Attention: LAB or IT staff, working for a Colorado hospital – LOINC Training Update

LOINC -- Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC®)

In case you were wondering… 

Yes, there is a recorded session available for hospital Lab and IT staff that were unable to attend the free training sessions in Denver and Glenwood Springs in May.

The LIC team requests interested parties fill out a hospital participation letter, and they will send them an online link to access.

 If you are LAB or IT staff, working for a Colorado hospital and you are interested in the recorded LOINC training session, please contact:

Caitlin Csakai, MBA, PMP
Manager, Public Sector Initiatives

CORHIO – Colorado Regional Health Information Organization

720-285-3235 (direct)

ccsakai@corhio.org

…and she will make sure the LIC team contacts you.

OR…

You can contact Georgia Trovas (gtrovas@aha.org) directly -- she is coordinating the training sessions.

Medicare to Automatically Convert Format 4010A1 Electronic Remittance Advice (835) to X12 Version 5010 Effective August 1, 2012

Effective August 1, 2012, if you have not yet converted from the 4010A1 format of the electronic remittance advice, the Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) program will automatically convert your electronic remittance advice to the X12 Version 5010 format. If the computer software you use to open/translate the electronic remittance advice X12 Version 5010 format is not ready for this conversion, you may not be able to open and read the electronic remittance advice to review payments, adjustments, and denials, as well as post payments to patient accounts. If you use a vendor, clearinghouse, or billing service for receipt of your electronic remittance advice and your computer software is unable to open/translate the electronic remittance advice X12 Version 5010 format, please contact your vendor, clearinghouse, or billing service before contacting your Medicare contractor.

Providers should be advised that any billing staff or representatives that make inquiries related to Medicare payment on his/her behalf will need a copy of the remittance advice. Any issue with opening/translating the electronic remittance advice X12 Version 5010 format effective August 1, 2012 should be addressed with your vendor, clearinghouse, or billing service, if you use one of these entities for receipt of the electronic remittance advice, before contacting your Medicare contractor.

Webinar: Overviews of New AHRQ Environmental Snapshot Report and Issuance of Non-regulatory Request for Information (RFI)

July 31, 2012,  11:30-:00 p.m., MDT

Through multiple mechanisms, including the judgment of the CE planning group, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has identified a gap in a health care/public health practitioner’s competency within the health IT environment. This series of webinars is designed to increase practitioners’ competencies to improve health care decision-making; support patient-centered care and improve the quality and safety of medication management. The purpose of this specific Webinar is to present highlights of a new AHRQ report Quality Measurement Enabled by Health IT: Overview, Possibilities, and Challenges, including a catalog of current work in this area, possibilities for the next generation of health IT-enabled quality measurement, and presentation of a few anecdotes from real world experience at the Veterans Health Administration. The new report provides context for others to consider in responding to the AHRQ-sponsored non-regulatory Request for Information (RFI) on Quality Measurement Enabled by Health IT, which seeks input from stakeholders on prioritized issues requiring further development and successful strategies to improve health IT-enabled quality measurement. The RFI is available at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-07-20/html/2012-17530.htm.

Confirmed Speakers:

Kristine Martin Anderson, M.B.A, Senior Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton

Joe Francis, M.D., M.P.H., Director of Clinical Analytics and Reporting, Veterans Health Administration

Learning Objectives:

1) Describe two challenges to achieving an interoperable, patient-centered system for advanced quality measurement.

2) Describe two ways EHR applications and standard measure sets could be configured to support quality measurement. 

3) Identify two current ongoing activities across Federal, State, and private initiatives related to enabling health IT for quality measurement activities.

4) Discuss two long-term goals that may be achieved by pursuing health IT-enabled quality measurement.

Target Audience: hospitals, physicians, government agencies, health IT vendors, measure developers, health plans, quality improvement organizations, and researchers interested in quality measurement and health IT

To Register:

1. Go to: https://mail.nih.gov/owa/redir.aspx?C=suSPGfcag0-9C8Nh811IIBpwm-dLPc9Ixj-Vt-9EAEcyZWnnifa745p4A5Hbpxx9geWr5p-urXo.&URL=https%3a%2f%2fahrqnrc-conferences.webex.com%2fahrqnrc-conferences%2fonstage%2fg.php%3ft%3da%26d%3d998183704

2. Select "Register."
3. On the registration form, enter your information and then select "Submit."

 

Webinar on EHR Incentive Program Attestation for Eligible Professionals & Eligible Hospitals

Wednesday, August 1, 12:30 CDT/11:30 MDT 

CMS Regions VI - Dallas, VII - Kansas City and VIII - Denver are pleased to announce a new webinar presenting information on how your practice/facility can successfully attest to meaningful use and qualify for an EHR incentive payment.

As of April 30th, 238,139 eligible professionals (EPs) and eligible hospitals (EHs) have registered for EHR incentive payments.  To date 94,097 EPs and EHs have been paid over $4.3 billion in EHR incentive payments.  Join the August 1^st webinar and learn the steps you need to take to successfully complete attestation and receive your incentive payment.

Part One of the webinar is a pre-recorded presentation that you can view at your convenience prior to August 1.

Part Two is a live webinar including:

·         A presentation by the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC),

·         Tips on attestation from a provider who has attested and received an incentive payment and

·         An opportunity for you to ask CMS experts your attestation questions.

What You Need To Do

1.   If possible, prior to August 1, click on the link below, scroll down to Attestation Information and view the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Program Attestation Webinar for EPs or EHs:

https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/EducationalMaterials.html

2.   Make a list of your EHR incentive program attestation questions to ask during the Q&A session on the live webinar.  If you prefer, you may submit questions in advance to – Adra Mayberry at adra.mayberry@cms.hhs.gov please use “August 1 EHR Webinar” in the subject line of your email.  Advance questions should be submitted to Adra no later than COB Monday, 7/30/12.

3.   Join the live webinar on August 1 by clicking on this link, https://webinar.cms.hhs.gov/attestation/  and dialing 877-267-1577 and entering Meeting ID 3206. 

HRSA Webinar: Using Data for Evidence-Based Quality Improvement

Friday, July 27, 2012 -- 12:00 pm MDT

Electronic Health Records (EHR), data warehouses, and registries are critical components to quality improvement efforts. If used properly to maximize their functionality, it’s possible to generate quality measures that provide timely, understandable, comprehensive, clinically valid, and meaningful feedback to safety net providers and their practice teams. This information is critical for informing a quality improvement strategy and especially important when participating in a Patient-Centered Medical Home or Accountable Care Organization.

Presenters include a quality improvement specialist from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement who will focus broadly on quality improvement.  The other two presenters, HRSA grantees from rural and health center settings, will provide useful tips on obtaining data from EHRs, as well as using this information to drive quality improvement and implement practice changes.  (See registration information below.) 

Presenters include:

·         Rebecca Morse Steinfield, Improvement Advisor, Institute for Healthcare Improvement

·         Maria F. Casaverde Marin, IT & Data Specialist, Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association

·         Tamarah Duperval-Brownlee MD, MPH, Chief Executive and CMO for Clinical Services, Lone Star Circle of Care

Click here to register:

http://webcast.streamlogics.com/audience/index.asp?eventid=92588006

CMS Wants You to Register Today to Receive Maximum Incentives

CMS recommends that all eligible professionals (EPs) register as early as possible for the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs.

By registering early you can verify that your information is up to date in all of the CMS systems and resolve any issues so that you can participate in the EHR Incentive Programs. If you do not resolve registration problems in time, you will not be able to attest and could potentially miss out on a payment year. Registering does not mean you are required to participate—so register today!

This is the last year for Medicare EPs to start participating in the EHR Incentive Programs in order to receive their full Medicare incentive payments. For more information on registration in the EHR Incentive Programs, visit the Registration page of the EHR website.

CMS' New Medicaid EHR Incentive Program Guide for Eligible Professionals

CMS has created a new comprehensive guide, An Introduction to the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program for Eligible Professionals, to help walk EPs through all of the phases of the Medicaid program. This guide includes chapters on:

• An overview of the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program
• Eligibility determination
• Registration through CMS and eligibility verification at the state level
• Meaningful use and picking appropriate measures
• Attestation
• Helpful resources on the Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs

EPs can use this guide as their source for any information they need on the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program. The guide can be found on the Educational Materials section of the EHR website along with several other helpful tools and resources for participants in the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, including the guide,  An Introduction to the Medicare EHR Incentive Program for Eligible Professionals,  that CMS previously created.

HRSA Webinar: Clinical Applications

The National Telehealth Webinar Series

Presented by the National Network of Telehealth Resource Centers

Thursday, July 19, 2012

12:00 PM MDT

Presented by:

Ronald S. Weinstein, MD

Director, Arizona Telemedicine Program

President Emeritus, American Telemedicine Association

This presentation will discuss real-time & store-forward clinical applications amenable to telemedicine & how they help underserved areas. Tips for successful teleconsultations will be provided and a discussion of the limitations of teleconsults will also be addressed.

To join this webinar:

https://hrsa.connectsolutions.com/sbtelehealth/

OCR Reveals HIPAA Audit Protocol

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' Office for Civil Rights (OCR) publicly announced its HIPAA audit protocol on June 26, 2012. The HITECH Act required OCR to create a test audit program to assess the national level of HIPAA compliance. In response, the OCR created the audit protocol and has conducted the first 20 audits. During the test audit, 115 covered entities total will be reviewed by December 2012. The main objective of the HIPAA audits is to help to identify best practices and to study trends.

Analysts of the OCR report that audits that have been conducted thus far have revealed numerous HIPAA violations.

For the full article from FierceEMR click here.

Colorado Medicaid EHR Incentive Program Reminder - Patient Lists for Attestation

Many of the hospitals and clinics we have worked with to attest to Medicaid, have received requests for the actual patient lists substantiating their eligibility or qualification for Medicaid EHR incentives. This is a normal part of the “verification step”. Verification occurs after the attestation. Once verification is confirmed the attestation can be forwarded for payment.

We would like to remind any CRHC REC participant attesting to Medicaid, to retain the auditable patient lists you created when you first did the eligibility calculation. Please be sure the encounter “counts” match the workbook and attestation you submitted.

If the numbers from the requested patient data match what was entered during attestation, you can re-upload the originally signed attestations. If the numbers do not match, new attestation documents need to be signed and uploaded.

For our rural health centers that used both Medicaid and “needy” patient volume to establish eligibility, the State is only asking for the Medicaid patients at this time.

For more information on the Colorado Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, click here.

AMA Offers Online Tutorial to Help with Health IT

The American Medical Association plans to launch several Web-based tutorials to help physicians integrate health information technology into their practices.

The tutorials offered are: e-prescribing, pre-visit planning, and point-of-care documentation. Each of the tutorials focuses on understanding workflow and what changes to expect with new technologies.

To read the entire article, click here.

iPads May Boost Residents' Efficiency

A study from the University of Chicago shows that most internal medicine residents who used iPads to access patient records and coordinate their care cut about an hour per day off their workload. Researchers also found that residents placed orders for patient procedures sooner than when they did not have an iPad. The study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

To read the entire article, click here.