It takes the whole village to achieve Meaningful Use
Meaningful Use is achieved when the entire practice participates, everyone plays a role in the day to day activities, and everyone plays a role in the transition to electronic records and attempting to meet MU criteria. From the front desk to the doctor, everyone has to ensure that the information is collected, stored, tracked, and maintained. As noted in the Health Data Management article below for a small clinic, everyone did their part to achieve MU. Practice size is not a significant factor if everyone knows their part.There is a period of time where an adjustment is required to track the information that in many cases was not previously tracked, but “practice makes perfect” when it comes to establishing routines & behaviors related to collecting and tracking MU data. It just becomes a part of the every day routine after a while…
Small Clinic Meaningful User Shares Lessons http://bit.ly/iWltbw
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EHR’s will not cure all your ills!
A recent Health Data Management article about EHR’s pointed out the fact that not long ago EHR’s were once touted as a cure all for financial issues in healthcare. Reality tells us this is simply not true! EHR’s do have may benefits, and overall will have a positive impact on healthcare in general. But don’t be deceived into believing an EHR will instantly cure all your ills, solve all your problems, and make your practice so efficient you can leave mid day because you have worked through all your patients so quickly.The key to a successful EHR transition is preparation, knowing where you are now & how you conduct our business, as well as where you want to go & when you want to get there. EHR’s do improve efficiency, but only when properly designed and implemented. We are here to help you plan the transition and offer systems to meet your unique needs.
Article link: http://bit.ly/mBw2iO
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Go Electronic and find out what you were missing
An excellent example recently provided by an article in Health Data Management discusses how providers are discovering what they were missing before they transitioned to electronic records. Efficiency improves, time is better spent on other activities, and patient care has improved. Going electronic and qualifying for Meaningful Use does cause other problems though, you have to decide what to do with your incentive payments, and what to do with the newly found free time previously spent on completing paper documents!For more information about electronic record systems, meaningful use, what we can do to help the transition, or for other services please contact us.
Article link: http://bit.ly/Meaningful_User
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Are you preparing for ICD 10 and a far greater number of codes?
If anyone wonders what ICD 10 will mean to a provider, here is a quick summary of the code changes as noted in a recent Health Data Management article. The number of diagnosis codes increase five fold (14,000 to about 69,000), and the inpatient procedure codes increase eighteen fold (yes, that’s right, there are EIGHTEEN times as many inpatient procedure codes, a full 72,000 compared to the current 4,000!). And it gets even better, expectations on documentation will increase as well. Documentation related to the usage of the codes will be expected to reflect the proper use of the codes, of any code used.ICD10 is released in 2013, which may seem a long way off, but being prepared for the new codes far ahead of that time is the only way. It is essential that the EHR system you use be compliant to the ICD10 codes when they are released so it can help you ensure that the codes are used properly, and the documentation which accompanies the codes is complete and accurate.
If you’re not sure about your systems capabilities, or are not using an EHR system now, give us a call! Transitioning to an EHR system now also must include a system that is capable of adapting to the new codes without you radically altering everything that you do.
Link to the article in Health Data Management: How Big a Challenge is ICD-10? Ankle Sprain = 72 Codes
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Make sure what you get out of Medicare is complete and accurate
According to an article in the “Dermatology Times” Medicare anticipates savings of $50Billion dollars (yes, that $50Billion dollars) over the next five years by reducing what they pay to insurance companies. So it is absolutely essential to make sure that all of your reimbursements are filed quickly, accurately, and are tracked to closure, to make sure you get what you are owed. This is only one area where Medicare expects substantial savings, for more information please see the article link below.Article link: http://bit.ly/120Billion
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CMS expects you to seek out Certified EHR’s
In a recent post the CMS reiterated that they expect Eligible Professionals (EP) to seek out certified EHRs in order to provide the required clinical quality measures (CQM) appropriate for their practice. A certified EHR should be capable of providing the core and alternate CQM’s the EP must report on. Any EP using a non certified EHR will be addressed by CMS at a later stage, and what that means at this stage is unclear.
For additional information on this topic see the CMS link below and their FAQ section.
http://questions.cms.hhs.gov/app/answers/list/p/21,26,1139,1145
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Electronic information exchange means no hands on!
The CMS today issued more guidance around what the electronic exchange of information means. Essentially using any type of media which is “hands on” such as a portable USB drive, CD ROM, or any other type of physical storage media does NOT constitute the electronic exchange of information.For more information about this issue, and other guidelines, see the CMS site listed below.
http://questions.cms.hhs.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/10270/kw/10270
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Is Your Practice Prepared For A RAC Audit?
Did you know that under-coding is as likely to attract a RAC audit as over-coding? Medicare Recovery Audit Contractors (RAC) are in your area and you could be their next target. Are you ready? Medicare has contracted with private firms to perform medical records and billing audits on providers in all 50 states. Private practices are subject to the scrutiny of these auditors, who are seeking to save Medicare as much as $10 billion by 2015. Medical records that go back three years from the date of payment are subject to their review. Making an honest mistake for three years could have a monumental financial repercussion on a practice.Taking a proactive approach is the only way to minimize risk! Our consultants help physicians avoid the consequences of a RAC audit.
- What are RAC’s?
- Why do they exist?
- How will they affect your practice?
- How can you be certain your practice is in compliance?
These are just some of the questions you should be asking yourself and that the consultants at Peak Profit Solutions can resolve for you and your practice.
CMS Finishing Testing of Electronic Systems for EHR Incentive Program
via News – Stimulus Watch – iHealthBeat.CMS is conducting final tests of the systems it will use to manage incentive payments for health care providers who demonstrate “meaningful use” of electronic health records. The agency plans to open registration for the incentive program in January 2011. Government Health IT.
Certified HIT Product List Released
The Certified HIT Product List (CHPL) has been released. The CHPL provides a comprehensive listing of Complete EHRs and EHR Modules that have been tested and certified under the Temporary Certification Program maintained by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC). (4 votes, average: 4.75 out of 5) Loading ...