ACMSS – HEALTHCARE BEAT

EHR Alerts … and more!

Pew: Patient safety demands more robust testing of EHR usability

Healthcare IT News
Pew Charitable Trusts says not enough attention is being paid to electronic health record usability from a safety point of view. And given that federal certification requirements don’t address two key safety factors, it’s offering EHR developers and provider organizations a toolset to help boost patient protections. READ MORE

Few execs believe healthcare IT security tech will be disruptive

HealthITSecurity
Only 7 percent of executives surveyed by Reaction Data believe that healthcare IT security technology will have a significant disruptive impact on healthcare. Twenty-nine percent said that telemedicine will be the biggest disruptor, 20 percent said AI, 15 percent said interoperability, 13 percent said data analytics, 11 percent said mobile data, 3 percent said cloud, and surprisingly only 2 percent said blockchain would be the biggest disruptor. READ MORE

Hackers favor using vulnerable web apps to beat security perimeters

Health Data Management
For many organizations, vulnerable web applications may be their weakest link when it comes to an effective data security strategy. About three-quarters (73 percent) of successful perimeter breaches in 2017 were achieved using vulnerable Web applications, according to Kaspersky Lab’s analysis of penetration tests it conducted on corporate networks that year. READ MORE

HIMSS: Stark Law hinders care coordination, health data exchange

EHR Intelligence
The Physician Self-Referral Law, commonly known as the Stark Law, places unnecessary administrative burdens on providers while hindering care coordination and health data exchange, according to a letter from HIMSS to CMS Administrator Seema Verma. In response to the federal agency’s June request for information (RFI), HIMSS advised CMS to change Stark Law regulations to ensure they do not prohibit or interfere with health data exchange and care coordination.In its letter, HIMSS emphasized that alternative payment models (APMs) require a flexible regulatory framework to succeed. READ MORE

How blockchain could solve 4 major problems in healthcare

Health Data Management
The healthcare IT industry faces a host of challenges today, including silos within hospitals that restrict information sharing, integrating artificial intelligence into clinical practice, to solving the opioid crisis. While distributed ledger technologies such as blockchain won’t mitigate all of them, this technology can resolve a number of significant pain points associated with routine business processes. READ MORE

Medical Document Services of Kansas, LLC (MDS) is a Wichita, Kansas healthcare document service specializing in Medical Billing, Medical Transcription, Scribe Services, and AzaleaHealth EHR. We provide efficient, accurate, affordable quality services for hospitals, clinics, and facilities of all sizes. Call 866-777-7264 today, or visit our website for more information. We have education programs in Medical Scribe Specialists. #MedicalTranscription #AzaleaHealthEHR #RevenueCycleManagement #MDSofKansas #MedicalBillingService #MedicalScribes

ACMSS Applauds House Passage of VA Medical Scribe Pilot Act; Urges Scribe Certification

#VeteransAffairsMedicalScribePilotActof2017

ORANGE, Calif., August 24, 2017. The American College of Medical Scribe Specialists (ACMSS) applauds the passage last Friday of a bipartisan bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to create a pilot study in Veteran’s Administration hospitals to determine whether using Medical Scribes to assist physicians will help shorten the VA’s notoriously long wait times and ease other patient service problems. ACMSS only asks that the Senate modify the language in the bill to ensure the VA employs only Certified Medical Scribe Specialists.

The purpose of The Veterans Affairs Medical Scribe Pilot Act of 2017 (HR 1848), introduced by Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tenn.), is to create a two-year medical scribe pilot program under which VA will increase the use of medical scribes at ten VA medical centers, employing 30 scribes in all. It is hoped that the use of medical scribes in the program will reduce the amount of time physicians spend on daily documentation so that they may increase the number of patients physicians can see and the amount of time physicians are spending with each patient. Every 180 days during the two-year program the VA will be required to report to Congress the programs effect’s on provider satisfaction, provider productivity, patient satisfaction, average wait time and the number of patients seen per day.

After the bill’s passage, Roe, who is Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and a physician, released a statement on the purpose of the legislation. “Since the VA waitlist scandal broke three years ago, I’ve examined several ways to improve patient care for veterans, and one that came up repeatedly in discussions was cutting down on the time physicians spend entering data,” Roe said. “Many private-sector physicians report the use of medical scribes has a positive and meaningful impact on their ability to see patients. Scribes can help input patient data and allow physicians to focus on patient care and use their time more efficiently. That’s why I introduced legislation to start a pilot program to examine whether or not the use of medical scribes would have similar positive effects in the VA.”

ACMSS agrees with all of the elements contained in the Act, but is sending a letter to the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, asking for one change before the bill goes to the Senate for a vote. “If this legislation is approved in the Senate and the program goes forward, employing Medical Scribes to assist physicians at the VA will undoubtedly improve efficiencies and have the positive effect the bill proponents desire, and more,” said ACMSS Executive Director Kristin Hagen. “However, in approving the language, ACMSS urges the Senate to insist that only Certified Medical Scribe Specialists be used in the program. Medical scribes provide real-time documentation and increase practice efficiencies in a great number of areas outside of clinical documentation, but they must be certified.”

ACMSS is an independent certifying organization and works in compliance with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to meet national goals and initiatives of Meaningful Use of Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT), and Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) and its Merit-Based Payment Incentive System (MIPS). Certified Medical Scribe Specialists also meet the “qualified people” standard in CEHRT and assist with the design and infrastructure to support ongoing transformative care and change.

The ACMSS certification program meets current and proposed CMS certification requirements toward use of EHRs through its Medical Scribe Certification & Aptitude Test (MSCAT). In addition to the overall certification exam, ACMSS provides specialty certifications in vascular medicine, dermatology, oncology, primary care, internal medicine, emergency medicine and general patient care, enabling access to all across the specialties.

“Employing Certified Medical Scribe Specialists is the best way that care providers get can ensure they get back the time and attention they need to join the evolution of the outpatient healthcare industry into a patient-centered system that focuses on integrative medicine, prevention, disease reversal and wellness,” Hagen said.

Please contact ACMSS directly at info@theacmss.org, visit our website at theacmss.org, or phone 800-987-3692 if you have any questions regarding the ACMSS program and/or materials.

Scribes Can Alleviate Doc Burnout

Certified Medical Scribe Support Can Alleviate Physician EHR Burnout Concerns; Certify Today

CONTACT: Kristin Hagen
President/CEO, American College of Medical Scribe Specialists
(657) 888-2158

ORANGE, CA., July 6, 2016. According to a new analysis by the Mayo Clinic and American Medical Association researchers of a nationwide survey of physicians, computerized provider order entry and electronic health record use are a major source of burnout for physicians. The study found that physicians who used EHRs and CPOE had greater rates of burnout than those who did not, an issue that Certified Medical Scribe Specialists (CMSS) have been shown to help alleviate.

“This study makes it clear that physicians are frustrated with the drop in productivity resulting from electronic health record use and the time takes away from true, face-to-face interactions with patients,” said ACMSS Executive Director Kristin Hagen. “The revolution in our healthcare system toward value-based, individualized medical care and treatment cannot happen if the EHRs meant to help facilitate these changes are a major source of physician dissatisfaction. Certified Medical Scribe Specialists assist practices and clinicians in real time, assisting innovative workflow and efficiencies, providing necessary tools and resources.”

A study published last fall in ClinicoEconomics and Outcomes Research found that physician productivity in a cardiology clinic was 10% higher for physicians using medical scribes. This improved productivity resulted in 84 additional new and 423 additional follow-up patients seen in one year. That study also found that the physicians using medical scribes finished most or all of their work during clinic hours and they did not have to spend additional time to complete documentation after their standard working hours.

“The clinical documentation and practice efficiencies certified scribes provide have been shown to ease the clerical burdens of CPOE and EHRs, and give physicians back the time and attention they need focus on their patients,” Hagen said. “Providers need to ensure that they use certified medical scribes, meeting CMS requirements, revolutionizing clinical care and creating sustainable outcomes together.”

The ACMSS certification program meets current and proposed CMS certification requirements toward use of electronic health records. ACMSS works in compliance with CMS to meet national goals and initiatives of Meaningful Use, Merit-Based Payment Incentive System (MIPS) and Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). Certified medical scribes also meet the “qualified people” standard in Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT). If not the clinicians themselves entering the data, eligible personnel must be certified, meeting the CEHRT Meaningful Use (MU) Personnel standard.

The ACMSS certification program meets current and proposed CMS certification requirements toward use of EHRs through its Medical Scribe Certification & Aptitude Test (MSCAT). ACMSS provides specialty certifications in vascular medicine, dermatology, oncology, primary care, internal medicine, emergency medicine and general patient care, enabling access to all across the specialities. ACMSS enables same-day certification for practices to meet Meaningful Use attestations, presently at 2%, and offers ongoing webinars to assist prospective individuals with key information about ACMSS, regulations, and innovations to meet healthcare goals through Volume Certification Packages.

Building integrative systems design for prevention and disease reversal for patient care most heavily impact family practice, primary care, and urgent care, followed by all the specialities. MIPS and MACRA allow the current traditional healthcare system and providers to focus on their much-needed goals today in independent practices of working to assist patients in disease reversal and prevention toward wellness.

The American College of Medical Scribe Specialists offers five separate pathways for Certified Medical Scribe Specialists. Please contact ACMSS directly atsupport@theacmss.org or 657-888-2158 if you have any questions regarding the ACMSS program and/or materials.

About ACMSS

The American College of Medical Scribe Specialists is the nation’s only nonprofit professional society representing more than 17,000 Medical Scribes in over 1,700 medical institutions. ACMSS partners with academic institutions, non-profit partners, and medical scribe corporations to offer both education-to-certification and employment-to-certification pathways. ACMSS advances the needs of the medical scribe industry through certification, public advocacy, and continuing education. To learn more about ACMSS, please visit: theacmss.org

ACMSS
support@theacmss.org
(657) 888-2158

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Certified Medical Scribe Specialists (CMSS) credentials and certification are enabled via the Medical Scribe Certification & Aptitude Test (MSCAT), recognized by CMS, meeting the Personnel Measure of Eligible Personnel of “who” may document in the EHR.

Medical Document Services of Kansas, LLC (MDS) is a Wichita, Kansas healthcare document service specializing in Medical Billing and RCM, Medical Transcription, Pre-Certs with AzaleaHealth EHR. We provide efficient, accurate, affordable quality services for hospitals, clinics, and facilities of all sizes. Call 866-777-7264 today, or visit our website for more information. We have education programs in Medical Scribe Specialists. #medicaltranscription #azaleahealthEHR #revenuecyclemanagement #MDSofKansas #medicalbillingservice

MDS is a Certified Academic Partner w/ACMSS

Are you looking for industry standards for becoming a Certified Medical Scribe Specialist? We can help. Our Medical Scribe program is an approved education program with the American College of Medical Scribe Specialists.

If you want more information, please contact us at info_ed@mdsofkansas.com

Onsite, real-time, at-the-point-of-care … healthcare documentation

Medical Scribes, are becoming more and more valuable as physicians transition to Electronic Health Records (EHR).

Medical Document Services of Kansas, LLC (MDS) is a Wichita, Kansas healthcare document service specializing in Medical Transcription, Revenue Cycle Management, EHR technology, Medical Scribe education and REAL-TIME solutions. We provide efficient, accurate, affordable quality services for hospitals, clinics, and facilities of all sizes. Call 866-777-7264 today, or visit our website for more information.