The traditional model for subspecialist consultations on hospitalized patients by outpatient-based rheumatologists may seem straightforward. Hospitalists (the inpatient specialists who now manage most in-hospital medical care in the majority of U.S. hospitals) typically call upon the rheumatologist’s expertise for joint swelling and a rash or fever of unknown origin, says Lianne Gensler, MD, of the…
If you had asked Ray Waldrup in 1981 what he would be doing in 2018, serving as the CEO of the largest rheumatology practice in the U.S. would probably not have been his first guess. Back then, as a young college student in Georgia, Mr. Waldrup took a job at a national jewelry retailer and…
Whether he is teaching rheumatologists how to leverage technology tools in their practice or working with the ACR’s Communications and Marketing Committee (CMC) to connect members with practice knowledge and support, Suleman Bhana, MD, FACR, a rheumatologist with Crystal Run Healthcare in Middletown, N.Y., is focused on connecting with his colleagues to improve patient care….
The field of rheumatology is advancing fast—alongside communication technologies that generate a massive amount of information. Paul Sufka, MD, a rheumatologist with HealthPartners in St. Paul, Minn., is interested in the ways social media can help him and other rheumatologists stay connected and keep abreast of practice information. “One thing I see people doing too…
(Reuters Health)—When patients misunderstand commonly used medical terms, communication and decision-making may suffer, U.K. researchers say. In a survey of London oral and maxillofacial surgery clinic patients, more than a third of participants did not know the meaning of such terms as benign or lesion and more than half could not define metastasis or lymph…
For the first time, five generations are currently employed in the workforce. From traditionalists to gen Z—here are insights into the communication styles of each generation…
Survey results released earlier this year found that communication difficulties exist between patients and their rheumatologists for many reasons—possibly resulting in more disease activity despite advances in RA treatments. Here are tips for communicating with your patients and helping them be more proactive in their care…
Forty-five years ago, a computer engineer in Boston sent an electronic message between two computers some 10 feet apart. It took another 10 years or so before the electronic mail message was dubbed email—a term now, perhaps, more ubiquitous than any other in the lexicon of modern communications. Despite the seemingly definitive place email communication…
Patient portals are online programs and applications that help patients and physicians interact. Although there are many different implementations, most will have some sort of messaging component to help with communication between the doctor and the patient, as well as access to at least some elements of the chart, such as test results. “Patients should…
One month has passed since the U.S. healthcare system overcame a historical milestone with the conversion from billing ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM. Although the transition to ICD-10 had a major impact on coding operations, its far-reaching tentacles go beyond coding alone and are deeply rooted in the entire revenue cycle. There is room to criticize the…