“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.

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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.