NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Too many women who aren’t at risk for osteoporosis are being screened for the disease, and too many women who don’t need osteoporosis treatment are getting it, new research suggests. “In our health system the overtreatment of osteoporosis was common, and this was partly due to the fact that a lot of…
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People with Schizophrenia at Higher Risk of Osteoporosis
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Pooled data indicate that bone mineral density (BMD) is significantly lower in patients with schizophrenia than in healthy controls, according to Taiwanese researchers. Dr. Ping-Tao Tseng tells Reuters Health by email that the “evidence indicates the importance of further screening for the risk of osteoporosis in young-aged schizophrenic patients . . ….
Rheumatology Coding Corner Answer: Coding for Acute Flare of Idiopathic Gout
Take the challenge. M10.072—Acute gout has an Excludes 1 note of chronic gout (M1A.-). This means that acute gout and chronic gout cannot be coded for the same encounter, as the codes are mutually exclusive. M45.6—The patient is diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis of the lumbar region. M81.8—Other osteoporosis without current pathological fracture. M79.622—The patient has…
Best Practices for Treating Non-Specific Low Back Pain
Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common reasons for physician appointments. However, treatment results remain suboptimal, resulting in high rates of chronic pain, narcotic usage, surgery, depression and disability—all at great cost to individuals and the nation. One reason for this is the current practice of grouping all low back pain patients…
GPA Patient Carries NORD Banner to Top of Mt. Everest
On May 23, 2010, Cindy Abbott was standing on top of the world. She had spent the past 51 days climbing Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world, and had finally reached the summit. “I was very anxious to get off and get back down,” she says, adding that the summit is about the…
Understanding the Z Codes in ICD-10
Two months into the transition, the ICD-10 code set is still not exactly the most enticing reading material. But there is still so much to learn and apply, that it is necessary for physicians, coders and billers to stay abreast of the coding and billing guidelines. Although all of the guidelines and conventions may be…
Pulse-Echo Ultrasound Useful for Osteoporosis Screening
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Pulse-echo ultrasound is a useful method for point-of-care osteoporosis screening, researchers from Finland report. “To effectively increase diagnostic coverage, this kind of device should be in every primary or occupational healthcare unit,” Dr. Janne P. Karjalainen from the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio tells Reuters Health by email. Currently, osteoporosis is…
Rheumatology Coding Corner Question: Coding for Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis
Post-Traumatic OA A 70-year-old female patient comes in for a follow-up visit for pain and stiffness in her left hip. She injured her hip in a skiing accident three years before and reports the X-rays at that time showed no fractures. Due to no obvious fracture at the time, she was given ibuprofen and advised…
Improve RA Care with Vitamin D
Background Autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematous, occur when the body attacks its own tissue because it cannot differentiate between self and non-self. This is mainly through deregulation of the immune system. Vitamin D has been known to play a critical role in bone mineralization and bone health. Activated vitamin…
Rheumatologist Steven S. Overman Reflects on His Last Day of Practice, Future of Specialty
I am a few weeks post-retirement. Having written thank you notes and completed urgent home projects, I swing in a hammock at our currently fire-threatened cabin north of Winthrop, Wash., and reflect. I feel like a young boy while freely flipping pages of a hand-scribed picture book, The Principles of Uncertainty, by Maira Kalman. She…
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