SAN FRANCISCO—The heterogeneity of systemic vasculitis, a set of diseases characterized by inflammation of blood vessel walls, presents rheumatologists with diagnostic and treatment challenges, said Sharon A. Chung, MD, MAS, director of the University of California, San Francisco Vasculitis Clinic, at the California Rheumatology Alliance 2016 Scientific & Medical Meeting in May. She outlined emerging…
Although most systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients don’t develop macrophage activation syndrome (MAS), the approximately 10% who do have this serious complication can experience widespread, massive inflammation, debilitating symptoms and even death. To improve understanding of MAS among physicians and advance efforts to develop effective therapies to treat it, a panel of 28 international pediatric…
Recognizing that gaps often occur in the transition process for young adults as they transition from pediatric to adult healthcare, in particular for youth with special healthcare needs, the American College of Physicians’ (ACP’s) Council of Subspecialty Societies (CSS), of which the ACR is a member, initiated a project and engaged several medical specialty organizations…
Take the challenge. CPT: 99213 Diagnosis Codes: M05.79, M17.12, Z79.1, Z79.899 Rationale to code this encounter as 99213: History—The history of present illness was extended. The review of systems was comprehensive, and two of the three past, family and social history were documented. This makes the history level comprehensive. Eight systems were examined. This makes…
Level 3 Established Patient E&M Visit A 43-year-old patient is seen in the office for a follow-up visit of her RF-positive rheumatoid arthritis and primary osteoarthritis of the left knee. The patient is on sulindac, methotrexate and folic acid. At her last visit, the patient’s methotrexate dose was increased, which has greatly reduced her pain….
Where can you network with more than 16,000 professionals in the field of rheumatology? Where you can hear about promising research and best practices from industry leaders? How can you find out about new treatments and technologies on the horizon? You guessed it—at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, to be held Nov. 11–16. As if…
Can We Stay Forever Young? May your heart always be joyful And may your song always be sung May you stay forever young Forever Young —Bob Dylan Beneath the rubric of orphan diseases reside some rare conditions and others that are extraordinarily uncommon. These are the diseases that most physicians either never to get to…
In 2013, a collaboration began to advance the training and assessment of fellows. The result: A uniform set of educational reporting milestones for all internal medicine subspecialties was developed. Key stakeholders were then asked to develop a list of entrustable professional activities (EPAs), a set of responsibilities any specialist should be able to perform, for their subspecialties. The ACR’s Next Accreditation System working group developed 14 EPAs for rheumatology…
Ethical issues that arise in the average rheumatology practice and in clinical research are often straightforward. The AMA Code of Medical Ethics and the Office Practice and Procedures Manual offer useful information.1 In research, the Protocol and Investigators Agreement spells out who you can enroll and how the trial must be conducted. But still—even when…
Take the challenge. CPT: 99214-25, 96413, 96415 x 1, J1745 x 35 ICD-10: M07.68, K51.80 Billing Overview It is appropriate to bill for an E/M visit for this day of service along with the infusion procedure. Modifier 25 should be appended to the E/M, indicating that the patient received a significant, separately identifiable E/M service…