Video: Every Case Tells a Story| Webinar: ACR/CHEST ILD Guidelines in Practice

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Figure 2: High-resolution computed tomography showed evidence of interstitial lung disease.

High-resolution computed tomography shows evidence of ILD.

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!

 

Will There Be an SGR Fix This Year?

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Rheumatologists should expect at least one more time-stamped extension to the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula before Congress makes any lasting changes to it. At issue is the future of rheumatologists’ Medicare payments, including the federal Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s (MedPAC) recommendation from last year to scrap the formula, reduce payments for specialist services by 5.9% for each of three years, and then freeze them for seven more years, and the 27.4% SGR cut that has been repeatedly delayed by extensions.

Trailblazers in Rheumatology

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Since the beginning of their medical careers, Rodanthi C. Kitridou, MD, and Bevra H. Hahn, MD, have seen a huge shift in the demographics of the field.

ACR Volunteers Attend Leadership Development Conference

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Last month, volunteers from the ACR, ARHP, and REF met in Atlanta for the Annual Leadership Development Conference. This year’s conference focused on media relations and social media in a healthcare environment. The goal of this year’s conference was to educate the volunteers on how to successfully use the different types of media outreach. The topics were timely, what with the launch of the ACR’s first public relations campaign, Simple Tasks, and a successful social media session held at the 2011 ACR/ARHP Annual Scientific Meeting.