When Liz Morasso, LCSW, facilitates a Families Living with Rheumatic Diseases support group at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, she empathizes with the struggles and challenges of her young patients. Ms. Morasso was only 16 years old when she was diagnosed with both systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). She knows all too well…
Interstitial lung disease (ILD) can be associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with significant morbidity and mortality. An article in The Journal of Rheumatology focused on calculating the prevalence, incidence, mortality and costs to the healthcare system of RA-related ILD (RA-ILD).1 “RA is the most common of connective tissue diseases encountered by rheumatologists—affecting about 1% of…
The ACR/ARP’s practice management division actively works to offer rheumatologists and their staff valuable, accessible resources to address practice issues. Our trained professionals provide the most up-to-date tools and resources to help improve practice efficiency and meet the myriad compliance obligations of the ever-changing healthcare landscape. The Practice Management Resource Center can assist with such…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Dozens of rheumatology leaders met with more than 100 politicos on Capitol Hill in mid-May as part of the ACR’s annual Advocacy Leadership Conference. Armed with research and advocacy training concerning a handful of important issues, rheumatologists, rheumatology interprofessional team members, government affairs specialists and others met with federal lawmakers, legislative aides and correspondents….
As the practice of step therapy grows more pervasive throughout the insurance industry, the protocols become increasingly confusing to navigate. Steps vary from insurer to insurer based on plan type, and formulary differences are too often based on economic incentives rather than outcome-based medicine. Patients are often left hanging in the balance while physicians’ offices…
So far it has been a busy year for the Affiliate Society Council (ASC). Forty-three states are now affiliated with the ACR through the ASC, and we may add another next year. Also, many state legislative sessions have wrapped up, so it’s a great time to provide an overview of the successes—and some of the…
Broken hips are among the most serious injuries incurred by older adults, and many fractures are preventable. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 300,000 people over the age of 65 are hospitalized each year for hip fractures, with women (who have lower bone density than men) experiencing three-quarters of all…
Take the challenge. C—When an insurance carrier requests the medical record for a service performed, the practice should send all pertinent information to support the medical necessity of that service. For example, if the drug requires that a patient first be tested for tuberculosis and the patient should be on methotrexate or leflunomide, the note…
A private insurance carrier sends an audit request letter to a rheumatology practice to review its infusion medical records for the past 30 dates of service. What information should the practice send to the carrier? Only the infusion notes The complete notes for the requested dates of service only The complete notes for the requested…
We have often heard it said that opportunity arises from challenges. Challenge, of course, is really just a polite way of saying problem—and for our patients, problems abound when it comes to obtaining timely and affordable access to the rheumatologic care they need. Access in this context has many meanings: There is access to life-changing…