March/April 2010
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On Thursday, April 22, 2010, PCS will be hosting our first annual User Meeting in Walnut Creek, CA. At this meeting your can expect new feature presentations, networking with other users, new products and services from vendor partners, and a special guest speaker on government incentives. Come and see what the Windows version of Onstaff can do for your practice, learn about the latest features in Patient Chart Manager EHR, and see what’s new in hardware networking and server hosting. Topics will also include updates on E-Prescribing, Patient Portal and Treatment Plans, and a ‘live’ client demonstration.
By David Herrig, Training Manager
We continue to add new features to Patient Chart Manager; features that can improve your work flow and make it easier to get your work done. We update the changes on every workstation when an update is released -- look on your desktop for the 5.5 Updates.txt file. Here are highlights of only some of the features that are available with our latest versions.
In our last newsletter we announced Intellect’s ability to support Uniform Data System (UDS) reports for Patients by Zip Code, Patients by Age and Gender, and Patients by Race and Language. Now, three additional UDS reports are available on Intellect’s Management menu: Patients Characteristics, Patients by Diagnosis and CPT, and Patients Quality of Care Indicators. A brief description of each report follows.
Intellect has partnered with a vendor to “scrub” claims before they are billed. Scrubbing is basically reviewing data for errors based on industry standards; for example, a review of data to see if codes billed are valid. When charges do not pass the edits, they are notified at the time they are posting the charge.
Electronic prescribing or “e-prescribing” is a way of prescribing which is paperless. Physicians use their computer, with software which has been tested and certified, to electronically route the prescription to the patient’s choice of pharmacy. Pharmacists may electronically send renewal requests to the physician’s office for approval.
Intellect has two options for Eligibility Verification: Real Time from the Appointment Schedule, or submitting a batch daily and then picking up the verification.
Intellect now includes an iReport option for clients to write custom reports. To access the iReport option, go to Utility --►Tools --►iReport. Note: Since iReport is an off-the-shelf product made available for software developers’ use, Prime Clinical Services does not provide training or a manual for iReport. Clients who choose to use this option must purchase a manual from a third-party software vendor.
Recently Medicare had a problem with their program which, in turn, affected Prime Clinical Systems’ clients who use Medicare. In circumstances like that, it is helpful for PCS to have your Medicare Submitter ID and the name of your Medicare carrier to better help you solve the problem.
For the same reason, sharing your clearinghouse information with PCS is also beneficial. Both Medicare and clearinghouse information may be submitted to Prime Clinical Systems via email to support@primeclinical.com.
Did you know that there are online classes for Medicare? Go to http://www.ngsmedicareconvention.com/q_and_a.html where you can find more information about general courses such as Comprehensive Error Rate Testing and courses covering Federally Qualified Health Centers, Home Health and Hospice, Medicare Part A and B, and Durable Medical Equipment. To view the individual course information, it is necessary to have Adobe Acrobat Reader. if you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, go to http://get.adobe.com/reader to download for free.
And, how do I determine if a physician or non-physician who is eligible to order or refer services has a current PECOS enrollment record?
Although enrolled in Medicare, many physicians and non-physician practitioners who are eligible to order items or services or refer Medicare beneficiaries to other Medicare providers or suppliers for services do not have current enrollment records in the Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS).
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will delay until January 3, 2011, the implementation of Phase 2 of Change Request (CR) 6417 and CR 6421, giving physicians and non-physician practitioners sufficient time to enroll in Medicare or take necessary action.
The 'Temporary Extension Act of 2010' Extends the Zero Percent Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Update and the Therapy Cap Exception Process.
On March 2, 2010, President Obama signed into law the 'Temporary Extension Act of 2010.'
Are you up-to speed on how the CMS incentive program will benefit your practice? If you are not as familiar with the incentive program as you would like to be, check out the following websites.
More than 40% of office-based physicians used electronic health record systems in 2009, according to the latest National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, MedPage Today reports.
The latest findings suggest that EHR adoption has increased significantly during the past decade, up from 18% in 2001.
On Friday [January 22, 2010], government agencies, including HHS, made a variety of data available online as part of the Obama administration’s push for a more open and transparent government, the AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
By Joseph Goedert, HDM Breaking News, January 5, 2010
The Food and Drug Administration has launched a new Web site to post updates to problem codes when reporting adverse events related to medical devices.
By Joseph Goedert, HDM Breaking News, December 17, 2009
The International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation,
has placed on the open source market the source code for tools to develop,
maintain and facilitate the use of SNOMED CT clinical terminology.
The National Library of Medicine's Pillbox Web Site for medication identification is gaining popularity among health workers, law enforcement and the general public, Government Computer News reports.
Aetna is offering its members access to a social networking Web site managed by the group OneRecovery that aids people recovering from alcoholism, addiction or eating disorders, the Hartford Courant reports.
ATLANTA, HealthcareIT News - This past year has been the "tipping point" for e-prescribing, says Surescripts CEO and President Harry Totonis. Alexandria, VA -based Surescripts is releasing its 2009 National Progress Report on E-Prescribing Monday [March 1, 2010] at HIMSS. The report, the third that the vendor has released, shows significant growth in the services that support the e-prescribing process as well as in its adoption by prescribers, payers and pharmacies.
The Internet
is the most popular health information resource among physicians, with
86% of doctors reporting that they have used the Internet to search for
health, medical or prescription drug information, according to a new online
survey from thinkhealth With Google.
Hall & Partners conducted the survey.
Seventy-seven percent of physicians said they consult peer review journals for health information, while another 77% reported turning to pharmaceutical sales representatives for information.
Meanwhile, 67% of doctors report using their colleagues to find health, medical or prescription drug information, 56% use books as a resource and 54% turn to health-related organizations and associations.
Results are based on an online survey of 411 physicians conducted from May 20, 2009, to June 8, 2009.
Source: "Connecting With Physicians Online: Searching for Answers," thinkhealth With Google, November 2009
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