What does the spread of coronavirus mean for patients with chronic illnesses, such as inflammatory arthritis? With more than 80,000 detected cases of the virus internationally, this is an important question for rheumatologists to be considering. A patient that is immunocompromised must take extra care to know the symptoms of the virus. While the beginning […]
The 2020 Medicare physician fee schedule promises to lighten the administrative load for physicians in 2021 with news about changes in coding for outpatient evaluation and management (E/M) services. CMS estimates that under their proposal, rheumatologists would see on average a 15% payment increase, beginning in 2021. The proposed coding changes recognize the value of […]
Excerpt from The Rheumatologist, April 2019 Karen Ferguson, practice administrator for Arthritis Northwest, Spokane, Wash., offered lessons from her experience in helping refine a seven-rheumatologist, 60-employee practice’s habits of documentation, patient communication and handling referrals. The idea has been to link rheumatologists, primary care physicians and patients throughout the care process, putting the foundation to succeed under […]