April 5, 2007 marked the second anniversary of the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA). Sponsored by America’s pharmaceutical research companies, the PPA helps lower income, uninsured, and underinsured patients obtain prescription medicines for free or at nominal cost.
UnitedHealth Group to Require MRI Accreditation
Starting March 1, 2008, UnitedHealth Group will require all freestanding facilities and physician offices that perform MRIs and certain other imaging studies to obtain accreditation. Physicians without accreditation will not be reimbursed for the technical or global codes. UnitedHealth Group is the umbrella organization for insurance companies such as United Healthcare, Ovations, and AmeriChoice.
Letters to the Editor
Feedback from Our Readers
Why I Still Like Being a Rheumatologist
The rewards of practice outshine the lure of retirement
NSAIDs: The Heart of the Controversy
Rheumatologists on the AHA statement and how to balance NSAID risks and benefits
Build Up Bone
Current management of osteoporosis
Paget’s Disease of Bone
Paget’s disease generally affects people over 40, and while the disease is associated with heredity, the cause is unknown. The ACR has recently added a fact sheet about this condition to the patient education material online.
The Quest for Quality
The ARHP has an important role to play as the ACR addresses the emerging quality movement in healthcare. Most healthcare professionals are familiar with terms such as quality assurance, continuous quality improvement, and total quality management. In the late 1980s, healthcare organizations, following the lead of the manufacturing industry, began to implement quality-management programs as a way to improve the quality and cost efficiency of healthcare services and meet rising consumer expectations.
Readers Answer ‘Twenty Questions’
The March Rheuminations column, “Twenty Questions, Part 1” inspired many letters from TR readers. Here are just a few of those responses.
Audioconference Offers Advice on Adolescent’s Low Back Pain
Hepatitis-C virus (HCV)-associated arthritis is highlighted this month in our ongoing series on patient education materials.