Submitting a clean Medicare reimbursement claim the first time can save your practice thousands of dollars each year. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) defines a clean claim as “a submitted patient claim form without any defect or need for substantiation.”
A Day in the Life of David Wolfe, MD
David Wolfe, MD, knows how politics can affect rheumatology. As part of the Washington, D.C.–based practice Arthritis and Rheumatism Associates, he is right next door to the movers and shakers who decide everything from insurance costs to how much reimbursement might be expected for bone density scans. But he’s a bit of a mover and shaker himself. Making partner while still in his 30s, Dr. Wolfe is young enough to understand the importance of changes but old enough to realize these suggestions must be made with passion tempered with patience. “If you’re in a position where you’re given a voice, you should use it,” he says. “The strength of our practice when you make partner is being a full voting member so you have an equal stake. Older members don’t always think of new ways of doing things procedurally, but you have to be patient with them and appreciate their experience.”
Science from our Sisters
Recommended reading from A&R and AC&R
Reading Rheum
Handpicked Reviews of Contemporary Literature
Rheumatologists in the Spotlight
Four rheumatology researchers receive prestigious awards for their work
Metabolic Myopathies
Patient Fact Sheet
Coding Corner Question
Decembers’s Coding Challenge
Coding Corner Answer
Decembers’s Coding Challenge Answer
ARHP in 2008
As I begin my presidency, let me thank you—the ARHP membership—for allowing me to steer this organization through the 2008 year. As a physical therapist in clinical practice for more than 25 years, I have experienced the challenges of treating people with arthritis and rheumatic diseases. For the past 13 years, I have served the ARHP in various capacities and, as my personal involvement in the ARHP has grown, my knowledge of this premier rheumatology organization has also expanded.
2008 ARHP Rheumatology Audioconference Series
An increasing number of busy healthcare professionals are taking advantage of the ARHP Rheumatology Audioconference Series—a no-travel educational offering approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits. Since 2004 the Rheumatology Audioconference Series has provided an alternative mode of education for rheumatology health professionals.
Life Lessons and Career Empowerment
Since he was a high-school freshman, Nathan Faulkner has known he was going to pursue a career in medicine. Trauma to his left eye sparked his interest in the anatomy and physiology of the eye, and he originally considered a career in ophthalmology.
How to Communicate with Elected Officials
Some people shy away from advocating for issues that are important to them because they feel it is too difficult, think their voice and opinions won’t make a difference, or feel it will be too time consuming to become an advocate.
Is Your Office Lab Up to Par?
Rheumatology practices with laboratory testing facilities in their offices can offer important benefits to patients and physicians. During their care of patients with musculoskeletal and rheumatic diseases, rheumatologists may order many tests, including erythrocyte sedimentation rate, synovial fluid analysis, complete blood count, fecal occult test, and urinalysis. While the prompt receipt of test results and the capability to evaluate specimens in the office directly improves efficiency, it is important to remember that offices must be certified to perform laboratory testing, particularly high-complexity tests such as the analysis of synovial fluids.
Medicine’s for the Birds
In the healthcare game plan, how will physicians get the ball?
Plan for Success in 2008
We’re ready for the rewards and challenges of the coming year
Keep Kids on the Move
How to encourage physical activity and exercise in juvenile idiopathic arthritis
Rheumatology Stakeholders Talk Quality
ACR urged to accelerate efforts to develop quality indicators
Watch Those Eyes
What you need to know about Uveitis in Rheumatic Diseases