Azalea Health Innovations Friends Newsletter – April 2009
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IN THIS ISSUE
* Welcome
* Information Technology in healthcare can help predict flu outbreaks
* The Magic of Praxis
* Medical Billing Tip: New Medicare Enrollment Rules Kicked in April 1st
* AHI Past and Upcoming Events
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Welcome
Hello to all of our Azalea Health Innovations friends. We hope you enjoy this month’s Newsletter. AHI wishes our readers a happy and prosperous spring!
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Information Technology in healthcare can help predict flu outbreaks
There are many advantages that electronic medical records can bring, from helping hospitals and doctors get information quickly on patients’ medical histories to warning providers when two drugs are being prescribed that may interact dangerously together. But can technology and electronic medical records help us in early detection of an epidemic like the Swine flu? The answer is yes, Google has developed a system to compile flu trends based on certain search terms that indicates flu activity. Google Trends aggregates search key words to estimate flu activity in any state up to two weeks faster than traditional systems. Please read more about google flu trends at: http://www.google.org/flutrends/ The Federal government initiative of connecting the nation’s electronic health records can make an impact by allowing electronic reports to exchange laboratory information and be able to find trends on flu epidemic. More information on swine flu can be found at the CDC website at: http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu
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The Magic of Praxis
The Magic of Praxis is one of the first books ever written by a physician about their experience with their EMR. Dr. The book was written by Steven A. Gold, a family practitioner and a Praxis EMR user for 7 years. Dr. Gold states that his “purpose in preparation of this primer on the Praxis® version 4 is not to provide a full manual, but rather to provide an overview of the conceptual framework of Praxis®, its features, and practical steps towards its adoption in the clinical setting.”
Dr. Gold is a graduate of the University of Toronto medical school and the Harvard School of Public Health. Please visit http://www.themagicofpraxis.com/ to buy a copy of The Magic of Praxis. If you like to know more about Praxis EMR please visit http://www.azaleahealth.com/praxis or call us at 877-777-7686
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Medical Billing Tip: New Medicare Enrollment Rules Kicked in April 1st
On April 1st 2009, Medicare put into effect a new set of enrollment rules with harsh penalties. Many provider practices are worried this is a sign of things to come. Under the new rule, the time frame a provider can retroactively bill for services after successful enrollment or re-enrollment has been changed from 27 months to 30 days. Also, providers must notify Medicare of a change in practice location within 30 days of the change or risk a possible 2 year expulsion from Medicare.
This means providers who can’t comply with the new retroactive billing timeline risk losing payment for any services billed before the 30-day limit. But providers who fail to update their addresses within 30 days of moving face the potentially more costly penalty of being unable to bill the program at all for up to two years!
Fortunately, there is now a way to enroll or re-enroll online which should make the process much smoother. For more information and for a list of enrollment time frames, you can read more from the American Medical News article posted on the 20th. http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2009/04/20/gvl10420.htm
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AHI Past and Upcoming Events
Friday, April 17, 2009 Azalea Health Innovations’ CEO, Baha Zeidan spoke about the importance of EMR adoption during the Valdosta Chamber Federal Legislative Overview luncheon. U.S Senator Jonny Isakson served as guest speaker during the luncheon and was attended by many area chamber members and business owners.
AHI will be attending CLMA ThinkLab Conference May 2-4, 2009 in Tampa, FL. Come visit us at booth #315! http://www.clma.org/ThinkLab/index.html
AHI will be presenting Azalea LabHub to the VHA Georgia Lab Leaders’ Council in Atlanta May 15, 2009. http://www.vha.com/vhageorgia
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Thank you!
Azalea Health Innovations, Inc.
100 North Patterson Street
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
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