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Posts Tagged ‘medical billing’

PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act)

Posted by Lisa Velasquez in Industry Updates, Webinars

There has been quite a bit of interest surrounding Frank Cohen’s webinars and so I would like to tell you about the next one he has scheduled for Thursday, June 18th, from 1:00-2:00pm EDT. What I like about these webinars is how current and practical the topics are. I also appreciate Frank’s ability to make even the most complex topics relatively easy to understand, and at no charge they are a great value! I would recommend attending the webinar live so that you can participate in Q. and A. but if for some reason there is a schedule conflict, they are made available on his website. Here is some more information about the upcoming topic:

“If change is the only thing that is consistent in our lives, how come we never get used to it? Healthcare is a dynamic industry with a constantly changing landscape in technology, management, regulations and economics. Being able to adapt to change is a necessity for survival. Being able to lead change is the single best way to thrive and ensure profitability. Process improvement techniques such as Lean and Six Sigma have proven themselves to be the most effective change models out there and for these to work in the medical practice, we need a way to deploy change in a fast, efficient and cost effective way.

“The solution is PDSA; Plan, Do, Study, Act. Not only is it the single most effective rapid change platform available, it is required by some specialties for recertification, enforcing its importance as both a clinical and business improvement strategy. In this session, Frank Cohen, statistician, Six Sigma Black Belt and Lean instructor, will introduce you to the concept of process improvement and the steps in the PDSA platform.”

When finished, attendees will have obtained the basic knowledge necessary to plan their own PDSA improvement projects. You can find more information or register for the webinar.

Did you find this information helpful? If you have information that you think would be valuable to the medical community and would like me to post the information on our blog, please submit your request for review to my attention at (or via DM on Twitter @fimed).

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June 11th, 2009 | No Comments »

Coding for the Non-Coder

Posted by Lisa Velasquez in Fi-Med Services, Industry Updates, Webinars

For over 30 years, Frank Cohen has worked as a health care data analyst, knowledge engineer and consultant. He has written many books and is the Senior Analyst for MIT Solutions. I have attended several of Franks webinars, which are scheduled 3-4 times a month, covering such topics as coding, code and modifier utilization, cost accounting, work RVUs, etc. This is a great resource that I want to share with all of you and best of all it’s free! Here is a brief intro to one of his webinars that I particularly liked: Coding for the Non-Coder

“Health care, like other industries, has its own language; and not just from a clinical perspective, either. Diagnosis and treatment codes are necessary in order to get paid for the services you provide and determine your level of compliance with the myriad of complex rules and regulations we face day to day. As the industry continues to tighten up with respect to finances  and regulation, physicians, practice managers, consultants, advisors and others are finding that understanding the relationship of coding to other areas of the practice has reached critical mass. You don’t have to be a coder to acquire a basic, foundational understanding of medical coding; the language of the business of medicine. Coding for the Non-Coder was specifically designed with the non-coder in mind.

In this short (and free) webinar, Frank Cohen (a non-coder himself) will help you understand the relationship between coding, billing, reimbursement and compliance without teaching you how to become a coder. It focuses on the big picture; understanding the language of coding, its importance within the medical practice and most importantly, how to identify and understand coding problems; from the common to the arcane.”

Although this webinar has already been presented, it is available to view by going to Frank’s website.

Did you find this information helpful? If you have information that you think would be valuable to the medical community and would like me to post the information on our blog, please submit your request for review to my attention at (or via DM on Twitter @fimed).

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June 10th, 2009 | No Comments »

Electronic Medical Records Incentives: The Fine Print

Posted by J. Paul Spencer, CPC, CPC-H in Fi-Med Services, Industry Updates, J. Paul Spencer, CPC CPC-H

You may have heard that contained within the stimulus bill that was passed on February 17th are financial incentives to physicians for the adoption of electronic health records (EHR). At first, the sound of up to $44,000 in incentives over a five-year period will sound like music to your ears. But it may be best to consider it a little like harp music: it sounds lovely, but there are many strings attached.

The key term in the legislation that will be the determining factor in the receipt of incentive payments is “meaningful use of EHR technology.” According to the legislation, there are three key components that fall under the definition of meaningful use. These are:

  • Utilization of EHR for electronic prescribing of medications;
  • Use of EHR for electronic exchange of health information which provides improved care coordination; AND
  • Using the EHR for the submission of clinical quality measures.

 

This is the first year that physicians are eligible for a bonus for e-prescribing (explained in detail here). If you haven’t acquired the necessary software for electronic prescribing, I recommend doing so as soon as possible. The incentive payments for this service will only be available for a three-year period; beyond that time frame, the smooth operation of an e-prescribing system will allow for a seamless transition into the EHR incentive program.

For the last few years, clinical quality measures have been reported by some physicians as part of the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) pilot program. Financial incentives have been offered for the submission of additional codes on Medicare claims (found in Appendix H of CPT, in detail the steps taken toward positive patient outcomes. The new legislation passed in February confirms the long-held belief that PQRI is a small step toward mandatory reporting of clinical quality measures.

What may be the most important portion of the legislation is the long-term consequences of not meaningfully using electronic health records. Beginning in 2016, if a provider is not utilizing EMR, total payments from Medicare will be reduced by 1% of the full physician fee schedule. Payments will continue to decrease by 1% of the fee schedule for each subsequent year that the provider has failed to adopt an EHR, up to a maximum reduction of 95% of the fee schedule.

To qualify for the maximum incentive payments for EHR adoption, an electronic medical record must be in meaningful use by 2011.

Fi-Med offers EMR and e-prescription solutions as a part of our comprehensive practice management services. To learn more, leave comments for us here, email us at the address below, or call us at 800-318-0019.

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April 3rd, 2009 | 2 Comments »

Press Release: Fi-Med Adds Nationwide Electronic Prescription Services For Physicians

Posted by Lisa Velasquez in Fi-Med News, Fi-Med Services, In the Press

Ahead of the curve: Fi-Med gets doctors on board with e-prescriptions before Medicare penalties take effect

In the rush to digitize health information and medical records, even prescriptions are making the jump from notepad to network. Soon the squinting and scrawling and folding and crumpling of the physician-pharmacist relationship will be replaced by high-speed data delivery from point-of-service, at time of service, direct to the pharmacy.

Fi-Med Management, Inc., a medical billing and financial management company headquartered in greater Milwaukee, announced this week the addition of electronic prescription services to its portfolio of client services.

The service, part of Fi-Med’s Electronic Medical Records (EMR) package, gives physicians the ability to send error-free, electronic prescriptions directly from point-of-care to the pharmacy without ever lifting a pen—a critical component in the improvement of patient care and safety.

Fi-Med’s e-prescription software partner, SequelMed, provides drug and benefit details and patient medication history from prior patient records, even those generated by other physicians and hospitals. Clients also have access to online drug reference guides, reporting capabilities and 24/7 electronic access to patient prescription data.

On January 1, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released e-prescription codes, available here.

Physicians using e-prescriptions may be eligible for a 2% bonus payment at the end of 2009, provided they’re paid at least 10% of total Medicare Part B reimbursement for services in the office, with the consistent reporting of these codes. That bonus will decrease beginning in 2010, and penalties in the form of reduced payments through Medicare Part B are slated to affect physicians not using electronic prescriptions by 2012.

For more information or to subscribe to news affecting physician reimbursements and related services, visit the Fi-Med blog or call 800-318-0019.

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March 23rd, 2009 | No Comments »

Start Now to Collect E-Prescribing Bonus

Posted by J. Paul Spencer, CPC, CPC-H in Fi-Med Services, Industry Updates, J. Paul Spencer, CPC CPC-H

Beginning on January 1st of this year, CMS is allowing the reporting of codes related to the electronic prescribing of drugs for your patients in the office setting. As long as you are paid at least 10% of your total Medicare Part B reimbursement for services in the office, with the consistent reporting of these codes, you may be eligible for a 2% bonus payment at the end of 2009.

The following are the three codes that can be reported in addition to the E/M service for the office encounter:

G8443 – Used when all prescriptions during the encounter were generated using an e-prescribing system

G8445 – Used when there are no prescriptions dispensed during the encounter.

G8446 – Used when some or all of the prescriptions at the encounter were hand-written. This would be due to the affect of state or federal law based on what was prescribed. The prescription of Schedule II drugs (narcotics) falls into this category.

In 2010 and 2011, this bonus will decrease by .5% per year. Beginning in 2012, if you are not prescribing electronically, you face being penalized with reductions in your payments for office services through Medicare Part B.

If you currently do not have the ability to prescribe electronically, there are several vendors who offer technology that will fit the needs of your practice. While CMS does not recommend one vendor more than another, it advises practices to takes into account compliance with the HIPAA rules for privacy and security when choosing software for e-prescribing.

The AMA has comprehensive information available on their website at the following link to assist you in preparing your practice for e-prescribing:

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/472/electronic-e-prescribing.pdf

As in every case, I am available to you at any time to assist you with this and other needs of your practice. Feel free to leave a comment or contact me directly.

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January 29th, 2009 | No Comments »

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