Applications are now open for the ACR’s Advocacy 101 program, held in conjunction with Advocates for Arthritis. Amanda Schnell, MD, describes how ACR/ARP members can learn to be successful advocates for rheumatology.


Applications are now open for the ACR’s Advocacy 101 program, held in conjunction with Advocates for Arthritis. Amanda Schnell, MD, describes how ACR/ARP members can learn to be successful advocates for rheumatology.

Lisa Zickuhr, MD, Jason Kolfenbach, MD, & Marcy B. Bolster, MD |
Many practitioners can relate to the epiphany of Roy Basch, MD, the lead character in Samuel Shem’s satirical novel The House of God.1 During his first on-call shift as a medicine intern, long work hours combined with jaded advice from his senior resident leave Dr. Basch feeling disenchanted with the medical profession until he cares…

Colin Cox, BSc, & Prateek C. Gandiga, MD, FACP, on behalf of the ARP eLearning Subcommittee |
Sir William Osler, a pioneer of modern medical education, taught “medicine is learned by the bedside and not in the classroom.”1 How, then, do we learn medicine in a world dominated by virtual interactions? This question was forced upon us in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. From telemedicine to remote meetings, the rheumatology community…

David R. Karp, MD, PhD, & Christine Stamatos, DNP, ANP-C |
One thing that became clear very quickly this past year was that the COVID-19 pandemic would change the way we deliver care to patients. What has not changed amid an evolving healthcare landscape is our driving focus to ensure our patients’ access to rheumatology care and the availability of state-of-the-art treatments. We know you share…

From ARP Representatives to the ACR Government Affairs Committee |
The Budget Control Act of 2011 cut Medicare physician payments by 2% across the board. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law in 2020, suspended this sequester (i.e., a cut in government spending) between May 1 and Dec. 31, 2020. In the Consolidated Appropriations Act, signed into law in December…

A new Medscape survey found that rheumatology has the second-highest burnout level among the 29 specialties included, with 50% of the rheumatology respondents saying they’re experiencing “burnout.” To which some rheumatologists are responding: Really? “I was quite surprised by this,” says Beth Jonas, MD, chief of the Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology Division at the University…

Learn to properly use the revised CPT codes to document your time and medical decision making during patient visits to help ensure your practice is appropriately remunerated.

AMA Honors Mark Andrejeski with Lifetime Achievement Award In November 2020, the American Medical Association (AMA) presented Mark Andrejeski, the recently retired executive vice president of the ACR, with its Medical Executive Lifetime Achievement Award. The award honors a medical association executive who has contributed substantially to the goals and ideals of the medical profession….

As with rheumatology care in general, the current demand for pediatric rheumatologists is greater than the supply of providers available. That imbalance is expected to increase significantly by 2030 unless action is taken, according to a new workforce study published in Arthritis Care & Research.1 The lack of pediatric providers is a serious problem that…

Leslie Mertz, PhD |
When it comes to advocating for rheumatology, it’s never too early or late in your career to begin, and no effort is too small to have an impact, says Dr. Ziglar, a private practitioner and member of the Government Affairs Committee.