Connect with colleagues at the Basic Research Conference (BRC) and the Clinical Research Conference (CRC) pre-meeting courses at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting! The ACR has an exceptional array of research leaders lined up for this year’s BRC and CRC courses on Friday, Nov. 3, and Saturday, Nov. 4, in San Diego. Get ready to…
All healthcare professionals who work in rheumatology had to start adapting to a new landscape of reporting and documentation on Jan. 1 of this year when the Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Act, or MACRA, began. As the changeover continues, the Sunday ARHP session, Your New Role in the Era of…
Changes to reimbursement introduced by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) will affect your Medicare income for 2019. “Rheumatologists generally know that MACRA is up and running,” says Angus Worthing, MD, FACR, FACP, clinical assistant professor of rheumatology at Georgetown University Medical Center and chair of the ACR’s Government Affairs Committee. “Virtually every…
The ACR/ARHP’s annual fly-in to D.C. (#Act4Arthritis) was a huge success. More than 100 ACR/ARHP members and patients from across the nation attended meetings on Capitol Hill to advocate for people living with rheumatic diseases. In all, our advocates visited 138 Senate and House offices. This year’s fly-in on Sept. 25–26 coincided with the second-annual…
With the advent of biosimilars to the marketplace, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) now requires modifiers to identify the manufacturer of a biosimilar/biological product on Part B claims. Modifiers were put in place to provide the CMS with the necessary data needed to track claims payments, as well as the ability to…
Take the Challenge. ICD-10 Codes R76.1—Raised antibody titer L20.8—Other atopic dermatitis R20.2—Paresthesia of skin R20.1—Hypoesthesia of skin CPT Codes 99358 and 99359 Rationale The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) typically does not allow separate payment for physician services that do not require face-to-face time with a patient, but as of Jan. 1, 2017,…
In Part 1 of this series, we covered the vital role of medical decision making in determining the final level to bill for a patient encounter. Medical decision making is the key component in coding because it reflects the intensity of the provider’s cognitive labor. This implies that there’s an unseen component involved in the…
What is RheumPAC? RheumPAC is the ACR’s nonpartisan political action committee (PAC) that works to elect and support pro-rheumatology candidates. It is the only PAC dedicated to the interests of the rheumatology profession. RheumPAC was created 10 years ago with the mission of educating, electing and supporting federal lawmakers who understand and can positively address…
The Rheumatology Informatics System for Effectiveness (RISE) Registry is the ACR’s registry for quality improvement and reporting. Aggregated statistics and trends seen in the RISE Registry will be published monthly in The Rheumatologist. If you have questions about quality reporting, are interested in enrolling in RISE or would like to use data from RISE for…
Your gateway to global rheumatology education! Join us in San Diego for the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting on Nov. 3–8. The advance registration deadline is Oct. 18. Register and get more information on all Annual Meeting sessions. High-Impact Learning Starts with Pre-Meeting Courses Pre-meeting courses, held Nov. 3–4 before the official start of the meeting,…