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

From the College

Speak Up This Summer

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Congress continues to make health policy decisions that directly affect you and your patients. It is critical that rheumatology professionals speak up about patient access to quality care, physician payment reform, research funding, and the multitude of concerns you and your colleagues face every day. Congress is on summer recess August 8–September 5, so now is the perfect time to reach out to your legislators and educate them on issues affecting the rheumatology community.

Hire the Best Job Applicants Based on the Number Rating They Give Themselves

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Psychologists say healthy self-esteem and work ethics are inextricably linked. Whether children are nurtured by circumstances and people who supported their self-esteem or damaged by those that don’t, the way in which they come to perceive themselves plays a big part in how they interact with others throughout their lives.

Practice Page

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Government Exclusion Program : Can It Affect Your Practice?

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.

Honorary Member Joan “Happy” Tyree Retiring

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Staff member Joan “Happy” Tyree has worked in arthritis since May 1982, when she joined the staff of the ACR. She began her career with the ARHP in August 1984. During her years at the ARHP, she has worked in membership and educational programs, coordinating the development of more than 26 ARHP Annual Scientific Meeting programs.

2011 ILR Request for Proposals

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The International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR) is issuing its fourth request for proposals for projects that advance rheumatology in developing countries.