Exclusive: ACR Convergence 2024| Focus Rheums

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

Guidance

Subcategories:Clinical Criteria/GuidelinesEthicsLegal UpdatesLegislation & AdvocacyMeeting ReportsResearch Rheum

Watch the Walk

Greg Lavine  |  

Gait analysis can improve the walk of patients with arthritis

Nonsurgical Management of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

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Maura D. Iversen, PT, DPT, SD, MPH, of MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston, will discuss the nonsurgical management of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), epidemiology, and common symptoms associated with this condition during the ARHP rheumatology audioconference on Wednesday, May 21, from noon to 1:00 p.m. (EST). Iversen will provide a summary of nonpharmacologic and nonsurgical interventions to manage LSS—including a summary and evaluation of manual therapy techniques and exercise.

New Investigators Struggle to Find the Path to Independence

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While practicing rheumatologists face budgetary cuts in Medicare reimbursement, new investigators are facing a challenge of their own. Federal budget cuts and other vanishing funding sources are making it extremely difficult to support their research activities. “Over the past several years, sources of funding for these individuals have become increasingly restricted, with the Arthritis Foundation’s Arthritis Investigator award no longer available and the mentored Career Development Awards (K08 and K23) from the NIH affected by the federal budgetary constraints,” remarks ACR Research and Education Foundation (REF) President Leslie Crofford, MD.

American College of Rheumatology (ACR) on Capitol Hill

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“By tomorrow night, there will be so many more people on Capitol Hill who know—and are sensitive to—rheumatology and the issues that impact you and your patients. There is no substitute for what you are doing,” says Martha M. Kendrick, a partner at Patton Boggs, LLP, the ACR’s lobbying firm. This is what she told the physician, health professional, and patient participants of the ACR’s 2008 “Advocates for Arthritis” advocacy event—termed a fly-in—before they took their personal stories to the lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Reading Rheum

Gail C. Davis, RN, EdD; Michael M. Ward, MD  |  

Handpicked Reviews of Contemporary Literature

Avoid Compliance Risks When Using Billing Companies

Antanya Chung, CPC, CCP  |  

Outsourcing your billing to a third party will not alleviate your compliance duties or reduce your risk of a government investigation. Conversely, a relationship with a third-party biller can increase your compliance obligations and raise audit risks.