Blair Solow, MD, is chair of the ACR Government Affairs Committee and an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatic Diseases at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.
Zachary Wallace, MD, MSc, is a rheumatologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and the chair of RheumPAC, the ACR’s nonpartisan political action committee.
As a new year begins, Government Affairs Committee Chair Blair Solow, MD, takes stock of ACR advocacy wins in 2020 and issues to watch in 2021, including workforce issues, continued telemedicine access, prior authorization relief, Medicare reimbursement and drug pricing.
In an ACR Convergence session, two rheumatologists discussed how COVID-19 changed the use of telemedicine, how payers reacted and which changes are likely permanent and which are likely to be temporary.
During an ACR webinar in August, presenters discussed multiple aspects of telehealth in rheumatology, especially related to rheumatology fellowship training. They agreed that although telehealth represents one potential avenue to improve patient access to treatment for rheumatic disease, we must keep identifying the best ways to employ telehealth to enhance care. Impact of Pandemic Telemedicine…
With a new Congress and many new legislators in key leadership positions, your support today will help RheumPAC start the year off strong.