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

From the College

ACR Policy On Expert Witness Testimony

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The ACR Board of Directors recently approved a policy and guidelines on expert witness testimony in medical malpractice litigation. Many ACR members have been called to testify in medical malpractice litigation—or will be called in the future—and the ACR recognized the need for medical expert testimony guidelines that serve the public interest by ensuring that testimony is readily available, objective, and unbiased.

Two Years of Helping Patients Obtain Prescriptions

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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.

Some Lupus Tests Yield False Results

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The ACR’s Regional Advisory Council (RAC) has received several member reports of false results on antinuclear antibody (ANA) tests. The test screens for systemic lupus erythematosus, drug-induced lupus, and other diseases. Results are used to direct treatment, so accuracy is crucial.

UnitedHealth Group to Require MRI Accreditation

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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.

Fight Fatigue in Arthritis Patients—As a Team

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AIM modules provide a tool for physicians seeking a quality-improvement program and a way to meet new ACGME competencies or the American Board of Internal Medicine’s Maintenance of Certification Program requirements.

Become a Quality Improvement Tool Pilot Site

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The ACR plans open enrollment for its new AIM (Assess Improve Measure) module, “AIM: Gout” during the 2007 annual meeting and is seeking clinicians to participate in the testing phase. For more information on pilot site requirements, contact Amy Beith at [email protected], or (404) 633-3777.

State and Local Society Coding Presentations

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The ACR Practice Advocacy Department will give programs to assist physicians with coding and reimbursement again this year. Last year, ACR coders spoke at more than 15 state and local societies.

Join an ACR/ARHP List Serve Community

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Have you ever wanted peer input on a rheumatology-related problem? Thanks to the ACR and ARHP list serves, help is only an e-mail away. The list serves give you unlimited access to rheumatologists or health professional experts. The ACR offers list serves on coding and practice management, advocacy, and five for specific U.S. regions, while the ARHP offers clinical, pediatric, rehabilitation, and research lists. Members can join as many lists as they like.

Since their launch, these list serves have helped ACR members share information and advice on reimbursement challenges and successes, practice tools, research methods, physical therapists in a pediatric hospital setting, and many more topics.

You can choose to receive list updates as they are posted or as one digest message at the end of the day.

For questions on joining, changing your settings, or posting messages, contact Regina Adair at (404) 633-3777, ext. 817 or [email protected] (for ACR lists), or Julie Anderson at ext. 802 or [email protected] (for ARHP lists).

Paget’s Disease of Bone

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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.