Social media has revolutionized my practice. I stay current with Twitter content from other rheumatologists, patient organizations and medical journals. I am also an active member of the international Twitter-based rheumatology journal club, #RheumJC. Still, I was recently surprised when my patient’s name appeared in a friend request. This same patient was following me on…
A 66-year-old female patient returns to the office complaining of swelling and a burning pain in her right first toe. She rates the pain level at a 9 out of 10. She currently takes an over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), but it has done little to alleviate the pain. This is her second episode this…
Take the challenge. CPT: 99214-25, 89060, 20600-RT ICD-10: M10.271, T50.2X5A, I10 This is an established outpatient visit. This encounter is coded as 99213, because it included: History—Detailed: The history of present illness is extended, the review of systems is extended, and the past medical and social histories are documented. Examination—Detailed: Seven organ systems are examined….
The U.S. Congress refers to the bicameral legislature, consisting of the 435 voting and six non-voting members of the House of Representatives and the 100 members of the Senate. When we visit D.C. or express our policy positions to Congress, our message would ideally reach every member. The ultimate goal is to reach all 535…
CHICAGO—Sherine E. Gabriel, MD, MSc, professor of medicine at Rutgers Medical School in Newark, N.J., and a past president of the ACR, presented an overview of cardiovascular disease and rheumatology on a Saturday morning to a room overflowing with rheumatologists attending the ACR’s State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium in April. She noted that physicians have known for a…
New research shows that baricitinib is a safe and effective RA treatment. The medication has also been approved for use in Japan and is recommended for use in the U.K…
CHICAGO—Delia Chiaramonte, MD, associate director of education at the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, presented the newest thinking on pain to a gathering of rheumatologists at the ACR’s State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium in April. She began by explaining that pain is more than nociception. Nociception stimulates nerves to…
CHICAGO—Leonard H. Calabrese, DO, professor of medicine at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, presented on emerging concepts of viral infections and rheumatic disease at the ACR’s State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium in April. “We are at a pivotal point in rheumatology in understanding the relationship between viruses and rheumatic disease,” began Dr. Calabrese. “It’s a very exciting time.” Dr. Calabrese…
CHICAGO—A clustering of cases in Lyme, Conn., in 1975 led to the discovery of Lyme disease. Allen C. Steere, MD, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, investigated that outbreak, and he shared his knowledge of Lyme disease with rheumatologists gathered at the ACR’s State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium in April. He explained that Lyme arthritis…
CHICAGO—On a Saturday morning in Chicago, Chester V. Oddis, MD, director of the Myositis Center at the University of Pittsburgh, explained to a crowded room of about 500 rheumatologists attending the ACR’s State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium in April how best to use myositis autoantibodies in clinical care. He began with an overview of the different types of…