One year after the official go-live of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10), the coding language is scheduled to undergo an evolution, with nearly 1,975 additions, more than 300 deletions and 425 revisions. This brings the total set of diagnosis codes to more than 71,480. The new and revised clinical modification codes (ICD-10-CM)…
UHC Expands Pilot Lab Benefit Management Program
UnitedHealthcare recently announced plans to expand its pilot Lab Benefit Management Program to Texas, as of March 1, 2017. The pilot program, which is administered by BeaconLBS, was first launched in Florida in October 2014. Under the pilot, providers are required to use a tool called Physician Decision Support to order certain labs for UHC…
Bipartisan RheumPAC Serves Needs of Patients and Rheumatologists
For more than a decade, the ACR’s Government Affairs Committee (GAC) has given rheumatologists a voice in the halls of Congress. Since 2007, that voice has been amplified by RheumPAC, the bipartisan political action committee for ACR/ARHP members that helps advance the policy goals of the College, rheumatology professionals and their patients. “RheumPAC allows us…
New Kits Address Pediatric-to-Adult-Care Transition
The transition from pediatric to adult care can be a rocky one. For many rheumatology patients, any problems in the move can cause gaps in care. To address this issue, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) joined the American College of Physicians’ (ACP) Pediatric to Adult Care Transitions Initiative. The Initiative is a project spearheaded…
Advocates on the Hill
On Sept. 12–13, nearly 100 rheumatologists, health professionals and patients participated in the Advocates for Arthritis event on Capitol Hill to advocate on behalf of those living with and treating rheumatic diseases. Key Requests & Congressional Support Attendees visited 116 members of Congress and their staff members to: Advocate for changes to the Centers for…
How to Document E/M Services
Documenting evaluation and management (E/M) services involves many factors, and it’s important to code to the most appropriate level of service to avoid compliance risks. To assist providers with documentation, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provides its 1995 and 1997 Documentation Guidelines for Evaluation and Management Services. For billing purposes, either version…
Medicare Program Focuses on Rural Patients
For arthritis patients who live in farming communities, just getting to rheumatologist Lynne Peterson, MD’s, office in Bismarck, N.D., can take a lot of time and energy. “Because of the shortage of rheumatologists, patients living in rural areas tend to receive inadequate rheumatologic evaluation and care,” says Dr. Peterson, whose clinic is located at Sanford…
How to Get Your EHR Up … & Keep It Running
Implementing a new electronic health record (EHR) system is no easy task—and one that a physician shouldn’t tackle alone. From the onset, you need to get buy-in from your practice’s colleagues. To do this, designate a physician champion to take charge of the effort. “This is a challenging position, because it’s difficult to convince people…
Express Scripts Tries to Rein in Pricey Inflammatory Drugs
NEW YORK (Reuters)—Express Scripts Holding, the largest manager of U.S. drug benefits, on Thursday launched a program aimed at tightening spending on drugs for pricey inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. It is the latest Express Scripts effort intended to reduce spending on prescription drugs, such as last week’s announcement of a diabetes program. Early…
Hours Spent Record Keeping May Fuel Physician Burnout
(Reuters Health)—For every hour doctors spend treating patients during a typical workday, they devote nearly two more hours to maintaining electronic health records (EHR) and clerical work, a small U.S. study suggests. Time spent in meaningful interactions with patients is a powerful driver of physician career satisfaction, but increased paperwork and time on the computer…
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