IN THIS ISSUE

* Welcome
* New England Journal of Medicine Study Shows Benefits of EHRs
* Two years away from ICD-10 replacing ICD-9 codes
* How to register for Meaningful Use
* Billing Tip: Preparing for 5010
* HomeTown Health 12th Annual Fall Conference

———-
Welcome

Greetings to all of our Azalea Health Innovations friends and thank you for reading this month’s newsletter.

———-
New England Journal of Medicine Study Shows Benefits of EHRs

Recently the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published a study, which looks at care delivered to diabetic patients in physician practices that use electronic health records compared to physician practices that do not. The results should not come as a surprise to those of us who are working to speed the adoption and meaningful use of health IT: Practices that use EHRs — especially in conjunction with collaborative efforts to improve quality — delivered measurably better care than practices which rely on paper records.

The Office of the National Coordinator’s Buzz Blog features a blog by the study’s lead author, Dr. Randall Cebul, which summarizes its findings. Materials are also attached that highlight the connection between the study’s findings and the ongoing work to leverage the meaningful use of health IT to improve health quality and outcomes.

———-
Two years away from ICD-10 replacing ICD-9 codes

Although ICD-10 coding changes seem far away, and the big talk of this year is the change to 5010 electronic claims, it is never too soon to begin preparing your office, staff, and vendors for the big change. Effective October 1, 2013, all claims for services provided on or after this date MUST use ICD-10 codes for medical diagnosis and inpatient procedures. Currently, ICD-9 produces limited data about a patient’s medical conditions and hospital inpatient procedures is 30 years old, outdated, and inconsistent with current medical practices. ICD-9 also limits the number of new codes that can be created because many of the categories are full.

ICD-10 codes use 3 to 7 digits and will affect everyone covered by HIPAA, not just Medicare and Medicaid claims. Here are some easy ways for every entity to prepare for ICD-10 implementation, as the codes are more complicated and the change cannot happen overnight.

• Providers will need to develop an implementation strategy assessing the impact of the coding changes on your organization, a detailed timeline, and budget. Providers will also need to check with their respective vendors about their compliance plans.

• Payers will need to review payment policies involving the new coding rules, and have an implementation plan and transition budget in place.

• Vendors, clearinghouses, and third-party billing services will need to have products and services in development for full implementation by October 1, 2013.

For more information, visit the CMS website for official CMS resources to help you prepare for the transition. New tools and information will be added to the site throughout the course of the transition.

———-
How to Register for Meaningful Use

Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Programs will provide payments to eligible professionals as they demonstrate adoption, implementation, upgrading and meaningful use of certified EHR technology. These incentive programs are designed to support providers who instill the use of EHRs in meaningful ways to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of patient health care. To find out if you are an eligible professional for Medicare and Medicaid, please visit https://ehrincentives.cms.gov/hitech/login.action.

If you are an eligible professional (EP), you must have the following information to log in to the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Program Registration and Attestation System:

• National Provider Identifier (NPI)
• National Plan and Provider Enumerations System (NPPES) User ID and Password

Once you have logged into the system, fill out the Application and Security Check Page. The system provides step-by-step instructions to register for the Incentive Program. Click here to view the full Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program Registration User Guide. You can register even before you have a certified EMR or an enrollment record in PECOS (which is required for all Medicare eligible professionals).

In April 2011, CMS implemented functionality that allows an EP to designate a third party to register and attest on his or her behalf. To do so, users working on behalf of an EP must have an Identity and Access Management System (I&A) web user account (User ID/Password), and be associated with the EP’s NPI. If you are working on behalf of an EP and do not have an I&A web user account, please visit I&A Security Check to create one. States will not necessarily offer the same functionality for attestation in the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program. Check with your State to see what functionality will be offered.

Make sure that your practice registers as soon as possible to avoid payment delays. Visit the CMS website more information.

———
Billing Tip: Preparing for 5010

Is your practice ready for the 5010 conversion set to take effect January 2012? Ask your practice management vendor and electronic claims clearinghouse if they will be ready for 5010 claim transactions. It doesn’t end there however. Did you know there are several new requirements regarding the use of PO Boxes, 9 digit zip codes, and patient/insured relationships on claims that YOU as a practice must be aware of? Please view attached 5010 Toolkit released by the American Medical Association (AMA) for detailed information on the changes. See example from the attached Toolkit page 14.

In 5010, the billing provider address must be a street address and can no longer
be a PO Box or lock box. Physicians who want to have their payments sent to a
different address will use the pay-to address fields.

———
Upcoming Events: HTH 12th Annual Fall Conference

We will be attending the HomeTown Health 12th Annual Fall Conference at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA this November. The conference is from November 16th – November 18th and promises to be a great time to meet with a network of rural hospitals, healthcare providers and best practice business partners.

———-
Thank you!

Azalea Health Innovations, Inc.
105 West Central Avenue
Valdosta, GA 31601
Toll Free: 877-777-7686
Local: 229-269-4620
Toll Free Fax: 866-683-8679
Web: http://www.AzaleaHealth.com
Email: info@azaleahealth.com

Click the links below to stay in touch:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Azalea-Health-Innovations/145238319941?ref=ts
http://twitter.com/azaleahealth
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2791313&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr
http://www.youtube.com/user/azaleahealth