Greetings to all of our Azalea Health Innovations friends and thank you for reading this month’s newsletter. Spring is in full swing, which makes May perfect for National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month. Check out the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America’s website for common allergies and diseases to be aware of during this peak season for allergy sufferers.

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Billing Tip: Registering for Medicare and/or Medicaid Programs
After determining your eligibility for the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs, you should then register as early as possible for the Medicare and/or Medicaid program. CMS’ EHR Information Center is open to assist the EHR provider community with registration and other program-related inquiries.

Here are a few of the Information Center’s most frequently asked questions about registration:

Question: What information should I have ready before I begin the registration process?

Answer: When you register, you will need:

If you are registering as an eligible hospital or Medicare eligible professional, you will need an approved enrollment record in the Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS). Medicaid eligible professionals are not required to be enrolled in PECOS.

If you do not have a record in PECOS, you should still register for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. (Please note –your eligible hospital or Medicare eligible professional registration status will remain in an “issue pending” status until you have an active enrollment record in PECOS.)

A National Provider Identifier (NPI)

A National Plan and Provider Enumeration System Identity and Access Management ID and password for the individual provider

A Payee Tax Identification Number (if you are re-assigning your benefits)

A Payee NPI (if you are re-assigning your benefits)

Question: Which option do I select when registering on behalf of an eligible professional in the Identity and Access Management System?

Answer: Click on “You are requesting to act on behalf of an individual provider.”

Question: How can I check my registration status in the Registration and Attestation System?

Answer: Log in to the Registration and Attestation System and click the Status tab to view your registration information.

Question: How do I re-submit my registration?

Answer: To re-submit a registration, you will need to:

Login to the EHR Incentive Program Registration and Attestation System;

Navigate to the Registration tab;

Select the Modify action for the registration;

Select the Personal Information registration topic; and

Save the updated payee information and submit the registration.

The center can be reached at 1-888-734-6433 (primary number) or 888-734-6563 (TTY number) from 7:30am-6:30pm CT Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.

CMS provides helpful registration guides and resources on the Registration page of the EHR website. Additionally, FAQs about registration can be found on the FAQs page of the CMS website.

Want more information about the EHR Incentive Programs? Make sure to visit the EHR Incentive Programs website for the latest news and updates on the EHR Incentive Programs.

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The U.S. e-Prescription Systems Market to Reach US $205 Million by 2017

E-prescription systems enable physicians to increase efficiency of their clinical workflow, and improve patient care management. Streamlined communication results in the reduction in the exchange of clarification and refill calls between physicians and pharmacies as well as facilitates achievement of operational efficiency. The integration of e-prescription systems with patients’ electronic medical records will aid physicians in making more informed decisions in prescribing medications based on a patient’s drug-drug or drug-allergy interactions. Governments and federal agencies are beginning to realize the significance of e-prescribing in bringing about substantial cost savings, and improving patient safety in terms of reducing unwarranted complications occurring due to illegible and erroneous prescriptions.

While benefits of e-prescription systems are evident, certain challenges still persist that need to be addressed for the successful adoption of e-prescription technology. These issues are expected to have a profound effect on the market growth in future, and may switch from traditional paper-based system to e-prescribing systems. Elimination of these industry barriers would assure a broader usage of e-prescribing technology.

The report, originally written by Global Industry Analysts Inc., provides annual sales estimates and projections for E-Prescription Systems market for the years 2009 through 2017 for the US and Europe. Key segments analyzed include Integrated e-Prescription Systems and Stand-alone e-Prescription Systems. The report also analyzes the adoption of e-prescription systems by Hospital practice and General practice.

For full article by Global Industry Analysts, Inc. click here.

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IT Seen as Critical to Population Health

With the potential of healthcare reform and other efforts to increase quality and efficiency of care, many providers are seeing the importance of information technology and are setting a primary focus on population health management.

In order to make the transition to accountable care from fee-for-service reimbursements, providers will need to automate daily tasks. Waco Hoover, CEO of the Institute for Health Technology Transformation says of provider organizations, “They must not only care for the sick, but also strive to keep their patient populations healthy. Information technology is the key to doing this cost efficiently, and automation can enable care teams to identify and work with the patients who truly need their help.”

Today, healthcare providers have a number of new tools at their disposal, such as electronic health records and health information exchanges that can aid them in the effective management of their population, thus keeping their patients as healthy as possible. Richard Hodach, MD, adds that, “By using technology to identify subpopulations and patients who are at risk, to reach out to those patients, and to automate care management, healthcare providers can provide optimal preventive and chronic care to their patient populations.”

For full article by Healthcare IT News click here.

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Upcoming Events
AHI will be exhibiting Azalea Labhub℠ at the CLMA ThinkLab’12 – Clinical Laboratory Management Association. The event is being held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA on April 29 – May 2, 2012.

AHI will be exhibiting at the Annual Meeting and Scientific Assembly held by the Alabama Academy of Family Physicians in Destin, Florida on June 21-23, 2012

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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:
www.facebook.com
www.twitter.com/azaleahealth
www.linkedin.com
www.youtube.com/user/azaleahealth

EHRWatch
Read the full article here

AHI was nominated to participate in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s 2012 Dream Big Small Business contest in January of this year for displaying exemplary business practices and demonstrating model corporate citizenship. AHI was chosen as one of 75 small businesses nationwide to be named as a Blue Ribbon Award winner. This advances them to the next level of the competition and makes them eligible to take part in the Community Excellence Award. The Community Excellence award will give each participating small business a chance to get their supporters involved by voting for their favorite small business online. Voting for this award is open now and ends on March 15th, 2012. AHI is asking the community to support them by going to www.AzaleaHealth.com and clicking on the Blue Ribbon banner to cast their vote for them.

AHI was nominated because of the company’s focus on innovative health information technology(health IT) which is paired with exceptional client relations. By keeping these two components at the forefront of all operations, AHI is able to satisfy client needs for medical software systems and ensure that the client is both comfortable and knowledgeable on the implementation process. Alongside of providing health IT and client relations, AHI was chosen for the contest due to the amount of civil service the company has provided for both the Valdosta and Savannah community. AHI understands the importance of giving back to the community and demonstrates this in several ways. They donate their time by participating in the “Angels” program for the Business Plan Competition in the Valdosta, volunteering to build a house for the Habitat for Humanity project, and serving as a Technical Advisor for the Wiregrass Technical College for the Healthcare Information Technology Program. AHI also has provided financial sponsorship for the Chamber’s Business showcase, has a 100% employee participation in the $1 for $1 contribution to the Greater Valdosta United Way, as well as donated funds to many charitable organizations.

About Azalea Health Innovations
Azalea Health Innovations, Inc. is a leading provider in cloud-based electronic health records software (EHR), practice management software (PM), and revenue cycle management services (RCM). Azalea℠ products provide continuity that unifies both the medical and financial aspects of today’s healthcare provider. The simple, web-based Azalea℠ EHR (Certified by ONC‐ATCB) encompasses the entire spectrum of a medical practice from scheduling, charting, e-prescribing, billing, online CPOE, online personal health records and Meaningful Use certification. The agile software development method that Azalea℠ Health employs allows the company to respond to customer feedback and industry standards at a rapid pace. Azalea products have the ability to accommodate multiple specialties and any size of practice, from solo physicians to hospital systems. Azalea℠ RCM service boasts a 98% accuracy rate, drastically reducing claims denials and protecting the fiscal health of healthcare practitioners. Implementing Azalea systems is effortless due to the simplicity of the products and unlimited access to expert customer service. For more information on Azalea Health Innovations, please visit www.AzaleaHealth.com or call (877) 777-7686.

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Greetings to all of our Azalea Health Innovations friends and thank you for reading this month’s newsletter. AHI has exciting news, we have been named as one of 75 small businesses, nationwide to receive the Blue Ribbon Small Business Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, we will be competing against other Blue Ribbon winners for the Community Excellence Award. This is where we need your help! Please take a few moments to vote for us!

Also, March is National Nutrition Month, so be sure to make informed choices for your daily meals. For more information on how to make the best choices for you and your family, go to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics website.

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Major Progress in Doctors and Hospital use of Health Information Technology

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the amount of hospitals using health information technology (HIT) has more than doubled in the last two years. This massive increase has allowed over 41,000 healthcare providers to receive a total of $3.12 billion in incentive payments from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Alongside the health IT adoption comes the need for more health IT workers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “the number of health IT jobs across the country is expected to increase by 20 percent from 2008 to 2018”. To aid the healthcare industry in having enough workers to fill these positions, the Obama Administration has funded four training programs that specialize in health IT fields. In total, over 19,000 students have already enrolled into the four programs.

For the full article go to U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ website.

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Billing Tip: Coding Guidance for Use of Modifier 22

When a physician spends a substantial amount of time that is more than a common service usually requires, the physician can add modifier 22 to the usual procedure code to exhibit the extra time taken to complete the service. The provider must also provide documentation that supports the additional work and the reason for said work. Adding modifier 22 to a procedure code will often increase the reimbursement the physician receives for that procedure. Physicians often lose out on a considerable amount of money for lack of usage of modifier 22.

Modifier 22 should only be used when the work administered requires a significant amount more of the physician’s technical skills in the areas of work, time, and/or complexity than is usual.

Modifier 22 is appropriate to use in the following procedural cases:

• Trauma extensive enough to complicate the particular procedure and that cannot be billed
with additional procedure codes

• Significant scarring requiring extra time and work

• Extra work resulting from morbid obesity or other unusual anatomic anomalies

• Increased time resulting from extra work by the physician

• Additional work and time involved in managing a patient’s co-morbid conditions throughout
the procedure

• When work associated with bundled procedures is more extensive than normal

Documentation Requirements

It is important that the physician point out that the service performed required a more complex work load than commonly associated with the given procedure or include modifier 22. The documentation should also detail the extra effort or “additional not-separately-codeable services that were required to treat the patient”.

• It is not sufficient to simply state that the procedure is a re-operation or a revision of a previous procedure.

• It is not sufficient to simply document the extent of the patient’s illness or co-morbid conditions that might cause additional work. The documentation must describe additional work performed.

• It is not sufficient to state the specific skills and credentials of the provider that might make them uniquely qualified to perform the service. Modifier 22 is not appropriate unless the work involved substantially exceeds the work described by the CPT code for the service.

• It is not sufficient to add a paragraph describing extra time if the body of the report does not also describe the extra work.

• It is not sufficient to identify a new operative technique or new operative tool without also
identifying the additional work and time involved in its use.

Though documentation of modifier 22 can be found anywhere in the operative note, best practice is to add a separate statement containing the supporting information explaining the additional time or complexity of the case. The Guidelines to the CPT Surgery Chapter now include instructions for “Special Report” cases.

For the full article go to University of Washington Physicians.

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Moving ahead with Stage 2 Meaningful Use

Stage 2: Where are you?
Initial requirements for Stage 2 were expected to be released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) at the end of December 2011, but have yet to be announced. What types of requirements will be included in the much anticipated Stage 2? So far it appears that all of the requirements that were optional in Stage 1 will become core requirements in Stage 2. CMS has released information on what menu requirements have been chosen by early adopters and what menu requirements have been deferred by early adopters that have already attested for Stage 1. Since these early adopters are already ahead of their peers in attestation, they are likely to also lead them in terms of electronic health record (EHR) use and the menu requirements they chose to defer likely indicate what will be challenging for others.

What can we learn from early attesters?
The nation is viewing HITECH as a “real” program. As of the end of December in 2011 around 3,077 hospitals and 172,972 eligible providers (EPs) had registered for the incentive program. According to the Computer Science Corporation (CSC),”this represents 61% of eligible hospitals and 33% of EPs”. Since providers only register when they are ready to attest to receive payments, this number is expected to increase as more take advantage of the program in the future.

Where are the challenges with Stage 1?
In Stage 1, hospitals and EPs had core (required) requirements and menu (optional) requirements from which the organization needed to meet defined thresholds of use for a minimum number and could defer the rest. In Stage 2, it is likely that all items will be required. When healthcare providers were asked what areas they believed would be challenging to their organization, a number chose areas that were related to both care coordination and patient engagement. The areas of care coordination and patient engagement are exactly what will be required to meet the requirements of accountable care.

What will be the biggest challenges in achieving Meaningful Use for Stage 2?
Of the providers that were asked, only a small percentage said they were prepared to allow their patients to view and download their information either through a patient portal or directly through their EHR.

Recommendations for Stage 2:
Stage 2 is approaching fast. Don’t wait until the last minute to start the preparation for its arrival!
Three essential areas where organizations need to start now are:
1. Providing patients with access to their health information electronically through patient portals or directly from EHR systems.
2. Electronic capture of physician notes, including diagnosis and treatment, plus rationale for excluding patients from treatment recommendations.
3. Exchange of patient information at transitions in care.

For the full article go to Computer Sciences Corporation.

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Other News:
- AHI’s new speech recognition is featured as one of the 14 Most Interesting Health IT Products and Services that will be displayed at the HIMSS conference in Las Vegas.

- AHI has been named as one of seventy-five winners nationwide for the 2012 Blue Ribbon Award by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and is also eligible to win the Community Excellence Award that will be chosen by public online voting. To vote for Azalea Health Innovations click here.

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Upcoming Events:

AHI will be exhibiting at the GPT- Georgia Partnership For Telehealth Annual Spring Conference. The event is being held at the Ritz-Carlton Reynolds Plantation in Lake Oconee, GA on March 14-16, 2012.

AHI will be exhibiting at the National Association of Rural Health’s Spring Institute on March 19-20, 2012. This event will be held in San Antonio, Texas.

AHI will be exhibiting Azalea Labhub℠ at the CLMA ThinkLab’12 – Clinical Laboratory Management Association. The event is being held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA on April 29 – May 2, 2012.

AHI will be exhibiting at the Annual Meeting and Scientific Assembly held by the Alabama Academy of Family Physicians in Destin, Florida on June 21-23, 2012

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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

Greetings to all of our Azalea Health Innovations friends and thank you for reading this month’s newsletter. Now that it is February, we would like to wish you all a very happy American Heart Month. Remember to go and get your check up!

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2011 Meaningful Use Incentives paid: $2.5 Billion

The Medicare and Medicaid electronic health record program has released a tentative amount of $2.5 billion for all payouts of 2011. This number currently affects only the earliest of adopters, however, in 2012 even more Medicare providers are expected to sign up for the incentive program, which will dramatically increase the overall total. “In 2011, 41 states launched their incentive programs… In January so far, Colorado and Kansas kicked that total up to 43 states launched.” The Medicare program paid $464.7 million to 4,997 physicians and 193 hospitals in December of 2011. The final 2011 amount will not be released until early March of 2012.

Mobile Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (mHIMSS)

LAST DAY for EP’s to register and attest to receive Incentive Payment for CY 2011 is FEBRUARY 29, 2012

Be sure to keep up with Meaningful Use Deadlines to ensure that your practice receives the maximum amount of incentives possible.

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Billing Tip:
HIPAA 5010: What’s triggering denials and rejections?

According to a VP at a large clearing house, healthcare payers have exposed a slew of issues that will cause rejections and denials. Some of these problems could be caused by:
- National Provider Identifiers (NPIs) need to be used, not an employer’s Tax ID or Social Security number.
- HIPPA 5010 requires that a street address – not P.O. Box be used on all medical claims.
- Providers can use a P.O. Box for a billing address that receives reimbursement checks, but
make sure the payers have that on file and are using it.
- Also regarding addresses, providers need a nine-digit zip code with the billing and physical
address.
- HIPAA 5010 allows as many as 12 diagnosis codes on each claim, but each specific service
can only have four codes.
- Any claim using an unlisted Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) or Healthcare Common
Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code also needs a code description.
- Healthcare providers must submit a Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) indicator on the primary
and secondary claim when Medicare is the secondary payer.
- Drug quantity and unit of measurement are required when a National Drug Code (NDC) is
listed.
- All ingredients in a compound prescription must be listed with a HCPCS code.

Additionally, it is important to check that the reimbursements match your expectations to ensure your practice receives the proper amount.

Government Health IT

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Azalea Health Innovations voice-enabled EHR

Azalea Health Innovations has introduced a beneficial new feature into their EHR. The state-of-the-art voice recognition tool enables physicians to dictate seamlessly into their EHR system without error. Because of this new addition, AHI was featured as Nuance Healthcare’s App-of-the-Month for January of 2012. With voice recognition, physicians are now able to transcribe more accurate notes from their patients’ visit while increasing productivity and reducing report turnaround time. This, in return, gives the physician more time to ensure that each and every patient receives exemplary care. The feature also allows doctors to transcribe their notes in their own words, allowing them to submit more complete documentation and receive a higher level of reimbursement.

Contact AHI today for a free demo to see this amazing new tool in action!

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Importance of Address Validation

Every month, thousands of appointment reminders, bill notices, and other mailed items are marked return to sender because of an invalid mailing address. Aside from the large mountain of envelopes that will undoubtedly accumulate, there is also an unprecedented amount of money that is being spent on the sending and re-sending of these items. How can a practice prevent this loss of valuable money, time, and office space from occurring? Enter Azalea Health Innovations’ valuable Address Validation tool, located in the patient demographic screen.

As a thank you for your patronage, AHI will be offering the address validation feature to all customers free of charge!

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Other News:

- The deadline for EP’s to register and attest to receive an Incentive Payment for CY is February
29th, 2012
- AHI has been nominated by the Valdosta – Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce for the
National Big Dreams Small Business Award for 2012.

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Upcoming Events:

AHI will be exhibiting at the GPT- Georgia Partnership For Telehealth Annual Spring Conference. The event is being held at the Ritz-Carlton Reynolds Plantation in Lake Oconee, GA on March 14-16, 2012.

AHI will be exhibiting at the National Association of Rural Health’s Spring Institute on March 19-20, 2012. This event will be held in San Antonio, Texas.

AHI will be exhibiting Azalea Labhub℠ at the CLMA ThinkLab’12 – Clinical Laboratory Management Association. The event is being held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA on April 29 – May 2, 2012.

AHI will be exhibiting at the Annual Meeting and Scientific Assembly held by the Alabama Academy of Family Physicians in Destin, Florida on June 21-23, 2012

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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: 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