RISE FAQs

Rheumatology Informatics System for Effectiveness (RISE) is the nation’s first and largest electronic health record (EHR)-enabled rheumatology registry, developed by the ACR.

A CMS-approved Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR), RISE includes data from over 1,000 rheumatology clinicians, 3.8 million patients, and 42 million patient encounters, help improve care and advance research. RISE also supports clinicians in optimizing outcomes, meeting MIPS/MVP reporting requirements, driving complex analysis and rheumatology research discoveries.

RISE’s platform dashboard offers 25+ quality measures, including 8 measures developed by the ACR to support rheumatology providers.

RISE is an ACR member benefit available to practicing rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals. Project Proposals for analysis of RISE data can be submitted by both members and non-members.

RISE compiles data from Electronic Health Record (EHR) during routine clinical care. This includes demographic data, medications, laboratory studies, and more.

Yes. The RISE registry infrastructure is fully HIPAA compliant. Access to Protected Health Information (PHI) is limited to the registry technology vendor and the participating practice. That data is only used for registry operations, such as reporting quality measures to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), or as requested by the practice. Any data shared with the ACR or third parties for research or other purposes is aggregated and stripped of direct patient identifiers to ensure privacy.

• Improve Patient Care – RISE’s quality measure dashboard provides detailed, aggregated data with benchmarks for quality improvement. RISE supports rheumatology clinicians in investigating treatment successes and adverse event patterns, leading to better treatment decisions and improved patient outcomes.
• Research – The ACR uses RISE’s aggregate limited data set to advance rheumatology research. Only de-identified, aggregate results are shared with third parties; patient or clinician identifiers are never shared.
• Advocacy – RISE data helps the ACR demonstrate the value of quality care to stakeholders like lawmakers, CMS, and payers, strengthening advocacy for the rheumatology community.

RISE is a member benefit of the ACR. The ACR does not charge practices to join the RISE registry; however, some EHRs charge practices for patient data to be brought over to the registry. Please check with your EHR to see if they would charge your practice to connect with the registry.

• Quality Measure Performance Tracking – RISE helps practices evaluate quality of care and identify opportunities for improvement. Using the RISE dashboard, you can track performance on quality measures down to the patient level, compare to national benchmarks, and pinpoint areas of improvement.
• QPP Reporting – RISE simplifies and automates CMS annual reporting. As a CMS-approved QCDR, RISE allows providers to report on numerous quality measures for the QPP, including rheumatology-specific ones unavailable elsewhere. Practices can report for both Traditional MIPS and/or the Advancing Rheumatology MIPS Value Pathway through RISE.

To participate in the registry, providers/practices must:

• Be active members of the ACR/ARP.
• Complete the online onboarding process, including a Master Participation Agreement (MPA).
• Work with the ACR's registry technology vendor to connect to your EHR.
  • As of January 2026, RISE can connect to the following EHR systems: Altera, Amazing Charts, Aprima, Athena One, Athena Practice/GE Centricity, eClinicalWorks, Epic – Community, Epic – Institutional, Medent, NextGen, Practice Fusion
  • Is your EHR not represented? We are always seeking to expand our list of compatible EHRs; email us at RISE@rheumatology.org to add your system to the wait list.

RISE offers everything your practice needs for quality reporting and improvement. It provides exclusive access to rheumatology-specific QCDR measures for performance tracking, only available through RISE. While RISE can serve as your primary registry, practices are more than welcome to participate in additional registries.

Typically, practices spend 8 hours over 2 to 4 weeks to prepare for and successfully onboard and complete EHR integration with the RISE registry.

Yes. ACR staff and our registry technology vendor will work together to provide resources and guidance on how to report for the QPP through the registry. Resources for RISE users are typically kept on the RISE Hub webpage, a page exclusively available to RISE users.

Within your practice, each provider can view RISE data for their patients and the practice's overall benchmarks. Only the Practice Manager and/or Clinician Supervisor roles have access to data for all providers.

For federal reporting, RISE securely encrypts and transmits data, including PHI, to CMS, as required by law.

For research, RISE data is aggregated and scrubbed of patient identifiers before analysis. All results are further de-identified to ensure that investigators never have access to PHI.

Yes, the ACR is happy to have a practice (most likely one who uses the same EHR as you do) reach out to you to discuss their experience with the RISE registry.

Yes. The ACR offers a formal process for investigators to request analyses of RISE registry data. Detailed instructions on requesting projects are on the Request RISE Data page.

An overview of the data request process is on the Request RISE Data page.

If your organization requires it, you will need IRB approval for your proposed project. The ACR has received the necessary approvals and exemptions from the Western Internal Review Board (IRB) – Copernicus Group (WCG) for the procedures for collecting the data and using it for research purposes. Additionally, each RISE data analytic center has received IRB approval from their local institutions to conduct analyses of the data.

No. Currently, the ACR does not release limited data sets to individual investigators or organizations. Instead, your project’s analysis will be completed by an ACR-contracted data analytic center (DAC). These DACs have the expertise and technical infrastructure to analyze complex, large electronic health record-based data sets.

RISE extracts all EHR information collected by rheumatology professionals during routine clinical practice, including a wide range of rheumatic diseases. If you want to see examples of the routinely captured data, visit RISE for Discovery or reach out to RISE@rheumatology.org.

No. The ACR does not collect or request biologic samples; RISE functions by digitally pulling information from electronic health records.

Project costs are calculated on a case-by-case basis. Project costs vary based on complexity and the level of support needed from the assigned data analytic center (DAC). Cost factors include study length, scientific scope, and analysis requirements. Costs typically range from tens of thousands of dollars for basic queries to hundreds of thousands of dollars for publication-worthy analyses.

Note: Costs are determined only after your request is approved by the ACR’s Research and Publications Subcommittee and scoped by the assigned DAC, so estimates are not available upon initial proposal submission. If you have set funding, the RISE team can work with you to ascertain the feasibility of potential projects within your available funding.

Contact RISE@rheumatology.org to discuss your project and better understand how your analytical needs affect your budget.

Researchers who plan to apply for grant funding should be aware of the following important information:

1. Get Approval First: Your RISE data request must be approved before applying for funding.
2. Connect with Us Early: We encourage researchers to contact RISE staff to discuss topics before submitting a request. We can provide feedback on available data and previous projects related to the topic.
3. Consider your Data Pathway: Researchers who plan to apply for funding may also want to consider the “preliminary data track.” This option allows requestors who have some funding readily available to conduct basic preliminary analyses either as a feasibility study or to gather the information that will enhance the funding application. More details on this pathway are available in the RISE Project Proposal User Guide.