Don’t Forget: Eligible Hospitals Must Begin 90-Day Reporting By July 3

At Integrated Data Management Systems, we are dedicated to staying up-to-date with CMS news, policy changes, and deadlines so that our clients remain compliant. Today, we will remind you about some important deadlines, one of which is happening this coming weekend.

July 3, 2011, is the final deadline for eligible hospitals to begin the 90-day reporting period to demonstrate meaningful use under the 2011 Medicare EHR Incentive Program. That means you have only four days left to begin the reporting period.

As a quick refresher, here is information about the Medicare EHR Incentive Program (via the CMS page about the program):

The Medicare EHR Incentive Program will provide incentive payments to eligible professionals, eligible hospitals, and CAHs that demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology.

  • Participation can begin as early as 2011.
  • Eligible professionals can receive up to $44,000 over five years under the Medicare EHR Incentive Program. There’s an additional incentive for eligible professionals who provide services in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HSPA).
  • To get the maximum incentive payment, Medicare eligible professionals must begin participation by 2012.
  • Incentive payments for eligible hospitals and CAHs may begin as early as 2011 and are based on a number of factors, beginning with a $2 million base payment.
  • For 2015 and later, Medicare eligible professionals, eligible hospitals, and CAHs that do not successfully demonstrate meaningful use will have a payment adjustment in their Medicare reimbursement.

Further dates that we recommend our clients, and any eligible professionals or hospitals interested in maintaining compliance, mark on their calendars: Continue reading ‘Don’t Forget: Eligible Hospitals Must Begin 90-Day Reporting By July 3′

Data Backup Can Ensure Safe Patient Records and Proper Compliance (Part 2)

Natural disasters are an inevitable occurrence, and as devastation in cities likeJoplin,MO, has shown us, we never know quite when a disaster will strike or how severe the damage will be. Disaster plans are vital for hospitals and medical practices so that they can keep their patients safe. An important part of a disaster plan is protecting patient records. Electronic data backup is a simple, secure way to safeguard patient data.

In the first segment of this series, we discussed why data backup is vital for compliance. Today, we will discuss the types of data backup that are available.

What Type of Data Backup Should I Use?

A wide variety of options are available for backing up your data. You should keep at least one encrypted copy of your data, and be sure that it is stored off-site. And make sure that regular, scheduled backups occur so that large chunks of data are not lost. The best option is paying for a service such as Carbonite, which will store your data in a safe, remote site. You can also purchase an external hard drive, rewritable CD-ROMS, or USB drives to store your encrypted files on. If you choose one of these options, you should be sure that a trusted employee removes the drives or discs from the office every night to be sure that they are not stolen or harmed. Continue reading ‘Data Backup Can Ensure Safe Patient Records and Proper Compliance (Part 2)’

Data Backup Secures Patient Records and Ensures Compliance (Part 1)

Natural disasters are an inevitable occurrence, and as devastation in cities like Joplin,MO, has shown us, we never know quite when a disaster will strike or how severe the damage will be. Disaster plans are vital for hospitals and medical practices so that they can keep their patients safe. An important part of a disaster plan is protecting patient records. Electronic data backup is a simple, secure way to safeguard patient data.

Why Is Data Backup Important?

Patient health records are integral to properly caring for patients. The information serves as a point of referral for past health conditions as well as the treatment prescribed for those conditions.

You also need to secure patient records to stay compliant to government regulations. HIPAA guidelines, for instance, require providers to instate disaster recovery plans which include details about what precautions and actions will be taken in cases of specific situations, such as fire, robbery or vandalism, natural disaster, or complete power failure. Without proper backup, all of your records could be lost in such situations, which can not only affect your HIPAA compliance but your CMS compliance as well.

Next time, we will discuss the types of data backup that are available.

Continue reading ‘Data Backup Secures Patient Records and Ensures Compliance (Part 1)’

Data Extraction Experts Can Improve Emergency Department Efficiency

The Journal of the American Medical Association recently published a study concluding that long periods of ambulance diversion are linked to higher mortality rates among patients with time-sensitive conditions like acute myocardial infarction.

According to a study of nearly 14,000 elderly patients, when the emergency department (ED) nearest to a patient experienced diversion for 12 hours or longer, patient mortality rates were higher at 30 days, 90 days, nine months, and one year than when the ED was not on diversion.

Authors of the study noted that diversion is a sign of a bigger problem with access within the health care system. Ambulance diversion affects both patients being diverted and patients not diverted who had to wait in a hospital on diversion. Diversion of EDs occurs when the EDs are crowded with patients in hospital beds and waiting rooms, and crowded EDs have trouble caring for every patient. Continue reading ‘Data Extraction Experts Can Improve Emergency Department Efficiency’

New Answers to Tricky Meaningful Use Questions

The staff at Integrated Data Management Services keeps a close watch on communications from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) so we can stay up-to-date and help our clients maintain accurate data. We also want our clients to stay abreast of changes, and to understand those changes. Last week, CMS rolled out another new set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to help healthcare professionals navigate their sometimes confusing and ever-evolving set of policies and guidelines. This group of FAQs focuses on meaningful use.

We will focus on two questions, both regarding specifics for reporting cases in which a patient was not seen by the eligible professional (EP), but by another member of the staff. Continue reading ‘New Answers to Tricky Meaningful Use Questions’

CMS to Make Medicare Records More Accessible for Provider Rankings

As part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), CMS proposed new rules last week that would allow authorized organizations to access Medicare claims data that would help them compare physician performance beginning in 2012. The organizations could then combine that data with that from private insurers to ensure a more exhaustive comparison of provider performance. Comparative data would then be released to the public so that employers and consumers could access the reviews and make more informed decisions about healthcare.

According to the proposal, any organization requesting data would “generally be required to use standard measures for evaluating the performance of providers of services.” National Quality Forum indicators, which CMS uses on its Hospital Compare website, would likely be included in the measures. Hospital Compare rates hospitals according to criteria like 30-day mortality rates, patient outcome, readmission rates, and use of antibiotics in inpatient surgeries. The organizations would not have access to specific patient information; therefore it would not be included in their reports.

Currently, organizations must rely on data from private insurers to measure quality of care. The proposed rule would expand the ability to accurately depict quality of care. Hospitals, physicians, or providers singled out in a report would have an opportunity to respond to any care report before its release.

The goal of the proposed rule is to improve the quality of healthcare in theUnited Statesand make healthcare more affordable. As a healthcare provider, it is important that you keep your data accurate and organized to give the best possible representation of your quality of care.

Integrated Data Management Systems can help ensure that your data is organized to give you the most accurate, positive reviews possible.

The experts at IDMS have over 50 years’ combined experience in hospital administration and data abstraction. IDMS works with public and private healthcare organizations to maximize CMS reimbursement by providing accurate documentation and analysis. Once the data is compiled, IDMS will develop an implementation strategy to improve compliance. Contact IDMS today at (972) 922-9800, or email us at integrateddatamgmt@gmail.com to schedule a consultation.

New CMS Proposal Could Ease Electronic Prescription Transtion

Last month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services sent out the first round of payments for the EHR Incentive program. So far, program participants have received $75 million from Medicare and $83 million from Medicaid. CMS also recently announced a proposed rule to ease the transition to electronic prescription technology.

Physicians who currently use a qualified e-prescription system are eligible to receive additional Medicare Part B payments: 1 percent in 2011 and 2012, and 0.5 percent in 2013. Providers who do not complete at least10 e-prescriptions with a qualified system between January 1 and June 30, 2011 will receive cuts in Medicare reimbursements: 1 percent in 2012, 1.5 percent in 2013, and 0.5 percent in 2014. Continue reading ‘New CMS Proposal Could Ease Electronic Prescription Transtion’


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