Final HIPAA Rule Webinar: Register Today!

February 14, 2013 

12:00-1:00

 Click here to register!

Presented by

David Ginsberg, Senior Advisor, CRHC

 

After a 2.5 year wait the final HIPAA Omnibus Rule has been released with 563 pages of changes to HIPAA as part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The final omnibus rule will be effective on March 26, but covered entities and business associates have until Sept. 23 to comply.

CRHC's Senior Advisor, David Ginsberg has reviewed the new rule.  He says, "It is actually four separate rules affecting HIPAA Privacy, Security and Breach Notification. Most of the rules must be implemented by September 23, 2013". David stressed the importance for hospital and clinic HIPAA compliance staff to attend the webinar.

 

So register today for this informative and high level review of the Final HIPAA Rule! 

Meet your coding, reimbursement and compliance goals in 2013.

These classes are normally offered at over $2,000.00 per person. Save your time and money by attending our three day workshops.

Coding Certification Bootcamp in Alamosa, CO
March 19, 20 & 21, 2013
Ramada Inn & Conference Center/333 Sante Fe Ave, Alamosa, CO
Click here to register

Coding Certification Bootcamp in Rifle, CO.
May 21, 22 & 23, 2013
Grand River Hospital Conference Center/501 Airport Rd, Rifle, CO
Click here to register

Questions? Contact Danette Swanson ds@coruralhealth.org

Registration Assistance: Samantha Hiner at 720.248.2757

EHR Incentive Programs

The EHR Incentive Programs Stage 1 Rule stated that, in order for a Medicaid encounter to count towards the patient volume of an eligible provider, Medicaid had to either pay for all or part of the service, or pay all or part of the premium, deductible or coinsurance for that encounter. 

The Stage 2 Rule now states that the Medicaid encounter can be counted towards patient volume if the patient is enrolled in the state’s Medicaid program (either through the state’s fee-for-service programs or the state’s Medicaid managed care programs) at the time of service without the requirement of Medicaid payment liability.

 

How will this change affect patient volume calculations for Medicaid eligible providers?
Importantly, this change affecting the Medicaid patient volume calculation is applicable to all eligible providers, regardless of the stage of the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program they are participating in. Billable services provided by an eligible provider to a patient enrolled in Medicaid would count toward meeting the minimum Medicaid patient volume thresholds. Examples of Medicaid encounters under this expanded definition that could be newly eligible might include: behavioral health services, HIV/AIDS treatment, or other services that might not be billed to Medicaid/managed care for privacy reasons, but where the provider has a mechanism to verify eligibility. Also, services to a Medicaid-enrolled patient that might not have been reimbursed by Medicaid (or a Medicaid managed care organization) may now be included in the Medicaid patient volume calculation (e.g., oral health services, immunization, vaccination and women’s health services, telemedicine/telehealth, etc.).

Providers who are not currently enrolled with their state Medicaid agency who might be newly eligible for the incentive payments due to these changes should note that they are not necessarily required to fully enroll with Medicaid in order to receive the payment.
In some instances, it may now be appropriate to include services denied by Medicaid in calculating patient volume. It will be appropriate to review denial reasons. If Medicaid denied the service for timely filing or because another payer’s payment exceeded the potential Medicaid payment, it would be appropriate to include that encounter in the calculation. If Medicaid denied payment for the service because the beneficiary has exceeded service limits established by the Medicaid program, it would be appropriate to include that encounter in the calculation. If Medicaid denied the service because the patient was ineligible for Medicaid at the time of service, it would not be appropriate to include that encounter in the calculation.

Further guidance regarding this change will be distributed to the states as appropriate.

Final HIPAA Rule Webinar: Register Today!

The Final HIPAA Rule: What Rural Hospitals and Clinics Need to Know

February 14, 2013 

12:00-1:00

 Click here to register!

Presented by

David Ginsberg, Senior Advisor, CRHC

After a 2.5 year wait the final HIPAA Omnibus Rule has been released with 563 pages of changes to HIPAA as part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The final omnibus rule will be effective on March 26, but covered entities and business associates have until Sept. 23 to comply.

CRHC's Senior Advisor, David Ginsberg has reviewed the new rule.  He says, "It is actually four separate rules affecting HIPAA Privacy, Security and Breach Notification. Most of the rules must be implemented by September 23, 2013". David stressed the importance for hospital and clinic HIPAA compliance staff to attend the webinar.

So register today for this informative and high level review of the Final HIPAA Rule!  



Questions? Contact: David Ginsberg, Senior Advisor

Colorado Rural Health Center

505.466.8597  or 303.883.7760 (cell)

Billing & Coding Workshops: Register Today!

Coding Certificate Bootcamp in Alamosa

March 19, 20 & 21, 2013

Ramada Inn & Conference Center/333 Sante Fe Ave, Alamosa, CO

Click here to register!

Billing and Coding Workshop in Rifle

May 21, 22 & 23, 2013

Grand River Hospital Conference Center/501 Airport Rd, Rifle, CO

Click here to register!

Questions? Contact Danette Swanson ds@coruralhealth.org

Registration Assistance: Samantha Hiner at 720.248.2757

Attention: CAH EHR Survey!

HIMSS Analytics would like to collect data regarding the challenges that critical access hospitals face in implementing electronic health records to achieve meaningful use.

Click HERE to complete this important survey!

This brief survey focuses on the following topics:

• challenges your hospital is experiencing related  to electronic health record implementation (e.g. access to capital, IT workforce, and broadband),
• participation in Federal and State broadband assistance programs,
• current and planned Health Information Technology capabilities, and
• internet access, speed, and monthly costs.

The results of this survey will be used for Federal programs to support enhanced outreach, to better understand the needs of critical access hospitals, and to assess the effectiveness of current health IT programs and grants.

Upon completion of the survey, HIMSS Analytics will send a document referencing Federal broadband funding opportunities designed specifically to fund projects that improve health and development in rural areas by increasing access to internet technologies. If you have any questions, please contact Patti Harris, Senior Director, Data Collection and Quality at patti.harris@himssanalytics.org.

CME/CNE Credits Available! Web Conference on Practical Models to Improve Patient-Clinician Communication Using Health IT

This Webinar will identify ways health IT can be used to support the delivery of patient-centered care by supporting more effective patient-clinician communication within the medical encounter.

Date:  December 18, 2012

Time:  2:30-4:00 p.m., EST

To Register:

1. Go to: https://ahrqnrc-conferences.webex.com/ahrqnrc-conferences/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=998987728

2. Select "Register."
3. On the registration form, enter your information and then select "Submit."
Once the host approves your registration, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to join the event. For assistance:  Contact Jennifer Webb by email at jrwebb@rti.org or by phone at

(919) 541-6746.

Overall Purpose:

Through multiple mechanisms, including the judgment of the continuing education (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 decisionmaking, support patient-centered care, and improve the quality and safety of medication management. This Webinar will identify ways health IT can be used to support the delivery of patient-centered care by supporting more effective patient-clinician communication within the medical encounter. The projects presented will discuss how these approaches impact care delivery including preventive care, cancer survivorship planning, and medication management.

Confirmed Speakers:

William Adams, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics, Director of BU-CTSI Clinical Research Informatics, Boston University School of Medicine

Dr. Adams has no conflict of interests to report.

Elizabeth Hahn, M.A., Associate Professor, Department of Medical Social Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University

Ms. Hahn has no conflict of interests to report.

Michael Wolf, Ph.D., M.P.H., Associate Professor and Associate Division Chief, General Internal Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University

Dr. Wolf has no conflict of interests to report.

Moderator:

Teresa Zayas-Cabán, Ph.D., Senior Manager, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

Dr. Zayas-Cabán has no conflict of interests to report.

Learning Objectives:

1)      Describe how use of an interactive voice response system can impact patient-clinician communication in pediatric care settings.

2)      Discuss how use of a low literacy multimedia information system can enhance the quality of communication between cancer patients and their providers.

3)      Identify health IT strategies that impact medication management through enhanced patient-clinician communication.

Target Audience: ambulatory care practices, physicians, nurses, government agencies, health IT vendors, patients and consumers, health care policymakers, and researchers interested in patient-clinician communication

How to Obtain CME/CNE Credit

Participants will earn 1.5 contact credit hours for their participation if they attended the entire Web conference. Participants must complete an online evaluation in order to obtain a CE certificate. A link to the online evaluation system will be sent to participants who attend the Web Conference within 48 hours after the event.

There is no involvement of commercial or sponsor support for this Web conference series.

Disclosure Policy

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality strives to ensure balance, independence, objectivity and scientific rigor in all of its educational programs. All planners, faculty members, moderators, discussants, panelist and presenters participating in this program have been required to disclose any real or apparent conflict(s) of interest that may have a direct bearing on the subject matter of this program. This includes relationships with pharmaceutical companies, biomedical device manufacturers or other corporations whose products or services are related to the subject matter of the presentation topic. The intent of this policy is to identify openly any conflict of interest so that the attendees may form their own judgments about the presentation with full disclosure of the facts. In addition, faculty is expected to openly disclose any off-label, experimental and/or investigational uses of drugs or devices in their presentation. Disclosures, Conflict of Interest (COI) and Resolution of COI policies are available here.

Physician Accreditation Statement

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint sponsorship of the American Public Health Association (APHA) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The APHA is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The APHA designates this web-based educational activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit (s)^™.  

Nurse Accreditation Statement

This continuing nursing education activity was approved by APHA/PHN, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Non Endorsement and Disclaimer
As an Accredited Provider of Continuing Education (CE) Credits for Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Medicine (CME), and Public Health (CPH) the American Public Health Association Learning and Professional Development Programs (LPDP) Unit and its respective Continuing Education accrediting organizations do not endorse any products or services that are displayed or referred to in conjunction with this activity and are not responsible for the actual presentation of content during scientific sessions.  The APHA education planning committee has determined that CE sessions meet the accreditation criteria for all four disciplines

Planning Committee for this Webinar Series CE activity:

Angela Nunley, AHRQ - Ms. Nunley has no conflicts of interest to report.

Jonathan Wald, M.D., M.P.H., CME planner, RTI - Dr. Wald has no conflicts of interest to report.

Carolyn Padovano, Ph.D., R.N., CNE planner, RTI- Dr. Padovano has no conflicts of interest to report.

Stephanie Rizk, RTI- Ms. Rizk has no conflicts of interest to report.

Jennifer Webb, RTI- Ms. Webb has no conflicts of interest to report.

HRSA presents a HITQ Webinar

Health Resources and Services Administration 

Health Information Technology and Quality Webinar 

“Meaningfully Using Computerized Order Entry for Safety Net Providers” 

Friday, December 14, 2:00 PM ET

This webinar provides an understanding of how inpatient and ambulatory safety net providers can meaningfully use computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) defines CPOE as “the provider’s use of computer assistance to directly enter medication orders from a computer or mobile device. The order is also documented or captured in a digital, structured, and computable format for use in improving safety and organization.”

CPOE, a mandatory core measure for meaningful use for the CMS Electronic Health Record Incentive Program, can provide many benefits and challenges to safety net providers. These include increased patient safety, accurate communication between healthcare providers, and greater capturing of services for billing. Webinar speakers will discuss how they successfully implemented CPOE in their provider settings and how they overcame CPOE challenges in order to reap its benefits. (Registration Below)

Presenters Include:

· Raymond Parris, Chief Information Officer of Golden Valley Health Centers, Merced, CA
· Robbie Dewberry, Chief Executive Officer of Mitchell County Hospital District, Colorado City, Texas

Register here: https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=3b12yzdojkqz

Questions for presenters are welcome ahead of the event and may be emailed to healthit@hrsa.gov

Previous HRSA Health IT and Quality Webinars can be access at HRSA Health IT and Quality Webinar website:  http://www.hrsa.gov/healthit/toolbox/webinars/index.html

Important News for CRHC CAHs and Hospitals Attesting for Medicaid EHR Incentives

Colorado Medicaid (HCPF) has extended the sixty day deadline after the end of the 2012 federal fiscal year for submission of either AIU or 90 day attestation. The new deadline is December 29, 2012. The attestation MUST BE submitted by this date which provides a 30 day additional grace period. Some of our CAHs have been anxiously awaiting the ability to submit their 90 day MU reporting for Medicaid and this will be welcome news since the attestation site is still not ready to accept 90 day reporting. A few of our CAHs have waited to submit their Medicaid AIU for 2012 until this week and they too will have a grace period. If you have questions, please contact our Senior Advisor David Ginsberg at dg@coruralhealth.org.

REMINDER: THE Consortium November Webinar - Stage Two Meaningful Use & New Federal Guidelines on CORE

Please join us for THE Consortium webinar on Thursday, Novebmer 8, 2012 from 12:00pm - 1:15pm where we'll start our discussion on Stage 2 Meaningful Use and review the new Federal guidelines on Eligibility and Claims Status (CORE).  Tammie Harrington from CMR will also join us as a guest speaker during this time.

You can register for the November webinar here.

ARHPC Coding Certification Bootcamp: November 28-30

Colorado Rural Health Center is hosting the ARHPC Coding Certification Bootcamp: Coding Certification for Rural Healthcare Facilities.  The 3 day event will begin November 28 at the Double Tree Hotel (13696 East Iliff Place, Aurora, CO 80014).

Presenters will include John Beard and John Burns, both of ARHPC.  They will provide valuable information needed to meet your coding, reimbursement and compliance goals for 2013.  Upon successful completion of this bootcamp, attendees will be eligible to take the online coding certification test through ARHPC at no addition cost.

Registration for this event can be found here.

Colorado Medicare Claims Transition from Trailblazers to Novitas Solutions

As of October 19,  Trailblazers stopped receiving all mail and requests in their role as the Medicare Contractor and forwarded these to Novitas Solutions. All future communication must go through Novitas. Since Novitas has prior experience as a MAC for a number of eastern states, CMS anticipates that the transfer to a new MAC will go smoothly, with few disruptions for Medicare beneficiaries or providers. However, providers should prepare for possible delays and implementation glitches.

THE Consortium November Webinar - Stage Two Meaningful Use & New Federal Guidelines on CORE

Please join us for THE Consortium webinar on Thursday, Novebmer 8, 2012 from 12:00pm - 1:15pm where we'll start our discussion on Stage 2 Meaningful Use and review the new Federal guidelines on Eligibility and Claims Status (CORE).  Tammie Harrington from CMR will also join us as a guest speaker during this time.

You can register for the November webinar here.

Reminder: Last week to register for Annual Conference

We would like to remind our REC and Consortium colleagues that this is the last week to register for Colorado Rural Health Center's 2012 Annual Conference in Colorado Springs.  The conference will be held at the Antlers Hilton October 25-26. 

For those of you who plan to attend, you can find this year's agenda here.  We are very much looking forward to CRHC's Senior HIT Adviser, David Ginsberg, to host two breakout session on topics very pertinent to EHR.  We hope to see you there!

To register for the conference, click this link.

The ICD-10 Planning Checklist

Last week, CMS released an ICD-10 Planning Checklist to assist providers, payers and vendors inpreparation for the ICD-10 transition set for October 1, 2014. Whether you've already started or are just beginning your ICD-10 transition, you will need to thoughtfully plan for the transition and then communicate those strategies to internal staff and external partners. Below are a few steps to help guide your planning process:

• Seek Resources on the ICD-10 transition. CMS and professional and membership organizations have developed information and resources to guide you through ICD-10 implementation.
• Establish an ICD-10 Project Team. This team will be responsible for overseeing the ICD-10 transition, and will vary based on the size of your organization. Larger practices should have a team with representatives from different departments (e.g., executive leadership, physicians, and IT). Smaller practices may only have one or two individuals responsible for helping the practice make the switch to ICD-10.
• Develop an ICD-10 Communication and Awareness Plan. This plan will map out how your organization will communicate with internal staff and external partners about ICD-10 throughout the transition.
• Revisit and Revise Your Implementation Timeline. Since the ICD-10 compliance deadline is now October 1, 2014, your timeline for ICD-10 implementation activities will need to be updated.
• Share Your Implementation Plans and Timelines. Discuss the new ICD-10 compliance deadline and share your revised implementation plans and timelines with internal staff and external partners to ensure transition activities are coordinated.

Communication and collaboration will help organizations as they transition to ICD-10. As you continue planning, share lessons learned and best practices with CRHC and others in your area. You can do this through organization newsletters and social media as well as at conferences, workshops, and other educational events. Remember, ICD-10 will affect everyone currently using ICD-9 codes!

CMS Delays in Responding to Hospital Meaningful Use Attestations

Several of our hospitals who recently attested to Medicare meaningful use have reported it taking longer than expected to receive notification from Trailblazers confirming their attestation submission and requesting cost date for the CAH incentive payment. Over the last year most hospitals received the letter within two to three weeks of attestation; they then have 10 days to complete and return the incentive calculation materials (we would like to remind all CAHs that are reading this blog to use the workbook we developed for this purpose as it has a high success rate in terms of approval and closely follows recently released CMS audit guidelines).

Just this week, Trailblazers told one of our CAHs that they receive the attestation file from CMS only on a monthly basis-thus hospitals who attest early in the month can wait up to four weeks to receive their notification letter!

Trailblazers also noted that attestations done in September will be handled initially by them in terms of sending the notification letter and receiving the cost data-but this will then be turned over to Novitas for processing. Please alert us to any issues you are seeing with the Novitas transition for incentive payments.

THE Consortium October Webinar: POSTPONED

Due to scheduling conflicts and the overall time frame as we move closer to the CRHC Annual Conference, THE Consortium webinar on Thursday, October 18, 2012 at12:00pm has been postponed.  The next webinar will be November 8th with information provided by our special guest, Tammie Harrington from CMR.

We apologize for any inconvenience.  We are certainly excited, however, to have CRHC's Senior Adviser, David Ginsberg, provide HIT insight during 2 breakout sessions at this year's conference.

To register for the conference, click here.

THE Consortium September Webinar: EHR Policies and Procedures

Join us for our next webinar, EHR Policies and Procedures: Important Meaningful Use and Incentive program updates next Thursday, September 22nd from 12:00pm - 1:15pm MDT.

We will begin a series on best practice policies and procedures needed once an Electronic Health Record is implemented. We will also provide an update on Meaningful Use objectives and incentive payments!

To register for this webinar, click here.

CROP Applications Due May 16th

Colorado Rural Outreach Program (CROP) grant money can be used to recruit new healthcare professionals or retain the ones already on your staff by repaying portions of the healthcare professional’s educational loans, or by giving a retention bonus if all educational loans are paid off. CROP currently offers two grant cycles per year as funds are available, in the spring and the fall.

Applications are currently being accepted for the spring grant cycle. Applications MUST be postmarked by May 16th, 2011 to be considered for funding.

Please download the application packet and coversheet online. Please fill out, and save, the coversheet in Microsoft Word. You may submit your application via email, or postal mail. If submitting via email, please make the narrative and all attachments ONE inclusive document. The coversheet may be separate. Please send your CROP application to:

Attn: Grants Manager
Colorado Rural Health Center
3033 S. Parker Rd., Suite 606
Aurora, CO 80014
ep@coruralhealth.org
Main: 303.832.7493 x 234
Fax: 303.832.7496

For more information on the CROP program and to see if your organization is eligible, please click here. For questions, contact Erica Petramala at ep@coruralhealth.org.