At the close of my first year in fellowship, a co-fellow opened a packed cabinet behind her desk, and untold volumes of methodically annotated medical articles burst forth. Impressed not only by her diligence but also by the sheer volume of paper, I made a mental note to read more and to read more efficiently….
The ACR recognizes that data are more important now than ever. As we enter what has been called the Fourth Industrial Revolution—a period of digitalization in which technology is embedded everywhere in our everyday lives—we are not just hearing constantly about the importance of data and its capabilities, we are experiencing it every day, firsthand…
We spend a good portion of our day in front of screens—televisions, computers, tablets, phones and more. Social media (#SoMe) use has been on the rise, and its marriage to medicine seems inevitable. Merriam-Webster, aka America’s most trusted online dictionary, defines social media as forms of electronic communication through which users create online communities to…
A 60-year-old man returns for a follow-up related to his diagnoses of rheumatoid arthritis and chronic gout of his right ankle and foot, without tophi. He reports the gout flares have subsided in his ankle. He takes 450 mg of allopurinol daily. He has rheumatoid factor-positive rheumatoid arthritis, which previously affected multiple sites, without organ…
Take the challenge. CPT: 20611-LT, J7325-EJ ICD-10: M17.12, E66.01, Z68.41 CPT: 99213 ICD-10: M1a.0710, M05.79 History—The history of present illness was extended. The review of systems was extended, and two past family social history elements were documented. This makes the history level detailed. Examination—Five systems were examined. This makes the exam level detailed. Medical decision…
Don’t forget: The submission window for the Quality Payment Program Performance Year 2018 closes on Tuesday, April 2, 2019. Submissions must be complete by 8:00 PM EDT. We encourage all MIPS-eligible clinicians to double-check their status and final scores with the CMS by logging into their EIDM account. Not sure how to review your final score?…
Analysis of the 2015 ACR Workforce Study, published in the April 2018 issue of Arthritis Care & Research, revealed the U.S. will face a shortage of 4,000 rheumatology providers by 2030.1 This shortage will be uneven, with rheumatology providers concentrated in urban and suburban areas, and rural areas underserved. The Central U.S., Southwest, Southeast and…
Last year the ACR’s nonpartisan political action committee, RheumPAC, raised nearly $150,000 from individual contributors. Starting in 2019, the addition of the RheumPAC Advocacy Fund, where rheumatology practices and state societies can contribute corporate dollars, is expected to support RheumPAC fundraising efforts in an effort to surpass this dollar amount, giving rheumatology an even stronger…
UnitedHealthcare (UHC) announced in the March issue of its Provider Network Bulletin that it will discontinue payment for consultation codes (CPT 99241–99255) later this year. Implementation of the policy will occur in two phases. On June 1, 2019, UHC will eliminate the consultation codes for practices with contracted rates based on a stated year 2010 or…
In the next few weeks, you may be selected to participate in an AMA/Specialty Society RVS Update Committee (RUC) survey for physician office visits (99202-99205, 99211-99215) and a new prolonged services code (99XXX). As you may know, the components of the Medicare Physician Payment Schedule are physician work, practice expense and professional liability insurance. This…