Meeting the needs of persons with complex, chronic diseases is increasingly challenging in a healthcare environment where the demand for high-quality comprehensive services is coupled with dwindling resources. According to the Institute of Medicine, “the ability to plan care and practice effectively using multidisciplinary teams takes on increasing importance as the proportion of the population with chronic conditions grows.”1 This kind of collaboration is increasingly important to ensure high-quality, cost-effective, comprehensive patient-centered care.
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Keep ACR at the Table
Without your help, ACR will lose its clout at the AMA
Your Representatives on Capitol Hill
Government Affairs Committee advocates on behalf of the ACR and all rheumatologists
Professional Partners
Rheumatologists and nurse practitioners team up to improve workflow and patient care
Target Remission
Strategies to identify and track remission in your RA patients
Combine With Medicare Part D to Help Patients Afford Prescriptions
According to the 2003 U.S. Census, 29 million people in the United States make less than 200% of the federal poverty level and have no health insurance. Many persons have difficulty affording prescribed medications. In addition to Medicare Part D, there are more than 350 public and private patient assistance programs, including programs by pharmaceutical companies, that help patients pay for prescriptions.
What Has the ACR Done for You Lately?
The world in which we currently practice is not the same one we knew five to 10 years ago. Insurers second-guess our decisions and create numerous hurdles for us to overcome before our patients can be treated. Government agencies are seeking ways to reduce healthcare expenditures and improve what they perceive as a lack of quality and consistency in healthcare delivery. These groups, as well as Congress and employers (who purchase benefits for their employees), have begun a concerted effort to grade rheumatologists on the basis of what they perceive to be quality and efficiency and then pay us according to those criteria.
Legislative Priorities in 2007
In 2007, the ACR Government Affairs Committee will focus on correcting the Medicare reimbursement formula, countering increased cuts to diagnostic imaging, and the enactment of the Arthritis Prevention, Control, and Cure Act. Increasing advocacy among ACR members will also be a top priority.
ACR Meeting: 1975 to Now
We’ve has come a long way, but 2007 holds more growth
A Helping Hand for Arthritis Discovery
Arthritis Foundation supports studies and the researchers behind them