Access to care is critical for treating arthritis and other chronic rheumatic conditions. That’s why choosing the best Medicare plan fit is such an important decision. Use these tips from the Arthritis Foundation’s Nick Turkas, MS, to help your patients make their best choice for insurance coverage.
The public health emergency (PHE), in place since 2020, officially expired at midnight on May 11. The PHE declaration allowed significant flexibility in the healthcare system. The end of the PHE impacts several policies, including changes in Medicare and Medicaid policies. What do these changes mean for providers?
Large language models are a type of AI that allows users to generate new content, drawing from a huge dataset to learn how to mimic “natural language” with many possible beneficial applications for this technology in medicine.
The issue of the rheumatology workforce shortage is certainly vexing. Not only does it leave large segments of the population without adequate care for patients with serious rheumatic diseases, but it also increases the burden on the few rheumatologists who serve populous, underserved regions of the country. Solutions suggested in The Rheumatologist (“ACR Workforce Solutions…
Value-based care in rheumatology continues to evolve, and rheumatologists can stay active with advocacy efforts behind value-based care and other government relations initiatives.
During a busy start to 2023, the ISC has been advocating with payers to address multiple coverage and reimbursement challenges facing rheumatology practices, including Cigna’s modifier 25 requirements, hydroxychloroquine access and coverage for apremilast combination therapy.
Starting in June, all prescribers registered with the Drug Enforcement Agency must complete a one-time, eight-hour training on treating and managing patients with opioid or substance use disorders.
The ACR is compiling a list of healthcare policy changes relevant to rheumatology providers and patients that will take effect when the public health emergency expires on May 11.
Neuro-rheumatology is a fast-growing field. Better testing and imaging have increased recognition of once-infrequent diagnoses, such as neuro-sarcoidosis and amyloid beta-related angiitis. Concurrently, the rapid expansion of immunotherapy options to treat cancer and their untoward neurological side effects have increased the frequency of referrals to both neurologists and rheumatologists. Identifying and treating neurologic manifestations of…
Because rheumatology is a complex cognitive specialty, rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals often see patients repeatedly for acute and chronic problems. Although that may lead to close relationships with patients, it may also make the specialty more prone to burnout, says Peter Y. Hahn, MD, MBA, CEO of University of Michigan Health-West, Wyoming, Mich. “It can…