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

Documentation, Coding and Billing

Partner Industry Webinar: Strategic Importance of Appropriate Documentation, Coding and Billing

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

 

$68 Billion in Medical Billing Errors Puts Physicians’ Livelihood in Jeopardy

As many as 80 percent of all medical claims submitted to insurance carriers contain mistakes estimated at $68 billion (1). Approximately 55 percent of evaluation and management (E/M) claims are incorrectly coded resulting in $6.7 billion in improper Medicare payments.(2) Providers looking to avoid lost revenue and serious consequences are raising the training standards of its administrative staff seeking out those who have completed specialized training and certification offered by Practice Management Institute (PMI).

Watchdog agencies, enforcement, and penalties are on the rise, creating a high-risk environment for physicians. Tighter screening measures adopted by the Affordable Healthcare Act have resulted in 17,000 providers losing their license to bill Medicare (3). Doctors have ultimate responsibility for all claims billed under their unique provider number, and a physician’s signature on any claim is held as verification of the accuracy and legitimacy of each claim (4).

Increased scrutiny has prompted doctors and healthcare facilities to require their employees to become certified. From an enforcement perspective, staff who knowingly submit fraudulent claims for payment can be held liable (5).

David Womack, President and CEO of PMI, says, “It’s critically important that providers have well trained staff. The physician needs to have confidence that their personnel are running the business correctly so they can focus on quality patient care.”

Physicians dedicate their careers to quality patient care; most have had little exposure to the increasingly complex world of medical claims management. They rely on their billing and administrative staff to stay on top of the guidelines set forth by Medicare and third parties. PMI helps providers adopt higher training standards with specialized courses and certification exams that address these high-risk areas of practice administration.

Womack says, “Taking steps to successfully train and certify staff in these areas means physicians are more likely to submit accurate claims and receive correct payments for their services, and ensure that practice liability is minimized.”

About Practice Management Institute (PMI):

For more than 30 years, Practice Management Institute, also known as PMI, has helped physicians, hospital systems, medical societies, and educational institutions provide comprehensive education and training to medical office staff nationwide. By offering a variety of educational programs and professional certifications, PMI helps to build competency, compliancy, and effectiveness that assures the continued success of their clients.

Since PMI’s formation in 1983, more than 20,000 individuals have earned certification in one more areas of expertise. PMI is recognized by both the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Labor for training in: medical coding, third-party billing, office management, and compliance. PMI training helps ease the burden of running a successful medical practice through thorough education and up-to-date training for non-clinical staff, allowing physicians to focus on patient care to improve the experience of the patient. For more information, visit http://www.pmiMD.com.

About David Womack:

David Womack, President and CEO, has been instrumental in PMI’s continued success since 1991. He has helped PMI transition into a cutting-edge leader in medical office staff education and training while developing key relationships with healthcare organizations, hospitals, colleges, and medical societies across the country. His commitment to excellence has helped PMI become an industry leader recognized by both governmental organizations and healthcare systems across the country.

Sources:

1.    “Incorrect Medical Coding Corrupts the Core Data Used by Health Care Facilities, Has Negative Consequences Throughout Health Care Industry.” Integrated Healthcare Executive. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2017.
2.     “55% of E/M Claims Incorrectly Coded – What’s Your EMR Software Doing to Help?” HealthFusion, June 24, 2014.
3.    The $272 Billion Swindle.” The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 31 May 2014. Web. 05 May 2017.
4.    College, From The. “Who Is Liable for Coding Mistakes?” The Rheumatologist. N.p., 01 Oct. 2010. Web. 05 May 2017.
5.    U.S. Department of Justice Memo, “Individual Accountability for Corporate Wrongdoing” aka, the Sally Yates Memo, September 9, 2015.

Continue reading “$68 Billion in Medical Billing Errors Puts Physicians’ Livelihood in Jeopardy”

KMGMA 2017

#MDSofKansas will once again be at the #KMGMA2017 Spring Conference (04/20/17) and we are looking forward to seeing YOU!  Please stop by our booth and check out some of the great giveaways, and learn what we’ve been up to!  We are saving many clinics and businesses lots of money on everyday fees.  If you would like to save money, too, stop by and ask us how!

 

 

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

Azalea® Telehealth

Engage with patients and other providers using Azalea’s secure, video-conference platform.

Transcription Market Share Analysis

Lower Volumes, But More Stable Outlook

JOHNSON CITY, TN — Of the estimated 2.1 billion patient encounters documented in the United States in 2015, approximately 32%, or over 670 million documents, were generated by dictation and transcription, according to a new market analysis from WebChartMD.

The analysis (click here to access) breaks out the clinical documentation market into the three main documentation methods most often used by healthcare providers: 1) Provider Entry, in which the healthcare provider enters data him/herself into the EHR; 2) dictation and transcription; and 3) Scribe Entry, in which Medical Scribes enter data into the EHR.  Front-end speech recognition usage was not included in the study.

Provider Entry is the leading clinical documentation method, with an estimated 61% market share, followed by dictation and transcription, with an estimated 32%. Scribe Entry trails with an estimated 7% market share.

Dictation and transcription, the second most-used modality, had its heaviest concentration of usage in ambulatory specialty care and hospital-based documentation.  The medical transcription industry had estimated 2015 sales of $2.2 billion, or 20.6 billion annual lines. About 30% of all US-based physicians – or just over 300,000 – continue to use dictation and transcription for some percentage of their clinical documentation, according to a recent WebChartMD estimate.

A notable change in the break-out of market share has been the rise of the Scribe Entry segment, which has grown from a few thousand to over 20,000 Scribes nationwide in just the last few years. Scribes currently process an estimated 143 million patient encounters annually, or about 7% of the entire clinical documentation market.

One take-away from the analysis? “The government has spent billions of dollars since the 2009 HITECH Act to incent physicians to adopt EHR-based clinical documentation tools.  Despite that, there remains a sizable minority of healthcare providers who continue to use dictation and transcription,” said Christensen. “While transcription will never return to its former levels of usage, I believe there are a number of specific reasons why it will persist as a clinical documentation modality.”

About WebChartMD

WebChartMD, a software development company specializing in clinical documentation workflow applications, partners with over 100 MTSOs nationwide, which in turn serve over 8,000 physicians via the WebChartMD platform. 

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

Highlights From The 2016 State of The Medicine Address

GomerBlog highlights the major points from tonight’s State of The Medicine Address given by the President of Hospital Administrators, Mr. Cutter Salary.

  • Hospitals now have the highest patient satisfaction in the history of healthcare and probably correlates to increased quality of care according to patients and lawmakers
  • WiFi, fast food restaurants, and pianos are distributed throughout hospital lobbies replacing exam rooms and useless medical equipment
  • Doctors now spend 50% of their time coding which is a vast improvement over last year and has led to spectacular reimbursement rates to enable hiring of more administrators. Remember Caring IS Coding!
  • Drinks were finally stripped from the Nursing Station. This year we must continue with stripping any fun or laughter from the Station.  We don’t want our patients thinking we are making fun of them
  • Breaks are vanishing from the workplace and we need to continue that for our medical providers. Foley catheters were distributed to staff to help our providers perform flawless and uninterrupted care
  • Surgeons are required to perform 3 more surgeries a day and leave when it is dark outside. Skin cancer rates are drastically down in our employees now thanks to this move.
  • Patient to Nurse ratios are at an all-time high providing a challenging and dynamic work environment to our nursing staff, which we know they enjoy
  • The new Secretary of The Medicine, Dr. Oz, continues to utilize his charismatic charm to educate the public before they come to the hospital
  • And finally, our budget has been passed and includes hiring another 1.2 million hospital administrators to oversee and provide outstanding medical care to our hospitals!
  • “God Bless The Medicine and God Bless my obnoxiously large pension!”

  • READ MORE

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

 

Azalea Health EHR 2.1 Earns ONC-HIT Certification for all 64 CMS Clinical Quality Measures

Azalea Health EHR 2.1 Earns ONC-HIT Certification for all 64 CMS Clinical Quality Measures

ATLANTA, GA – (November 18, 2015) – Azalea Health’s solution, Azalea EHR 2.1, is one of a select few EHRs to achieve certification on all 64 CMS clinical quality measures (CQMs). Eligible providers are required to report on CQMs to demonstrate meaningful use and receive an incentive payment under the Meaningful Use Stage 2 rule. The provider can select and report on nine from the list of 64 approved CQMs for the electronic health record (EHR) incentive programs.

“Our healthcare system is evolving rapidly towards quality and outcomes-based payments so it’s imperative for Azalea to ensure we offer the most innovative, flexible and functional EHR as well as quality reporting platform for physicians and other care providers,” said Baha Zeidan, CEO of Azalea Health.  “The three main pillars of our company are innovation, partnership and leadership and this CQM certification embodies those pillars as we navigate our customers successfully through the future of healthcare.”

The Azalea 2.1 EHR includes fully integrated electronic health records, practice management, interoperability services, patient portal, personal health records, telehealth, and the AzaleaM mobile platform integrated with Apple® HealthKit, as well as revenue cycle performance services.

Azalea Health helps reduce the complexity of operating a medical practice, enabling physicians to spend more time with their patients. Azalea’s cloud-based solution is simple to implement and easy to use, streamlining administrative workflow while maximizing a practice’s resources and revenue cycle.

Certification Details

This Complete EHR is 2014 Edition compliant and has been certified by an ONC-ACB in accordance with the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This certification does not represent an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or guarantee the receipt of incentive payments.

Vendor name:  Azalea Health

Date Certified:  10/8/2015

Product Version:  Azalea EHR 2.1

Criteria Certified:  170.314 (a)(1‐15); (b)(1‐5, 7); (c)(1‐3); (d)(1‐8); (e)(1‐3); (f)(1‐3); (g)(2‐4) Certification ID Number:  10082015-3440-5

Clinical Quality Measures Certified: 2v4; 22v3; 50v3; 52v3; 56v3; 61v4; 62v3; 64v4; 65v4; 66v3; 68v4; 69v3; 74v4; 75v3; 77v3; 82v2; 90v4; 117v3; 122v3; 123v3; 124v3; 125v3; 126v3; 127v3; 128v3; 129v4; 130v3; 131v3; 132v3; 133v3; 134v3; 135v3; 136v4; 137v3; 138v3; 139v3; 140v3; 141v4; 142v3; 143v3; 144v3; 145v3; 146v3; 147v4; 148v3; 149v3; 153v3; 154v3; 155v3; 156v3; 157v3; 158v3; 159v3; 160v3; 161v3; 163v3; 164v3; 165v3; 166v4; 167v3; 169v3; 177v3; 179v3; 182v4

Any additional software relied upon to Certify:  DrFirst Rcopia

*Price Transparency: Azalea 2.1 EHR – Monthly software subscription fee and one-time set-up & training fee.

*Azalea EHR 2.1 may require one-time costs to establish interfaces for reporting to immunization registries and public health agencies.

See the full press release at www.marketwired.com.

About Azalea Health

Azalea Health is a leading provider of fully integrated, technology-enabled healthcare solutions and managed services for practices of all sizes and most specialties. Azalea’s comprehensive portfolio includes integrated electronic health records, practice management, electronic prescribing, interoperability services, personal health records, patient portal, telehealth, AzaleaM mobile platform integrated with Apple® HealthKit, as well as revenue cycle performance services. The Azalea platform also provides tools and resources to help customers meet their Meaningful Use and ICD-10 requirements as well as strategies to navigate accountable care and alternative payment models. To learn more, please visitwww.AzaleaHealth.com, call (877) 777-7686 or connect via social media on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Media Contact:  Lynn Hood, lynn@crackerjack-marketing.com, 678-974-2623

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

5 Best Practices To Ensure A Smooth, Expedient ICD-10 Transition

The ICD-10 Compliance date is looming and it is imperative that healthcare providers be prepared to make the transition. It affects everything from claims processing, physicians’ workflow, and patients’ access to care. Many organizations may be rallying employees and resources in order to make the switch from the ICD-9 to the ICD-10 coding for medical diagnoses and inpatient hospital procedures before the implementation date of October 1, 2015.

To make matters worse, the transition is not easy, but a major undertaking with nearly 19 times as many procedure codes and almost five times as many diagnosis codes in the ICD-10 than in the ICD-9. While the ICD-10 switch is definitely necessary, as the outdated and clinically inaccurate ICD-9 has not been updated since its installation, in 1979, the ICD-10 stands to enhance the quality of healthcare, improve data for epidemiological research, as well as enable physicians to make better clinical decisions. However, this is dependent on the ability for the healthcare industry to make a smooth and accurate transition to the new International Classification of Diseases, according to Richard Milam, president and CEO of EnableSoft

In order for healthcare providers to successfully meet the ICD-10 deadline, Milam suggest five best practices to ensure an expedient, smooth ICD-10 transition:

Richard Milam, president and CEO of EnableSoft
1. Employ Robotic Process Automation That Does the Work for You

“You” is meant to imply the entire organization because that is how many resources it will take to have the ICD-10 switch completed by the deadline if Robotic Process Automation is not used to update and add the multiple new codes into EMR, NDC, medical billing, and claims processing data systems. Certain softwares may have to upgraded or replaced to support the 68,000 diagnoses codes and nearly 87,000 procedure codes; however, through a series of human-directed scripts, Robotic Process Automation technologies will populate the specific fields in the data systems with the ICD-10 data required. The already costly transition to the new ICD-10 can be mitigated by not having to outsource or hire new employees to enter the new codes manually. Furthermore, the data transition can take place over the course of a few days, not a few months, ensuring healthcare providers will be ready to transition to using the new ICD-10 codes.

2. Test Your Software

Not only should you confirm with your clearinghouses, billing service, and payers that they will be upgraded and compliant with the ICD-10, but when they will be ready for testing to occur. Robust end-to-end testing must occur with your software in order to ensure claims are being accepted properly and processed by insurance contractors, Medicaid, Medicare, and other payment processes are operational. Test internally to ensure transactions can be generated and sent with the ICD-10 codes and test externally to ensure the transactions are successfully received by payment providers and that the payment can be processed correctly. After October 1, any ICD-9 codes used in transactions will not be accepted for services and will be rejected for payment. Failure to test your software properly can result in disruptions in patients’ receiving the treatment they need and receipt of due payments.

3. Educate or It All Falls Down

The updated, enhanced medical coding that is to enhance and improve patient diagnoses, performed procedures, treatment, and billing will not prove capable of these abilities without humans to employ its codes, terminology, and procedures appropriately and correctly. You must educate your staff about the changes to the ICD-10 and perform practices and routines in order to prepare for the change. Have each of your staff participate in educational seminars in order to become informed of the changes and how that will affect their position, the procedures patients are to undergo based on the new diagnosis codes, as well as the improved treatments that patients are to have performed. Assist and inform staff by identifying the 50-100 most commonly used ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes based on specialties and determine the equivalent ICD-10-CM codes, and have this information accessible before and after the implementation of the ICD-10. Having your staff prepared and knowledgeable about the ICD-10 will reduce delays in patient care and procedures, which is the reason for the ICD-10—to deliver improved diagnosis and advanced medical treatments that will enhance patients’ quality of care.

4. Implement an Effective Communication Method and Coordinate Conflict Resolution

While making the data transition and update to the new and diverse medical coding that is in the ICD-10, it is imminent that there may be delays in processes, confusion over coding and form completion, as well as workflow changes. Make sure your employees know who they can contact or call on if they are unsure of what code to report, how to complete a form, or other transitory questions that may arise following the implementation of the ICD-10. Identify leads and supervisors for each workflow and specialty area that will be available for their staff requests and questions, and make sure those individuals are highly educated on the ICD-10 and have the authority to execute a resolution. Additionally, determine how transactions handled just prior to the compliance date will be handled in order to ensure payment processing will occur—and more importantly—patients are covered financially and receive the best treatment. Identify critical areas or procedures that may be challenging to transition to using the ICD-10 and have practical resolutions for those practices ready to be executed if, and when, needed.

5. Obtain the correct medical documentation and update your forms to support the ICD-10.

Patient intake forms, EMR forms, insurance forms, and superbills must be updated to support the ICD-10 codes. In order to have patient medical records completed correctly and treatments performed effectively, in addition to have payments process, healthcare providers, clearinghouses, and payers must update their forms to reflect the codes in the ICD-10. Physician forms must be updated with the new medical terminology and diagnoses and procedural codes, along with superbills. Identify categories of uncommon services and diagnoses and determine units, time, and cost for each category in order for physicians to be able to report in the EMR and on superbills. Determine and have readily available a list of common or most frequently used abbreviations to ensure they are utilized correctly and correspondently with the ICD-10 terminology and codes. Lastly, and this goes without saying, obtain the updated and correct documentation that will stand as educational and reference material in regards to the ICD-10. The American Medical Association publishes the ICD-10 codebook and other supplementary documentation on topics such as anatomy and physiology, mappings, and coding workbooks. Make sure to have these ICD-10 Bibles available, and in all areas, for staff and physicians to reference when needed or desired.

The healthcare industry is about to embark on an intense change in treatment, reporting, and payment processes as the ICD-10 Compliance date approaches. While the ICD-10 is definitely necessary to reflect advances in medicine and detailed diagnoses, the change is extremely disruptive for healthcare providers. By employing efficient technologies and engaging effective strategies, healthcare providers can execute the ICD-10 transition quickly and accurately by the compliance date.  READ MORE

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

MEDICAL CODING & BILLERS

A Visual Guide to Medical Coding

 

 

medical-codingMedical

As of October 1, 2015, there will be more than 144,000 codes that may be applied to patient “stories”

Medical coders provide a critical link between health care providers who are busy caring for patients, and patient insurance companies. Ensuring patient care “stories” are passed to insurance providers in ways they will honor.

 

Citations:

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

AHDI Shares Some Great Articles on EHR, patients recording their visits, and ICD-10 … see what you think!

Doctors beware: The EHR debacle may get much worse
American Thinker
More and more people are having the disturbing experience of seeing their doctors spend more time pecking at a computer keyboard than examining them. The doctors are entering data into their patients’ electronic health records in compliance with federal rules introduced a few years ago. EHRs drive doctors crazy. Their own experience tells them that electronic recordkeeping interferes with care, by taking time away from patients.

 

Patients press the ‘record’ button, making doctors squirm
Washington Post
According to author Christie Aschwanden: My dad had a health scare recently, and at a doctor’s appointment to receive some important test results, my mom wanted to record audio of the visit on her smartphone. “If he had gotten some terrible diagnosis, I wanted to be able to share that discussion with you and your sister,” Mom told me later. But when she asked if it was okay to record, the doctor replied, “No. I don’t want you to do that.”

 
Senator blasts EHR program
Healthcare IT News
Until physicians have EHRs that can talk with one another, the Precision Medicine Initiative introduced by President Barack Obama could be in jeopardy, Sen. Lamar Alexander said. “We’ve got to get these records to a place where the systems can talk to one another — that’s called interoperability — and also where more doctors, particularly the smaller physicians’ offices, want to adopt these systems, can afford the cost and can be confident that their investment will be of value,” Alexander said.

 

ICD-10 bill surfaces, calls for delay, more study of rollout disruptions 

Healthcare Finance News
Text of a bill by Rep. Ted Poe to delay the switch to ICD-10 diagnostic coding surfaced recently, in which it requests further study on the disruption on healthcare providers could face resulting from the replacement of ICD-9. The three-page bill, H.R. 2126, was proposed on April 30 but the text was not posted for over a week. The bill would prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from replacing ICD-9 with ICD-10 on Oct. 1, as is scheduled.

 

Almost 90 percent of healthcare providers hacked in last 2 years
Slash Gear
Cyber attackers have increasingly turned their attention to healthcare providers, of which nearly 90-percent were hacked over the course of the last two years. The growing number of cyber attacks against the healthcare industry is said to cost $6 billion annually, marking a trend where hackers shift focus from financial institutions and retailers to those with medical records. All in all, these attacks are said to have doubled in the United States over the last half decade.

 

CMS promotes ICD-10 readiness with more end-to-end testing
RevCycle Intelligence
There are 142 days left until the International Classification of Diseases — ICD-10 — compliance. What’s next? More Medicare end-to-end testing efforts, says The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. CMS has announced via email announcement a final opportunity for a sampling of volunteers to conduct ICD-10 end-to-end testing. From July 20 through July 24, 2015, the sample group will conduct testing with Medicare Administrative Contractors and the Common Electronic Data Interchange contractor.

 

Could high-tech health record solutions lead to less expensive healthcare?
Government Technology
Imagine if you never had to fill out another patient information form at a doctor’s office again. That’s the promise of a new portable patient health record service developed by Boca Raton-based InfoPeHR. For $35, patients can buy a credit card-sized USB drive that can hold their records — including high-resolution medical images — for a lifetime, said InfoPeHR owner Bernard Brigonnet.

 

Misuse of EHR systems and medical errors
EHR Intelligence
Does EHR technology reduce the likelihood of medical errors throughout the healthcare continuum? The input from medical professionals answering this question is mixed. There are certain mistakes that were tied directly back to the misuse of EHR or e-prescribing systems. As previously reported, one pharmacist had ordered acetaminophen for the wrong patient because they had two records open at the same time.

 

EHR alerts increase HPV vaccine rates 10 times over
Health IT Analytics
EHR alerts that help providers remember to start or complete the HPV vaccine for pediatric patients have significantly increased the rate of protection against cervical cancer. Patients between the ages of 9 and 18 were three times more likely to start the vaccine series and 10 times more likely to finish the entire course when EHR alerts were available to their primary care providers, found a study published this month in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.

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

US House Bill Introduced to Stop ICD-10

Article by Chris Dimick, Editor-in-chief  at the Journal of AHIMA. This article was originally published on the Journal of AHIMA website on May 4, 2015 and is republished here with permission.

A bill has been introduced into the US House of Representatives that would stop the implementation of ICD-10-CM/PCS.

The bill, H.R. 2126, would “prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from replacing ICD-9 with ICD-10 in implementing the HIPAA code set.” Introduced by Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) on April 30, H.R. 2126 has been referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Ways and Means.

Rep. Poe is a long-time opponent of the ICD-10 implementation. In 2013 he introduced a nearly identical bill into the House of Representatives on April 24, 2013, H.R. 1701, that also called for prohibiting HHS from replacing ICD-9 with ICD-10.  That bill failed to gain traction and was never taken up by the referred House committees, according to Congress.gov.

H.R. 2126 is co-sponsored by Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX), Rep. Mike D. Rogers (R-AL), Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), Morgan H. Griffith (R-VA), Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), and Rep. David P. Roe (R-TN).

AHIMA and the Coalition for ICD-10 have called on ICD-10 supporters to continue their advocacy efforts and contact their representatives and senators to prevent any future delay of ICD-10.

Posted by Traci Miller on May 7, 2015 

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

Retail Healthcare – What do you think?

Retail health clinics seeking telemedicine, mobile technology to grow presence

Retail giants Walmart and Target, and likely others, will continue their steady march into the healthcare setting, sensing an opportunity to leverage their customers with a mix of technology that could be a boon to the digital health space.

Speaking at Health 2.0’s WinterTech conference in San Francisco, officials with both companies said the move toward providing a deeper level of services, including some level of chronic disease management, could apply to both their employees and consumers, as part of a wider effort to contain healthcare costs and to guide consumers to healthier lifestyles.

“It is indeed a customer-facing retail clinic. However, it is also an on-site clinic for our employees,” said Ben Wanaker, who leads the Walmart Care Clinic business. “All of our employees have health needs, all are on high-deductible health plans and Walmart, like everyone else, is struggling with healthcare costs.”

Both Target, which made headlines recently with its collaboration with Kaiser Permanente in Southern California, and Walmart will be exploring technological tools to enhance efforts, which could range from partnerships and acquisitions on technologies like mobile coaching apps to telemedicine efforts.

“We’re working on our digital telehealth strategy,” Wanamaker said, though he did not provide a time line or further details. walmartclinic02

Eric Brotten, VP of consumer health and referral solutions for Optum, likewise said retail clinics will continue to evolve, and that Optum, a division of insurance giant UnitedHealthcare, will be on the lookout for technologies to bolster its offerings. From a payer standpoint, the idea makes a lot of sense, he said.

“The real goal of that is to provide care in a way that ultimately drives outcomes in a different care setting,” he said, noting that Optum runs about 20 retail clinics in Texas, Kansas and Nevada.

For Target, much of the expansion will come in the way of collaborations, with the Kaiser effort cited as an example that could be extended into other regions, according to Michael Laquere, senior buyer for pharmacy at Target.

“We very much take a partnership approach,” he said, adding it and other retailers have an opportunity to reach potentially millions of consumers. He also demonstrated Target’s new pharmacy prescription app, suggesting medication adherence could be assisted through retail health.

“This is a big step and a big investment,” he said. The app can help with dosage alerts, refills and take pictures to assist with transferring prescriptions. Target partnered with Mscrips on the app.

“We’re building this platform, so we’re looking at things like coaching tools, ways to connect with telemedicine, connecting with pharmacies in a more virtual way,” he said when asked what Target’s next moves into the digital health space might include. In addition, scheduling functionality for appointments is of interest.

“We’re really interested in technologies and applications that can help us deliver evidence-based primary care,” Wanamaker said of Walmart’s goals. “Whether that’s (electronic medical record) applications or applications that live in a provider or patient’s pocket. We care about the quality in our care but we also need to be very efficient.”

From a data standpoint, retailers could be sitting on potentially riveting customer information, particularity as it relates to buying pattens, a la Amazon, and health outcomes. If successfully harnessed, seeing what kind of food a customer with a health condition is buying could lead to suggestions that might improve health, or mitigate a chronic condition like Type 2 diabetes.

Yet the potential is not yet realized because of potential privacy issues and regulations, although the opportunity is there.

“It’s a huge opportunity, but it’s something that we have to be very careful about,” Laquere of Target said. “The key is being really transparent and really clear about how we’re using the data and that it actually adds value.”

Wanamaker of Walmart agreed, within the regulatory constraints

“We think we have a tremendous opportunity that can help consumers make better decisions.”

While the retail sector sees opportunity in healthcare, Wanamaker said it’s unreasonable to suggest Walmart or Target would be the be-all, end-all for healthcare. But, he said, it could be a strong starting point for many people who struggle to access the healthcare system initially.

“We would never make the claim that we will be the beginning and the end of your healthcare needs,” he said. “However, not everyone gets to the beginning, and we want to be the beginning.

Medical Document Services of Kansas, LLC (MDS) is a Wichita, Kansas healthcare document service specializing in Medical Billing and RCM, Medical Transcription, 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 and Healthcare Documentation Specialists. #medicaltranscription #azaleahealthEHR #revenuecyclemanagement

Favorite Payment Collection Tips for 2014

Physicians Practice’s experts know just how difficult it can be to collect what you are owed from patients, so throughout this year, many of them responded with guidance focused on this issue.

We recently went through our best medical billing and collections articles to identify our favorite payment collection tips of 2014. Here are our top 12.

Collections-Tips

Emerging TechnologiesSee more here

 

 

Medical Document Services of Kansas, LLC (MDS) is a Wichita, Kansas healthcare document service specializing in Medical Billing and RCM, Medical Transcription, 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 and Healthcare Documentation Specialists. #medicaltranscription #azaleahealthEHR #revenuecyclemanagement

Significant Changes in the Medical Billing Due to Obamacare

It’s now been over four years since the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as “Obamacare”, officially went into effect in the United States. However, we are just now learning the wide-ranging impacts the legislation has had on the healthcare industry, and in particular on medical billing in hospitals and doctor’s offices throughout the country. While we still don’t know the scope of changes that are yet to occur, there are some undeniable trends that seem to be making their way down the pipeline, particularly as we prepare for the oft-mentioned “employee mandate”, which, if all goes according to the (often revised) plan, goes into effect in 2015.     Article from M-Scribe

Medical Billing Will Increasingly Become Outsourced 
Medical billing has never been a particularly popular activity in doctor’s offices and in hospitals. Now, with the increasing number of medical coding requirements resulting from the Affordable Care Act, medical professionals are continuing the trend of outsourcing this work to companies that specialize in it. According to a report in Seeking Alpha, large outsourcing companies such as Firstsource Solutions and WNS are increasing their domestic US presence to accommodate a growing number of medical professionals who are choosing to outsource medical billing to them. 
By 2015, more doctors and hospitals are projected to outsource their medical billing than ever before, in large part thanks to Obamacare and growing administrative costs. The other less discussed (but no less important) consideration is that outsourcing medical billing reduces liability on the hospital or doctor’s office. 

AzaleaHealth is a well recognized Billing and Revenue Cycle Management company.  Medical billing services includes a full range of accounts receivable functions including: electronic claims submission, reimbursement accounting, denials management, patient invoicing, collections, detailed billing reports, physician contracting and credentialing. Azalea also provides clearinghouse setup services including Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA)Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).  Azalea helps to reduce your storage and filing issues from paper EOBs and speeds up insurance payments by having reimbursements deposited directly to your bank account.

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The Number of Medical Billing Professionals Will Grow Dramatically 

While outsourcing is certain to increase in 2015, The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the medical billing industry as a whole will increase in 2015 as well. In fact, it is estimated that the industry will grow by about 22% between 2012 and 2022. While some of this increase is in fact due to regulatory and administrative burdens resulting from the Affordable Care Act, many experts also believe that the changes from the ACA will actually reduce administrative issues, increase efficiency, and ultimately grow the medical billing industry at a slower rate than it otherwise would have in the absence of the Affordable Care Act. 
The other key reason why the medical billing profession is expected to grow is the simple fact that, under the Affordable Care Act, more people will have access to healthcare, which means more medical coding and medical billing will be required. While increased access to healthcare for the overall population (and particularly the poor) is a worthy goal, it comes at the very real cost of increased administrative and regulatory issues, at least in the short-term. 

Precertification and Eligibility Verification Will Continue to be Cumbersome 
While it’s true that one of the original promises of the Affordable Care Act was reduced difficulty for hospitals and doctor’s offices that needed to pre-certify or verify eligibility of a patient for a particular procedure, reality has proven itself to be more complicated. Early reports indicate that, at best, this process is as slow and cumbersome as it has always been, while critics claim that it is in fact less efficient than before the ACA was passed into law. Part of the problem stems from the fact that many insurance companies and medical offices still aren’t even sure how to properly code procedures and medical services; a problem that, while severe, should hopefully improve gradually in 2015 and onward if all goes well. 

Obamacare is causing significant changes in the medical billing industry. Hopefully the negative aspects will diminish over time, while the promised benefits of the law start to take hold. 

Article from M-Scribe

Medical Document Services of Kansas, LLC (MDS) is a Wichita, Kansas healthcare document service specializing in Medical Billing and RCM, Medical Transcription, 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 and Healthcare Documentation Specialists. #medicaltranscription #azaleahealthEHR #revenuecyclemanagement