The Top 5 Challenges for Practice Managers
For four years now, medical practice professionals have responded to the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) about their biggest daily professional challenges, as well as their struggles to adapt their professions and practices to a time of rapid change, legislative pressure and fiscal uncertainty.
According to the MGMA 2011 “Medical Practice Today: What Members Have to [...]
CMS to Host “EHR Incentive Program Basics” for EPs on 7/14/11
On Thursday, July 14,2011, CMS will host “Medicare & Medicaid EHR Incentive Program Basics for Eligible Professionals” from 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM EST. This session is intended for eligible professionals who are individual practitioners. Registration will close at 1:30 PM ET on Wednesday, July 13, 2011, or when available space has been filled. Some of the questions [...]
Health IT Growth Indicators from the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
According to an article published yesterday in HealthLeaders Media, Farzad Mostashari, MD, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, laid out a list of leading IT growth indicators at a recent National Health IT Summit in Washington DC:
EHR adoption by primary care physicians. After 20 years the rate of adoption of electronic health records by primary [...]
EHR Meaningful Use Deadlines
Following are some dates for EHR Incentive Program meaningful use reporting:
07/03/11: the last day for eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals to start their 90-day reporting period for the fiscal year 2011 Medicare electronic health records meaningful use incentive program.
09/30/11: the last day of the federal fiscal year under which the hospital program operates.
10/03/11: the last day [...]
EHR Meaningful Use Bonus Checks Go Out
In the first two weeks of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services incentive program, $75 million was paid out in bonuses for the meaningful use of electronic medical records.
CMS announced mid-May that more than 300 physicians, hospitals and other eligible EMR users qualified for the first stage of the meaningful use incentive program and received payments.
Starting [...]
Delay EHR Meaningful Use Stage 2 for Those That Attest in 2011?
According to Health Data Management, the meaningful use workgroup of the Health I.T. Policy Committee, which advises the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, is recommending that Stage 2 of electronic health records be delayed by one year to 2014 for providers who attest to Stage 1 meaningful use in 2011.
The rationale [...]
CMS Adds New EHR Meaningful Use FAQs
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released new frequently asked questions about the electronic health records meaningful use incentive program. The questions cover providing patients with an electronic copy of health information and counting patients not seen by the eligible provider.
The complete questions and answers are:
Question: To meet the meaningful use objective “provide [...]
AHRQ to Identify Barriers to Medicaid Providers Achieving Meaningful Use of EHRs
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) will conduct a two-year study to identify barriers to Medicaid providers achieving electronic health records meaningful use criteria.
The study will draw from over one dozen focus groups of eligible Medicaid providers–some of which have adopted an EHR and some of which have not. The finding from the focus groups will inform [...]
Medicare Issuing EHR Meaningful Use Incentive Checks
This week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will start issuing the first Medicare incentive checks for meaningful use of electronic health records.
Providers receiving meaningful use incentives will be paid the same way they receive payment for Medicare services, either through an electronic funds transfer or paper check. Payments will appear on the bank [...]
36 Percent of Office-based Physicians are E-Prescribing
According to a Surescripts report, e-prescribing is now used by 36 percent of office-based physicians in the U.S.
The number of prescribers routing prescriptions electronically grew from 74,000 at the end of 2008 to 234,000 by the end of 2010 - representing 34 percent of all office-based prescribers and 36 percent of office-based physicians. E-prescribing adoption [...]
Medical Manager Users Forum
Harmony Healthcare IT has launched a new website specifically for users of Sage Medical Manager called medicalmanagerusers.com. The purpose of the website is to provide a resource center for practice managers who need to decide whether to keep or replace Sage Medical Manager in order to comply with 5010/ICD-10 mandates and/or to achieve meaningful use [...]
EHR Meaningful Use Attestation Opens April 18, 2011
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Electronic Health Records Incentive Program “meaningful use” verification period opens today. This allows providers who are demonstrating meaningful using of electronic health record (EHR) systems to submit for reimbursement as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
There are three stages of meaningful use under the [...]
Upcoming CMS EHR Incentive Program Dates
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ EHR Incentive Program has registered over 25,000 eligible physicians and hospitals, and, it has paid out over $37 million so far.
Here are some upcoming events and milestone dates to keep on your radar:
April 1, 2011: CMS will host a national provider education call for eligible professionals about registration [...]
CMS Updates FAQs on EHR Meaningful Use
In addition to updating existing content, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has added over 10 new questions to its EHR Meaningful Use FAQ page. Some of new questions point to just how complex meaningful use compliance can become. Some of them help providers figure out what compliance really means. See for yourself. The questions and [...]
Blumenthal Letter on Meaningful Use of Health Information
A Message from Dr. David Blumenthal, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, marks 2011 as the year when medical care entered a new era – the age of meaningful use of health information. Read the letter now to learn more.
5-Star Rated, Certified, Web-Based EHR Plugs in to Medical Manager to help Achieve Meaningful Use
Need an EHR that will protect your investment in Sage Medical Manager by plugging in to it versus replacing it? Then see a product overview of WebChart EHR by Medical Informatics Engineering. It’s a ‘minimally invasive’ EHR that is fully certified.
WebChart is a cost effective, web-based solution that can be implemented online easily [...]
Registration for EHR Incentive Programs Begins Today
Registration through CMS for EHR Incentive Programs begins today, January 3, 2011. Early participation will yield maximum incentive payments, so, register today even if your certified EHR system is not yet installed.
To learn more about using certified EHR technology, being a meaningful user and attesting for incentive payments, go to the CMS [...]
CMS Establishes System to Track EHR Meaningful Use Incentive Recipients
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will track eligible medical professionals receiving incentive payments for demonstrating meaningful use of electronic health records.
The system is called “Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program National Level Repository (NLR).” The NLR will collect, maintain and process information for the incentive program and will be disclosed to [...]
ONC Publishes Certified HIT Product List
The Certified HIT Product List (CHPL) provides the authoritative, 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).
Each Complete EHR and EHR Module listed on the website has been certified by an ONC-Authorized [...]
CMS Testing Systems to Manage Attestations and Payment for Meaningful Use of EHRs
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is in the final testing stages for systems to manage the registration, attestation and payments to healthcare providers participating in the meaningful use program. According to an article in Government Health IT, the CMS administrative systems are due to go into production in January, when the incentive program kicks off,
Providers who want [...]