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

From the College

Dispelling the Mystery, Ensuring the Future

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Bringing calm and organization to chaos: This is what led Greg Dennis, MD, to pursue a career in rheumatology. Dr. Dennis who, at the time, was an internal medicine resident at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colo., was seeking a subspecialty that would allow him to pursue immunology in a clinical or laboratory setting. What he realized during his residency was that rheumatology was a mystery to many physicians.

Rheumatology Professionals and Patient Advocates Take Their Stories to Capitol Hill

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The ACR’s annual Advocates for Arthritis conference, September 19–20, brought more than 120 rheumatologists, rheumatology health professionals, and patient advocates to our nation’s capital. Attendees, representing 37 states, met with more than 175 congressional offices, sharing their stories of access to care, treatment, and the importance of research.

Winter Rheumatology Symposium Offers Collegial Expertise and Peer Interaction

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Join the ACR as rheumatologists from across the country gather in Snowmass, Colo., for six days of exceptional educational content and opportunities to interact with peers and expert faculty at the ACR’s Winter Rheumatology Symposium. Continuing a tradition more than three decades long, the meeting will offer attendees upward of twenty sessions.

Skilled Nursing Facility Patients—Consolidated Billing

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When treating a patient that lives in a skilled nursing facility (SNF), it is important to understand the coding and billing guidelines of consolidated billing. That is because certain services must be consolidated and submitted by the SNF using its Medicare provider number, and not submitted by you, the physician, unless they are one of the excluded services, which will be further discussed below.

Practice Page: Protecting Your Practice through Compliance

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Compliance programs are an effort by the government to maintain integrity in the healthcare system. These programs target activities causing improper payment to determine their root cause: Was it a mistake or error, was it inefficiency or waste of resources, is the provider bending the rules or abusing the system, or was it intentional deception or fraud? There are also laws dictating the compliance culture within practices and institutions; for example, red-flag rules, antikickback statute, and stark law, to name a few.

Stage 2 of the EHR Incentive Program

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Although reporting for Stage 1 of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program began just this year, the rules, objectives, and measures for Stage 2 are already being established. Last June, the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology (IT) presented CMS with its recommendations for Stage 2 of the CMS EHR Incentive Program which builds on the Stage 1 objectives supporting EHR utilization for data capture and sharing.

Chicago My Way: Anne-Marie Malfait, MD, PhD, Provides Insider Info

Anne-Marie Malfait, MD, PhD  |  

Chicago is a city with remarkable shopping opportunities, upscale and trendy neighborhood boutiques, galleries, and specialty shops. Chicago’s great magic lies in its mix: sophisticated-yet-friendly, bustling city streets adjacent to long stretches of green parks and sparkling blue Lake Michigan.

REF: Looking at Recent Achievements and FInding Inspiration for the Future

E. William St.Clair, MD  |  

As the term of my presidency at the ACR Research and Education Foundation (REF) comes to an end, it’s a good time to reflect on the past two years. While it’s important to recognize the REF’s milestones and major achievements—and I will do that in a moment—great work is being done every day by rheumatologists, healthcare professionals, and investigators. It is their goal to improve the treatment and care of people impacted by rheumatic disease, and it’s our mission to provide them with the resources to support their efforts.