Jane’s* hands and wrists had been swollen and painful for about eight weeks. Lab findings in the ambulatory consult that came to our office revealed a cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody count >250 u/mL. We all know where this story goes, including how important the early treatment window is. Our clinic reviews all consults and tries…
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of health insurers seeking $12 billion from the federal government under a program set up by the Obamacare law aimed at encouraging them to offer medical coverage to previously uninsured Americans. The 8–1 ruling authored by liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor paves the way for a significant one-time…
Effective immediately, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has stated it will not impose any noncompliance penalties under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) on physicians using any non-public facing service or audio or video communication technology (e.g., Apple FaceTime, Skype, Facebook Messenger, etc.) for telehealth services. This discretion applies to telehealth…
In this time of COVID-19, you may be considering ways to deliver routine rheumatologic care via some form of telemedicine. Here are some of the legal considerations.
The Stark law and the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) are the U.S. healthcare system’s primary fraud and abuse laws, and highly anticipated proposed reform plans from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) were finally unveiled on Oct. 17, 2019. The proposed reforms would 1) clarify certain requirements…
ATLANTA—The rheumatology profession faces a severe shortfall of practitioners that threatens the ability to address patients’ needs. “Even if we doubled the number of positions for fellowship training, we wouldn’t meet the increasing demand on our workforce,” said Marcy B. Bolster, MD, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston, and director of the…
ATLANTA—Every year at its Annual Meeting, the ACR recognizes its members’ outstanding contributions to the field of rheumatology through an awards program. The ACR is proud to announce 20 award recipients for 2019, honored for their accomplishments as clinicians, instructors or researchers who have helped advance rheumatology, for their commitment to inspire others to enter…
Issues related to the costs and insurance coverage associated with rheumatologic care can be complex and overwhelming for patients. Here’s how one private practice addresses the financial side of treatment with its patients…
The ACR’s delegation to the AMA HOD meeting in November successfully advanced resolutions to advocate for pharmacy benefit manager transparency and expanded patient protections from step therapy protocols.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) treatment is associated with a reduced risk of acute arterial events in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), especially men, new research shows. IBD patients face an increased risk of acute arterial events, which are also independently associated with disease activity, Julien Kirchgesner, MD, PhD, of Hospital Saint-Antoine,…