Exclusive: ACR Convergence 2024| Focus Rheums

An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

It Takes All Kinds

David Borenstein, MD, and Nadine T. James, RN, PhD  |  

A look at the rheumatology practice team

High Cost, No Benefit

Aryeh M. Abeles, MD  |  

Why are so many brand-name drugs approved after generic versions become available?

Is the Electronic Health Information in Your Practice Really Safe?

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program (Meaningful Use) provides for eligible physicians who demonstrate “meaningful use” of certified EHR technology to be eligible to receive up to $44,000 in Medicare incentive payments over five years or up to $63,750 in Medicaid incentive payments over six years. But what does it really mean to achieve “meaningful use” for the EHR Incentive Program, and what will your practice need to do to meet the required objectives?

Pain Perspective in Scleroderma

Susan L. Williams Judge, MN, ARNP  |  

Systemic sclerosis (SSc; scleroderma) is a disease in which inflammatory and fibrotic changes result in overproduction and accumulation of collagen and other extracellular matrix proteins, resulting in intimal vascular damage, fibrosis, and occasionally organ dysfunction affecting the gastrointestinal, lung, heart, and renal systems. There are two classifications of SSc—limited cutaneous or CREST (calcinosis, Raynaud’s, esophageal dysmotility, sclerodactyly, and telangectasias) syndrome, where skin thickening occurs mainly in the distal extremities and facial/neck areas and internal organ involvement, if present, occurs later in the disease process; and diffuse cutaneous disease where there is a more rapid progression of skin thickening from distal to proximal and organ involvement can be severe and occur early in the disease. As noted by various authors, there is no “crystal ball” into which one can look to see the outcome of the disease, and involvement varies significantly from one person to the next.

To Fix Health Policy, You (Yes, You) Have to Get Involved

Jeffrey Lawson, MD  |  

I can’t tell you how many times I have conversed with a colleague about the state of health policy and heard, “It’s broken.” I invariably have to ask, “What have you done to fix it?” Often times I get a blank stare or an excuse about how Congress doesn’t listen.