Prime User Clinics  

Providers:

Could you use some personal training on daily usage of PCM??
Could you use some time with a PCM Specialist??
Talk to your peers about their experiences!!

Sign up for one of our Provider Clinics 

(Refreshments Provided) 

PCM Provider Clinics 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
PCM Provider training is open to providers only

PCS South-Provider Training 

PCS North-Provider Training

____________________________

Office Managers, Billers, and Staff:

Questions about ICD-10?? Need answers from a clearing house?? Questions for a Noridian rep??

Sign up for one of our Mini User Meetings  

(Refreshments Provided) 

Intellect User Clinics 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Intellect workshops are open to any staff member

PCS South-Staff Training

PCS North-Staff Training

____________________________ 

To register, go to www.primeclinical.com, log-in with your Client ID and password, click on [User Clinics], and select
the meeting you would like to attend.

** SPACE IS LIMITED - REGISTER NOW!! **

Questions??? Call Marty Beteta at 626-449-1705, ext. 222 or email marty@primeclinical.com 

Administrative Notice  

Support Ends for Windows XP 

On April 8, 2014, Microsoft will discontinue support and security updates on Windows XP, making the Operating System vulnerable and non-compliant with HIPAA.

Section 164.308(a)(5)(ii)(B) of the HIPAA Security Rules states that you must have "procedures for guarding against, detecting, and reporting malicious software".

Section 164.306(b) also states "A covered entity must determine which security measures and specific technologies are reasonable and appropriate for implementation in its organization."

Prime Clinical Systems continues to be your partner in complying with HIPAA/Meaningful Use requirements and based upon these two sections, it is our opinion that it is not reasonable and appropriate to continue to use the 13-year-old operating system in which the manufacturer has decided to stop implementing security upgrades and patches. It is our recommendation to upgrade to Windows 7 Pro or Windows 8 Pro.

Meaningful Use

CAIR Immunization Registry

If you will be reporting CAIR Immunization Registry for Meaningful Use, you will need to do the following.  Please click here to see if your county is accepting California Public Health Meaningful Use Capability. If your county is, please register with CAIR at http://cairweb.org/. 

Once your registration is complete, please email your CAIR practice ID to Train@primeclinical.com and include your client ID, contact name, and contact phone number.  Prime Clinical will need this information to store in your clinic setup screen in order to send your information to CAIR. Without this information, you will not be able to send any information to CAIR for your Immunization Registry reporting.

2014 Clinical Quality Measures

For 2014 only, all providers regardless of their stage of meaningful use are only required to demonstrate meaningful use for a three-month EHR reporting period. Medicare providers can either report their CQMs for the entire year or select an optional three-month reporting period for CQMs that is identical to their three-month reporting period for meaningful use.

For Medicare providers, this 3-month reporting period is fixed to the quarter of either the fiscal or calendar (for EPs) year in order to align with existing CMS quality measurement programs, such as the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS). CMS is permitting this one-time three-month reporting period in 2014 only so that all providers who must upgrade to 2014 Certified EHR Technology will have adequate time to implement their new Certified EHR systems.

Supporting Documentation:  2014 Clinical Quality Measure Tipsheet  

Stage 1 Meaningful Use in 2014

Eligible Providers must begin their 90 day attestation period NO LATER than July 1, 2014 and attest NO LATER than October 1, 2014 to avoid the 2015 Payment Adjustment. This requirement is only for EPs who are demonstrating Meaningful Use for the first time in 2014.

For additional information:  Payment Adjustment Tipsheet for Eligible Providers  

Calculate Your Incentive Payments

Use CMS' EHR participation timeline posted on our website to determine and calculate your incentive payments for both Medicare and Medicaid .

The timeline also assists in determining if you will be attesting for Stage 1 or Stage 2 Meaningful Use in 2014.

Access the timeline
button by going to www.primeclinical.com, logging-in with your
Client ID and password, selecting [Meaningful Use Tools], then [Learning Tools], then [Medicare & Medicaid Information], and then 'Getting Started'. Scroll down to the timeline button located mid-page, and click where indicated. 

Quick Resources for MU and/or PQRI Compliance
and Deadlines

Prime Clinical constantly updates our website www.primeclinical.com with current meaningful use information for our clients. Additionally, we frequently update the material in our Meaningful Use classes, and make our training materials available to our clients on our website.

To access meaningful use information, go to www.primeclinical.com, log-in with your Client ID and password, select [Meaningful Use Tools], and then [Learning Tools]. Available options, including our MU class, will display.

Read more>> 

ICD-10

Quick Resources for ICD-10

Did you know that Prime Clinical constantly updates our website with current ICD-10 information for our clients?

To access PCS' ICD-10 information, go to www. primeclinical.com, log-in with your Client ID and password, select [OnStaff/Intellect Info], and then [ICD-10]. Available options, including our ICD-10 Q&A will display.  

Update Your Superbills for ICD-10

If your office has ICD-9 codes or will be adding ICD-10 codes to your superbill, your superbills need to reference the new codes. To update your superbills, make the necessary changes in a Microsoft Word document, and email the file to support@primeclinical.com. The subject line should include 'ATTN: Forms Dept.', and the body of the email should include your client ID and the name and phone number of a contact person.

Please see our Superbill Changes and ICD-10 Information email of March 26, 2014 for superbill and forms change deadlines, charges for superbill updates, and pertinent ICD-10 information.

02-12-2014 PDF Presentation 

Transitioning to ICD-10

The presentation includes upcoming 2014 important dates, and ICD-10 implementation covering:

•  ICD-10 basics

•  CMS

•  Providers

•  Resources

•  MCS regional office contacts

Completely Free 2014
Online ICD-10-CM-PCS Medical Coding Reference   

ICD10Data.com will help you smoothly transition to the new coding system with many user-friendly features such as a drill-down navigation system, millions of cross-references between codes, instant coding notes and a medical coding search engine.

Help categories include codes, conversion, indexes, search, duplicate ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes, age constrained diagnosis codes, gender specific diagnosis codes, coding information, and ICD-10-CM MS-DRG v30.

8 Warning Signs Your Practice Isn't Ready for ICD-10  

•  Your practice hasn't spent a dime to get ready.

•  Your software vendor tells you not to worry.
Note: Prime Clinical has downloaded the ICD10 codes and is ready for ICD-10 now.    

•  You're using a paper encounter form and select diagnosis codes from it.  

•  The software upgrade to an ICD-10 compatible version is scheduled for Sept. 2014
Note: Prime Clinical is ready for ICD-10 now.    

•  You currently have claims denied as "not medically necessary"

•  No cash on hand or available line of credit.  

•  You never saw an unspecified diagnosis code you didn't like.

•  A bonus worry: If your system allows users to change the definition of an ICD-9 code from the official ICD-9 language to words that are "easier to find" for the clinician, switch back to official ICD-9 language today. Don't even think of converting to ICD-10 if your current diagnosis descriptions don't match official language.    

Get the details.

What is Your ICD-10 IQ?

ICD-10 education for coders and physicians has reached a critical tipping point. It can no longer be addressed at some nebulous "later date".

If you haven't started the educational process yet, it's time to do it now. Find ready-made educational programs from trusted providers so that you don't have to spend time creating it yourself, allowing yourself to immediately start training implementation.

A recent survey disclosed that about a third of hospitals still haven't started training on ICD-10-PCS code sets. Since it is 20 times more complex than ICd-9-PCS, it is imperative that hospitals and providers really buckle down and focus on getting staff educated. A rule of thumb is if it took you a month to prepare staff for ICD-10-CM, you should plan twice that to prepare staff for ICD-10-PCS because of its greater complexity.

Ongoing training programs have been found to be the most effective. An all-day seminar can result in either information overload, or a lack of focus if billers and coders are pulled away from their other responsibilities for extended periods of time. Spending two, three, or four hours a week on education at a time when it logically fits into their schedule will help them be more receptive to education.

Organizations that have prepared will still face things that they didn't think of, or a process that seemed more workable than it really is, but the issues should be manageable. Organizations that haven't really started to prepare at this point need to get focused and make a full organizational commitment to meet the October 1, 2014 deadline.

Keep Your Medical Practice in the Black During the ICD-10 Transition

Avery Hurt's article, published in Physicians Practice, suggests the following to keep your practice from going in the red. Although the suggestions are not new, they bear repeating as medical practices get all their ducks in a row for ICD-10 implementation.

• Be sure your staff is well-trained. Training should begin early enough that staff are proficient before the October 1, 2014 deadline.

• Have a claims denial process in place. A good place to begin is asking if it's a coder issue or a payer issue.

• Be prepared for hidden costs, or costs you may have not already thought of. It is recommended that you have at least a 3-month cash reserve.

• Verify that your EHR vendor and your payers will be ready well ahead of October 1, 2014 so that you can have a trial run of the new systems.

Read the complete article.

5 Ways to Avoid Potential ICD-10 Productivity Losses

Mid-February, the American Medical Association released yet another report warning that productivity losses among coders and physicians will be one of the major challenges facing the industry once ICD-10 goes live on October 1, 2014, and HIMSS and WEDI concurred.  Jennifer Bresnick of EHR Intelligence offers these suggestions:

• Practice real-life scenarios with the new code set. Set aside a few minutes each day for a quick online coding module or a half hour with a clinical documentation improvement specialist.   

• Use CDI tools to create and improve detail for accuracy in ICD-10 documentation. CAC can also help guide coders in code selection.   

• Reassess your implementation plans as necessary while there is still time to adjust. Where are there still difficulties? Are mistakes being made over and over?  

• Look for areas where paper flow gets bottle-necked. Are certain things piling up? Are there more efficient ways to handle a process? Can office space be reconfigured to aid communication?

• Take advantage of external resources. Consulting groups, online tutorials, and a plethora of free materials from CMS are available for your use.    

Read the complete article.

Are You a Small Physician Practice?

If so, CMS has created "Road to 10" to help you jump start the transition to ICD-10. Built with the help of small practice physicians, "Road to 10" is a no-cost tool that will help you:

• Get an overview of ICD-10

• Explore Specialty References

• Build an action plan

Find out more about Road to 10.

Also view CMS' ICD-10 Basics Webinar Slides. 

Industry News

8 Steps to Conducting 
an MU Risk Analysis 

In a February 25, 2014 article by Aubrey Westgate of Physicians Practice, she states, "medical practices must conduct an accurate and thorough assessment of the potential risks and vulnerability to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of their electronic protected health information (ePHI)", according to the HIPAA Security Rule.
 
HIMSS suggests eight steps to conducting a security analysis. The steps are based on recommendations provided by HHS' Office for Civil Rights (OCR): 

Step 1 Identify the scope of the analysis
Step 2 Gather the data
Step 3 Identify and document potential threats
Step 4 Assess current security measures
Step 5 Determine the likelihood of occurrence
Step 6 Determine the potential impact
Step 7 Determine the level of risk
Step 8 Identify security measures/finalize documentation

Need details? Read the complete article.

Prime Time Funnies  

Saturday Evening Post    

Company Information 

Since we began in 1983, Prime Clinical Systems has never looked back as a company. Thriving with the most energetic and knowledgeable employees, Prime Clinical continues to help practices achieve their goals of eliminating their paper charts and accomplishing quality and accuracy in patient care. We take great pride in the excellence that we stand for as a company and celebrate our achievements every day.

'Complete EHR'

Certification:

Prime Clinical has kept our commitment to our clients by using the latest technology and being among the best in the industry. We are pleased to announce that our integrated Ambulatory Electronic Health Records (EHR) system, Patient Chart Manager V.5.5 has been awarded an ONC-ATCB "Complete EHR Certification" by infoGARD, December 2010. Our certification number is: IG-2402-10-0011. This Ambulatory Complete EHR is 2011/2012 compliant and has been certified by an ONC-ATCB in accordance with the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. This certification does not represent an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or guarantee the receipt of incentive payments.     

Prime Clinical Systems, Inc.

3675 E. Huntington Drive, Suite A

Pasadena, CA 91107

(626) 449-1705

 www.primeclinical.com

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