Preparing the Small Practice for Meaningful Use: AMA Webinar

Planning to qualify for EHR incentives? Or, just wondering how to select, implement and use EHR technology without running your practice into the ground? The AMA’s 60-minute live webinar taking place on November 4 will arm you with best practices and strategies--used in real practices--to help guide Health IT decisions in your practice.

Join the American Medical Association (AMA) for its first in a two-part series of webinars designed to help small practices make sound Health IT decisions.

Learn more about:

* Preparing for Health IT
* Selecting Health IT
* Implementing Health IT, and
* Choosing which meaningful use criteria apply to your practice

Register Here

TransforMED and RelayHealth Align to Provide Patient-Centered Health Care Connectivity Solutions

TransforMed

NSPO/NS/LIJ EHR Seminar

NORTH SHORE PHYSICIAN ORGANIZATION (NSPO)

AND

NORTH SHORE/LIJ HEALTH SYSTEM

present

EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW

ABOUT IMPLEMENTING AN EMR

BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK

Featured Speakers:

Rosemarie Nelson, MS

Principal, MGMA Healthcare Consulting Group

Hal Baker, M.D.

Chief Information Officer, Wellspan Health

Followed by a Q&A Discussion including

Jeffrey Krupen, M.D.

Randy Kiewe, M.D.

Wednesday, November 17^th, 6:30 P.M.

Rust Auditorium

North Shore University Hospital

The New York State Health Information Technology Operational Plan

On October 26, the New York State Health Information Technology Operational Plan was submitted to the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC).

Click here to read the press release on the topic.

Click here to see the interview with David Whitlinger, Executive Director of NYeC.

NYeC

Hospital Meaningful Use Tips

Want to earn Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) incentive payments?

Take the First step!!

Your hospital/critical access hospital must have an enrollment record in the Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS) in order to be eligible to receive a Medicare EHR incentive payment.

Did you know?

Billing and receiving payments from Medicare does not necessarily mean that a hospital or a critical access hospital has an enrollment record in PECOS.

Don’t wait!

1. Act now to verify that your facility has an enrollment record in PECOS.

2. If your facility does not have a record in PECOS, establish an enrollment record now.

If you have submitted a Medicare enrollment application within the last 90 days, and your enrollment application has been accepted for processing by the fiscal intermediary or A/B MAC, you need not take any additional actions based on this listserv message. (You will be contacted by your fiscal intermediary or A/B MAC if additional information is needed.)

How can I find out if my facility has an enrollment record in PECOS? Choose one of the following:

1. Use Internet-based PECOS to look for your PECOS enrollment record. If no record is displayed, you do not have an enrollment record in PECOS. (If you do not currently have access to Internet-based PECOS, see Basics of Internet-based PECOS for Provider and Supplier Organizations for instructions.)

2. Contact your designated Medicare enrollment contractor and ask if you have an enrollment record in PECOS. Go to Contractor List for contact information.

My facility doesn’t have an enrollment record. What should I do?

Internet-based PECOS is the fastest and most efficient way to submit your enrollment application. For instructions, see Basics of Internet-based PECOS for Provider and Supplier Organizations . If you encounter problems or have questions as you navigate the system, there is help available .

Electronic Health Record Incentives – Get the Facts from CMS www.cms.gov/EHRincentiveprograms

The New York State Health Information Technology Operational Plan:
Roadmap for the Future of Healthcare Technology in New York Webinar

Join Rachel Block, Deputy Commissioner for Health Information Technology Transformation at the New York State Department of Health (DOH), and David Whitlinger, Executive Director of the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC) to review the New York State Health Information Technology Operational Plan.

The Operational Plan was developed by NYeC in collaboration with the DOH and healthcare stakeholders from around the state. It details New York’s overall approach to Health IT for the coming years and specifies how the state will achieve technology-enabled healthcare transformation statewide, utilizing over $100M in state and federal funding.

Join Rachel and Dave at one of these webinars to learn more about the plan and to share your feedback.

Please select from the following webinars. We would also appreciate your help in forwarding this invitation to other colleagues who may find value in participating.

Tuesday Oct. 12 @ 1pm
Wednesday Oct. 13 @ 11am
Thursday Oct. 14 @ 10am

Please note: Audio portion is via telephone, not through your computer.

Login Instructions

Step 1: Call In: 1-800-926-5230

Step 2: Log in: Click on or copy the following url into your browser: http://www.readytalk.com/?ac=6196403

IMPORTANT: If you have not used ReadyTalk before, please go to: http://test.readytalk.com to test the computer you'll be using for compatibility prior to the event.

Should you have any problems please contact ReadyTalk Support at 1-800-843-9166

2009 Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program Update, Feedback Reports

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is pleased to announce important information about accessing 2009 Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program feedback reports is posted to the eRx webpage at http://www.cms.gov/ERXincentive on the CMS website.

The 2009 eRx Incentive Program feedback reports will be available in November 2010 after the 2009 eRx incentive payments are distributed. Feedback reports are compiled at the Taxpayer Identification Number (Tax ID Number, or TIN) level, with individual-level reporting (by National Provider Identifier or NPI level) information for each Eligible Professional (EP) who reported at least one valid eRx quality-data code (QDC) on a claim submitted under that TIN for services furnished during the reporting period.

Several new and updated educational resource documents about accessing 2009 Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program feedback reports are now available on the “Spotlight, 2009 PQRI Program and eRx Overview” links of the eRx website and include the following:

• A downloadable WORD document on accessing 2009 eRx Incentive Program Feedback Reports.
• 2009 PQRI Feedback Report User Guide
• 2009 eRx Feedback Report User Guide
• A Guide for Understanding 2009 PQRI Incentive Payment

2010 Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program Participation Reminder

It’s not too late to start participating in the 2010 Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program and potentially qualify to receive a full-year incentive payment. Eligible professionals (EPs) may begin reporting eRx at any time throughout the 2010 program year of January 1-December 31, 2010 to be incentive-eligible.

The Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program is a separate incentive program from the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI), with different reporting requirements. To successfully meet reporting criteria and be considered incentive eligible, individual EPs must report the eRx measure at least 25 times (for eligible patient encounters) and the Medicare Part B Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) allowed charges for services in the eRx measure’s denominator should be comprised of 10% or more of the EP’s total 2010 estimated allowed charges.

For 2010, eligible professionals who successfully report the eRx measure will become eligible to receive an eRx incentive equal to 2.0% of their total Medicare Part B Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) allowed charges for services performed during the reporting period. Eligible professionals must have adopted a “qualified” eRx system. There are two types of systems: a system for eRx only (stand-alone) or an electronic health record (EHR system) with eRx functionality. Regardless of the type of system used, to be considered “qualified” it must be based on ALL of the following capabilities:

§ Generating a complete active medication list incorporating electronic data received from applicable pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) if available

§ Selecting medications, printing prescriptions, electronically transmitting prescriptions, and conducting all alerts

§ Providing information related to lower cost, therapeutically appropriate alternatives (if any). (The availability of an eRx system to receive tiered formulary information, if available, would meet this requirement for 2010)

§ Providing information on formulary or tiered formulary medications, patient eligibility, and authorization requirements received electronically from the patient’s drug plan, if available.

If you have not yet participated in the eRx program, you can begin by reporting eRx data for January 1-December 31, 2010 using any of the following three options:

§ Claims-based reporting of the eRx measure. Report only one G-code (G8553) for 2010

§ Registry-based reporting using a CMS-selected *registry, submitting 2010 data to CMS during the first quarter of 2011

§ EHR-based reporting using a CMS-selected *electronic health record product, submitting 2010 data to CMS during the first quarter of 2011

*Only registries and EHR vendors who have been selected by CMS for the 2010 PQRI/eRx and are on the posted list of registries/EHR vendors are eligible to be considered “qualified” for purposes of the 2010 Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program (visit http://www.cms.gov/ERxIncentive/08_AlternativeReportingMechanism.asp on the CMS website).

Claims-based reporting involves the addition of a quality-data code (QDC) to claims submitted for services (occurring during the reporting period) when billing Medicare Part B. EPs also have the option of using a qualified registry to assist in collecting eRx measure data. The registry will submit this quality data directly to Medicare, eliminating the need for adding the QDC to the Medicare Part B claim.

Eligible professionals do not need to sign up or pre-register to participate in the 2010 eRx. Reporting one QDC (G8553) for the eRx measure to CMS through claims, or submission via a qualified registry or a qualified EHR will indicate intent to participate.

Although there is no requirement to register prior to submitting the data, EPs should review the educational products CMS has created on how to get started with eRx reporting. To access all available educational resources on eRx please visit http://www.cms.gov/eRxIncentive/on the CMS website. Eligible professionals are encouraged to check the eRx webpage often for the latest information and downloads.

Additional Resources:

§ 2010 eRx Measure Specification and Release Notes (EPs should the eRx measure specification documents for the current program year. Refer to the specification for the reporting method applicable to your practice):

o Claims- and registry-based at http://www.cms.gov/ERxIncentive/Downloads/2010_eRx_MeasureSpecificationsandReleaseNotes_121709.zip

o EHR-based at http://www.cms.gov/ERxIncentive/Downloads/2010EHRMeasureSpecificationforeRxandReleaseNotes.zip

§ Claims-Based Reporting Principles for Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program at http://www.cms.gov/ERxIncentive/Downloads/Claims-BasedReportingPrinciplesforeRx122209.pdf

§ 2010 eRx Incentive Program Made Simple Fact Sheet at http://www.cms.gov/ERxIncentive/Downloads/2010eRxMadeSimpleFS032310f.pdf

§ 2010 eRx Incentive Program Fact Sheet: What's New for 2010 eRx Incentive Program at http://www.cms.gov/ERxIncentive/Downloads/WhatsNew2010eRxFS032310f.pdf

Questions? If you have questions on how to get started with eRx, please contact the QualityNet Help Desk at 866-288-8912 (from 7am-7pm CST) or via e-mail at qnetsupport@sdps.org.

2010 PQRI and e Prescribing National Provider Q & A Call Session

2010 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative & Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program

National Provider Call with Question & Answer Session

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Provider Communications Group will host a national provider conference call on the 2010 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) and Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program (eRx). This toll-free call will take place from 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., EST, on Wednesday, November 10, 2010.

The PQRI is voluntary quality reporting program that provides an incentive payment to identified individual eligible professionals (EPs), and beginning with the 2010 PQRI, group practices who satisfactorily report data on quality measures for covered Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) services furnished to Medicare Part B Fee-For-Service (FFS) beneficiaries.

The PQRI was first implemented in 2007 as a result of section 101 of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (TRHCA), and further expanded as a result of the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (MMSEA), and the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA).

The eRx Incentive Program is an incentive program for eligible professionals initially implemented in 2009 as a result of section 132(b) of the MIPPA. The eRx Incentive Program promotes the adoption and use of eRx systems by individual eligible professionals and beginning with the 2010 eRx Incentive Program, group practices.

Following the formal presentation that will cover the following:

• Overview of the 2011 rule and comments;

• 2009 PQRI and eRx Incentive Program payment distribution and instructions for understanding these payments;
• An overview for the use of the 2009 Feedback Report User Guides for PQRI and the eRx Incentive Program;
• Discussion on the changes to the electronic remittance advice for eligible professionals receiving PQRI and eRx incentive payments in 2010; and
• Participation in the 2010 eRX Incentive Program.

The lines will be opened to allow participants to ask questions of CMS PQRI and eRx subject matter experts. A PowerPoint slide presentation will be posted to the PQRI webpage at, http://www.cms.gov/PQRI/04_CMSSponsoredCalls.asp on the CMS website for you to download prior to the call so that you can follow along with the presenter.

Educational products are available on the PQRI dedicated web page located at, http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI , on the CMS website, in the Educational Resources section, as well as educational products are available on the eRx dedicated web page located at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ERxIncentive on the CMS website. Feel free to download the resources prior to the call so that you may ask questions of the CMS presenters.

Conference call details:

Date: November 10, 2010

Conference Title: Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) - National Provider Call

Time: 1:30 p.m. EST

In order to receive the call-in information, you must register for the call. It is important to note that if you are planning to sit in with a group, only one person needs to register to receive the call-in data. This registration is solely to reserve a phone line, NOT to allow participation.

Registration will close at 1:30 p.m. EST on November 9, 2010, or when available space has been filled. No exceptions will be made, so please be sure to register prior to this time.

1. To register for the call participants need to go to:

http://www.eventsvc.com/palmettogba/111010

2. Fill in all required data.

3. Verify that your time zone is displayed correctly in the drop down box.

4. Click "Register".

5. You will be taken to the “Thank you for registering” page and will receive a confirmation email shortly thereafter. Note: Please print and save this page, in the event that your server blocks the confirmation emails. If you do not receive the confirmation email, please check your spam/junk mail filter as it may have been directed there.

If assistance for hearing impaired services is needed the request must be sent to medicare.ttt@palmettogba.com no later than 3 business day before the event.

For those of who will be unable to attend, a transcript and MP3 file of the call will be available at least one week after the call at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/pqri on the CMS website.

2010 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) Program Reminder

It is not too late to start participating in the 2010 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) and potentially qualify to receive incentive payments. A new six month reporting period began on July 1, 2010.

The 2010 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) has two reporting periods: 12-months (January 1-December 31, 2010) and 6-months (July 1-December 31, 2010). For 2010, eligible professionals (EPs) who satisfactorily report PQRI measures for the 6-month reporting period will become eligible to receive a PQRI incentive equal to 2.0% of their total Medicare Part B allowed charges for services performed during the reporting period.

If you have not participated in the PQRI program, you can begin by reporting PQRI data for July 1-December 31, 2010 using any of the following four options:

· Claims-based reporting of individual measures for 80% or more of applicable patients on at least 3 individual measures or on each measure if less than 3 measures apply

· Claims-based reporting of one measures group for 80% or more of applicable Medicare Part B FFS patients of each EP (with a minimum of 8 patients)

· Registry-based reporting of at least 3 individual PQRI measures for 80% or more of applicable Medicare Part B FFS patients of each EP

· Registry-based reporting of one measures group for 80% or more of applicable Medicare Part B FFS patients of each EP (with a minimum of 8 patients)

PQRI claims-based reporting involves the addition of quality-data codes (QDC) to claims submitted for services when billing Medicare Part B. EPs also have the option of using a qualified registry to assist in collecting PQRI measure data. The registry will submit this quality data directly to Medicare, eliminating the need for adding QDCs to the Medicare Part B claim.

Eligible professionals do not need to sign up or pre-register to participate in the 2010 PQRI. Submission of QDCs for individual PQRI measures to CMS through a qualified registry or for a measures group through claims or a qualified registry will indicate intent to participate.

Although there is no requirement to register prior to submitting the data, there are some preparatory steps that EPs should take prior to undertaking PQRI reporting. CMS has created many educational products that provide information about how to get started with PQRI reporting. To access all available educational resources on PQRI please visit, http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI/ on the CMS website. Eligible professionals are encouraged to visit the PQRI webpage often for the latest information and downloads on PQRI.

Resources

· 2010 PQRI Implementation Guide at http://www.cms.gov/PQRI/Downloads/2010_PQRI_ImplementationGuide_02-10-2010_FINAL.pdf

· Qualified Registries for 2010 PQRI Reporting at http://www.cms.gov/PQRI/20_AlternativeReportingMechanisms.asp

NSLIJ/NSPO Symposium on EHRs November 17, 2010

Save the Date - Nov. 17

The North Shore Physician Organization(NSPO)

& the NSLIJ Health System presents:

A Symposium on

Implementing an Electronic Medical Record System

Further details to be provided in the near future

Monroe County NY Meaningful Use Seminar October 28 2010

MSSNY members can attend at no charge. SV

Now that the FINAL rule for Meaningful Use has been published, offices want to know, how easy is this to do?

The Monroe County Medical Society Health Information Technology Service Bureau will be giving an informational seminar to help them decide:

#1) “Do I (or the professionals I work with) qualify for the use of MU?”

“if so, under what program?”

#2) “Is the rule straight forward enough to do this on our own?”

if not, “do we qualify for Regional Extension Center Services?”

The presentation objectives include:

• An overview of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) Programs Created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

•Provision and Public Comment Concepts

•Define which objectives of the Stage 1 of meaningful use are optional or required (tables provided)

•Criteria in order to qualify for incentive payments

•Explain elements of objectives

•Calculation of the payment amount

•Common definitions between Medicare and MEDICAID incentive programs

•Differences between Medicare and MEDICAID incentive programs

•Information Collection Requirements (ICR)*

•Limits of the Final rule – for example “More detailed specifications and guidance on calculating the measures will be issued soon after the publication of this final rule”*

Each slide will contain direct reference page numbers from the Final Rule on Meaningful Use.

To Register: go to link…

Seminar - Do I need REC Services to Achieve MU

For those opting to attend the seminar at our MCMS office, lunch will be provided. For those opting to listen in via telephone conference, a call in number and the slides will be emailed to you in advance of the seminar.

Institute of Medicine (IOM) Study:Patient Safety and Health Information Technology

IOM will review the available evidence and the experience from the field on how the use of health information technology (HIT) affects the safety of patient care and make recommendations on how public and private actors can maximize the safety of HIT-assisted health care services. The IOM's final report will be both comprehensive and specific in terms of recommended options and opportunities for public and private interventions that may improve the safety of care that incorporates the use EHRs and other forms of HIT.

IOM

ONC PHR Town Round Table Meeting December 2010

Personal Health Records — Understanding the Evolving Landscape
Friday, December 3, 2010
FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001

On Friday, December 3, the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) will host a free day-long public roundtable on "Personal Health Records — Understanding the Evolving Landscape." The roundtable is designed to inform ONC’s Congressionally mandated report on privacy and security requirements for non-Covered Entities (non-CEs), with a focus on personal health records (PHRs) and related service providers (Section 13424 of the HITECH Act) .

The roundtable will include four panels of prominent researchers, legal scholars, and representatives of consumer, patient, and industry organizations. It will address the current state and evolving nature of PHRs and related technologies (including mobile technologies and social networking), consumer and industry expectations and attitudes toward privacy and security practices, and the pros and cons of different approaches to the requirements that should apply to non-CE PHRs and related technologies.

Mark your calendars now—registration and additional conference information will be available in October at http://healthit.hhs.gov/PHRroundtable

EHRs certified for 2011-2012 Criteria

33 Electronic Health Record (EHR) Products Certified

The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT^®) announced today that it has tested and certified 33 Electronic Health Record (EHR) products under the Commission’s ONC-ATCB program, which certifies that the EHRs are capable of meeting the 2011/2012 criteria supporting Stage 1 meaningful use as approved by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Certification is required to qualify eligible providers and hospitals for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The certifications include 19 Complete EHRs, which meet all of the 2011/2012 criteria for either eligible provider or hospital technology, and 14 EHR Modules, which meet one or more – but not all – of the criteria.

More news….. http://www.cchit.org/media/news/2010/10/commission-announces-first-onc-atcb-20112012-certifications

Learn more about the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs at www.cms.gov/EHRincentiveprograms .

NYC DOH PCIP/NYC REACH PCMH/Meaningful Use Webinars

Weekly in October 2010, 10 AM-11 AM, EST


Together we will explore:
Healthcare challenges facing physicians
Benefits of EHR
The path to EHR EHR/EMR
Implementation Thoughts & Considerations.
Patient Centered Medical Home
Federal Incentives under ARRA
Meaningful use

This is now a weekly series of events.

Registration is required. Upon registration, you will receive an email with code need to join.

Dial In Code: 888-622-5357
Participant Code: 586020


October 1 2010 Dr. Sal Volpe Link

October 8, 2010 Dr. Sal Volpe Link

October 15, 2010, Dr. Sal Volpe Link

October 22, 2010, Dr. Sal Volpe Link

October 29, 2010, Dr. Sal Volpe Link