyond: Rheumatology Fellowship Program Directors Survey Results

Adam Kilian, MD, & Bethany Marston, MD  |  

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all rheumatology fellowship interviews conducted in the 2020 fellowship recruitment season were conducted in a virtual, video-based format to reduce the risks associated with travel and face-to-face meetings. In June 2020, the Coalition for Physician Accountability released guidance suggesting all programs commit to online-only interviews and recruitment events, even…

ACR Quality of Care Committee Impresses with Its Recent Productivity

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Over the past 18 months, the ACR’s Quality of Care (QOC) Committee has helped produce an impressive number of resources that will help rheumatologists deliver the best possible care. Working through specific projects supervised under its Criteria, Guideline, Guidance, and Quality Measure subcommittees, the QOC Committee has developed new sets of disease criteria, clinical guidelines,…

ACR Advocacy: 2021 Midyear Update

Elizabeth (Blair) Solow, MD  |  

Beginning in the late 1800s, Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore, U.S. diplomat and writer, spent 24 years advocating for sakura, or Japanese cherry trees, to be planted in Washington, D.C. After unsuccessfully petitioning every U.S. Army Superintendent of Public Buildings and Grounds for over two decades, she wrote a letter to First Lady Helen Herron Taft about…

Rheumatology Research Foundation Funds 5 COVID-19 Studies for $1.65 Million

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In spring 2020, as it became obvious that COVID-19 wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, the leaders of the Rheumatology Research Foundation implemented an expedited process to distribute research funding beyond its typical awards program. This resulted in the Foundation awarding $1.65 million to fund five research studies that will look at the relationships between rheumatic…