ASC Chair Gwenesta B. Melton, MD, shares the connections and activities that are helping the council develop stronger ties in and outside the ACR.

Subcategories:EthicsLegal UpdatesLegislation & AdvocacyResearch Rheum
The ACR/CHEST ILD Guidelines in Practice, a video
In collaboration with the American College of Chest Physicians, the ACR released two new comprehensive guidelines aimed at improving the screening, monitoring, and treatment of patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) secondary to systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs). Recently, Sindhu R. Johnson, MD, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, Canada, director of the Toronto Scleroderma Program and principal investigator for the guideline, and Elana J. Bernstein, MD, MSc, Florence Irving associate professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology at Columbia University, New York City, and co-first author, presented a webinar to talk about how the guidelines were developed and present some of the recommendations and their rationale: Watch the recording now!

ASC Chair Gwenesta B. Melton, MD, shares the connections and activities that are helping the council develop stronger ties in and outside the ACR.

With thousands of research abstracts and posters being presented at ACR Convergence 2024, Nov. 14–19, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., figuring out which research is important today, which could prove important in the future, what has the potential to affect clinical care or prove the basis for future research is…
Medicare’s extended telehealth services will expire at the end of the year unless Congress acts to continue them. Make sure your legislators know how a failure to act will harm patient access to care.

Prajakta Masurkar, PhD, MPharm, & Charis Meng, MD |
Ethical conduct is the cornerstone of any professional organization, particularly when its decisions have an impact on public health. The ACR recognizes the importance of upholding ethical standards and has established a Code of Ethics to guide its members. Here we explore the practical application of the ACR’s Code of Ethics.1 Manage Potential Conflicts Central…
The ACR’s response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services addresses the likely harm of the proposed conversion factor on the solvency and stability of rheumatology practices. The comments also include recommendations on complex drug administration coding, inflation-adjusted drug rebates and extending telehealth flexibilities.

Rheumatologists are uniquely positioned to care for patients with sarcoidosis. Here are insights into the condition, its treatment and more.

If you’re headed to Washington, D.C., this November for ACR Convergence 2024, plan now to schedule meetings with your members of Congress. Your voice as a constituent can help your lawmakers understand which policies are good for healthcare as they consider a critical end-of-year funding package.
The updated draft guidance, released in June, would accept an assessment of why data provided meet the switching standard to demonstrate interchangeability of biosimilars
The ACR is seeking a representative to the Young Physician Section of the AMA House of Delegates who will join the ACR’s delegation at future HOD meetings and advance issues important to rheumatology.

Lupus Fog? By Laura C. Plantinga, PhD, Patricia P. Katz, PhD, S. Sam Lim, MD, MPH, C. Barrett Bowling, MD, MSPH, & Jinoos Yazdany, MD, MPH Why was this study done? Perceived cognitive impairment (i.e., lupus fog) is common in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, comprehensive, multidomain assessments of objective cognitive function are rarely performed….