Through much of the 20th century, dedicated rheumatic disease units were found in hospitals across the U.S. and countries around the world. In the latter part of the century, this began to change, with hospitals moving toward the consult model of care for rheumatic patients. This change reflects larger shifts in the medical world toward…
Many rheumatology patients have complex conditions and require the added expertise of colleagues in other fields, such as pulmonology, neurology or dermatology. This is even more true when patients with complex care issues are referred to academic medical centers. At such centers, patients often travel hours for an appointment and see more than one provider….
RheumPAC is the ACR/ARHP’s nonpartisan political action committee (PAC) that works to elect and support pro-rheumatology candidates. It is the only PAC dedicated to the interests of the rheumatology profession. RheumPAC was created 10 years ago with the mission of electing and supporting federal lawmakers who understand and are in a position to support the…
The CMS has implemented a few changes to its 2018 MIPS submission categories. Not only will it be adding a cost category, but it has recently announced the renaming of the Advancing Care Information (ACI) category to Promoting Interoperability (PI) to focus on interoperability, improving flexibility and relieving administrative burdens. The CMS confirmed this will…
ACR members are realizing what they have at their fingertips—a registry fully staffed with knowledgeable people ready to help them succeed under MIPS. This valuable resource allows members to do what they do best: Treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which is one of the primary goals of the Rheumatology Informatics System for Effectiveness (RISE)…
Audit activity among Medicare and most third-party payers has increased in response to pressure to reduce healthcare costs. The return of billions of dollars to Medicare, Medicaid and third-party programs through these medical audit reviews has also increased. For example, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) 2014 Annual Report estimated that the Centers for Medicare &…
CHICAGO—As good an option as hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is for many patients with rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and especially lupus, safety must be an important consideration, an expert said at this April’s ACR State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium. The use of the antimalarial has become a controversial subject, with clinicians trying to balance the drug’s disease-modifying…
If you had asked Ray Waldrup in 1981 what he would be doing in 2018, serving as the CEO of the largest rheumatology practice in the U.S. would probably not have been his first guess. Back then, as a young college student in Georgia, Mr. Waldrup took a job at a national jewelry retailer and…
Take the challenge. CPT codes: 96413, 96415, 96375, J1745x30, J1200x1 Diagnosis ICD-10: M05.79 With the total infusion time of two hours and 13 minutes, CPT code 96413 is used to code for the first hour of the infusion and 96415 for the additional hour. The infusion would have to be 31 minutes into the next…
A 73-year-old female established patient with rheumatoid arthritis affecting multiple joints and with positive rheumatoid factor returns to the office for an infliximab infusion. She denies any fevers, cough, dyspnea or concurrent illness. She has joint pain of 6 on the pain scale. She is on an NSAID, weekly methotrexate subcutaneous injections, folic acid and…