Why most behavior health physicians are excluded from Meaningful Use? CureMD 06:52

Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems have transformed medical health records from the traditional paper-based version to an electronic version which allows easy, safe and instant access, recovery and transfer of this data for prescribed users.

With the entire patient information including demographics, social history, medication, diagnosis, treatment and results in the system, doctors are able to provide results faster and with lesser chance of error.

However, one hurdle has persistently dampened the growth of EHRs. Yes I’m talking about data privacy and security. Providers and patients alike are extremely worried about the safekeeping of vulnerable patient data that ranges from patient health information to their credit card numbers.

Behavioral health is a specialty that is no stranger to privacy concerns. Ethical concerns are often associated with the use of EHRs for this specialty, with many worried about the online transfer of patient health information and the use of this information for data mining.

For behavioral health patients, confidentiality of their records is often an integral component of the effectiveness of this treatment. Take a celebrity suffering from substance abuse for example. His fans finding out about his condition prior to the completion of the recovery process could, in fact, adversely affect the process and he could relapse during treatment. 

When confidentiality is breached, stress, fatigue and tension are three of the factors that patients commonly suffer from; the factors resulting from changes in social, employment and family relationships.

And finally, there’s the issue of data mining. While using this information for R&D purposes is extremely important, and could have significant long-term benefits; there are ethical hurdles. Respecting patient rights (terms of data sharing after consent) must always be a strict condition followed by all those using this data. In reality, meeting this condition and working for the welfare of the many (who will benefit from R&D) makes the whole process extremely tricky.

This is the reason why most behavior health physicians were excluded from the Meaningful Use program. And the solution to this does lie in a comprehensive and well thought out campaign, and government intervention is key in making sure this happens. 

Selecting a Dermatology EMR in 2014 CureMD 06:56

For a new Dermatology practice seeking an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system or an existing one looking to switch their current EMR, 2014 is the ideal time to do so. This is because unlike several other specialty-specific clinical encounter documentation systems which lack behind in several specialty-specific features, there have been tremendous improvements in Dermatology-specific systems over the past several years.

A survey by the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) validated this rise in Electronic Health Record (EHR) adoption trend for dermatologists and found that the total acquisition rate of EHRs for Dermatologists rose from 51% to 55% between 2011 and 2012.

Now coming to the topic on hand, here’s what a dermatologist must look for in an EMR system:

Customizable Dermatology templates

There must be customizable templates for different processes such as Botox, laser surgery, liposuction and other cosmetic procedures, face lifts and fillers.

For example, a template for acne/pimples will improve the care delivery process when a patient walks in with this problem and you simply tick options from the sub-headings on the template. The sub-headings for this one in particular would include location (with options face, scalp, neck, back, chest, etc), severity (including mild, moderate, severe), timing (continuous, intermittent, seasonal), and so on.

You can subsequently assess the potential benefits of such software at your practice.

Full Body Charts

You system must have both full body charts in addition to separate ones for different areas (head, eyes, ears, neck, hands, nose, feet) and lateral charts to further specify problem areas and their respective billing codes.

Workflow Editor and Auto Notes

The process and workflow editor should be configurable so that you can organize them according to your practice’s preferences and needs so that you can maximize your operational efficiency.

The option to automatically generate notes via the templates will save you a lot of time as this feature automatically converts words entered during clinical encounters into paragraphs and sentences.

These are a few of the most important features that you must consider while selecting a Dermatology EMR in this year and on-wards. 

CureMD Electronic Health Records from CureMD

EMR A Link Between Practice And Patient Satisfaction CureMD 07:28

Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) are known to improve practice efficiency and provide quality care to patients, giving them a satisfying experience. The health technology gives physicians speedier access to patient data, clinical notes and lab tests that increases confidence of patients in their doctor and understand their health conditions.

No matter how efficient the technology is and how perfect it makes the practice workflow, patients will only be satisfied with it if the physicians are able to deliver better care while utilizing EMRs. Healthcare providers need to demonstrate that EMRs are for their benefit, safety and quality care. Failure to provide such a service will end it patients’ resentment towards technology and strain in Patient Physician Relationship.

This demonstration begins from the front desk of the practice. Patients should be facilitated in every manner while making an appointment. In order to save their time, practice staff can take necessary details over the phone and verify it with the help of their EMR. Patients can also be sent registration forms through emails, so that they don’t have to wait long at the practice.

However, the real interaction begins in the exam room where physicians interact and connect with patients. In order to demonstrate how EMRs facilitate physicians’ work and improve patient care, physicians should try to forge a connection between patients and the electronic system.

The first selling point would be accessibility to patient charts, history, records and lab results on a click. This creates the image of physician’s efficient services and his/her seriousness towards patient’s health. Another approach would be to maintaining eye contact with the patient. One on one communication with patients is necessary to ensure your interest and concern in your patients’ healthcare.

Last, but one of the most important points is to inform your patient clearly about their payment balance. The communication should be clear and polite, so that they don’t have to deal with any issues. 

CureMD Electronic Health Records from CureMD

Specialty EHR drives growth in Community Oncology practices CureMD 07:02

Oncologists have been trying to keep their practices afloat in face of myriad of challenges, including new government regulations, change in payment options, shift to ACOs and implementation of  Electronic Health Records (EHRs).

Therefore, community Oncologists are struggling to improve their practice efficiency and financial health by increasing reimbursement rate, while focusing on value-care of patients. This calls for innovation in healthcare technology, which is the most essential tool in enabling physicians to provide quality and cost-effective care to patients. EHRs are one of the most important components of healthcare technology that can help Oncologists meet their financial goals and operate efficiently.

While moving from paper-based system to EHR or replacing your existing electronic system, Oncologists should ensure certain facts while adopting the software:

Needs of your practice

Oncology is a specialty practice that has its unique demands and needs in terms of medical treatment of patients and practice workflow. Therefore, it will be wise and beneficial for Oncologists to adopt a specialty EHR that has been developed keeping in view the diagnosis, procedures and treatment of cancer patients; and functions of clinical and billing operations of the practice.

The Oncology specific EHR will have the accurate codes necessary for cancer diagnosis and procedures. Moreover, the charts and diagrams, provider note templates, and case history module will be customized according to the medical requirements of cancer patients.

In case of multiple physicians, Oncologists will be able to have access to patient records created by other physicians. This coordination will allow every physician to avoid medication or treatment mistakes that may prove to be fatal for the patient.

Oncology is one of the busiest specialties in medicine. The unpredictable nature of their patient’s disease and condition requires Oncologists to be available at all times. Therefore, EHRs should be compatible with various operating software and gadgets so that Oncologists have access to complete patient records outside their practices.

How to make a right Medical Billing Team for your Practice? CureMD 07:17

Staff is the backbone of any business, particularly service-based business like a medical practice. It is necessary that there is an adequate number of staff with proper skills required by the medical practice.

Like the clinical staff, the medical billing staff should also be trained in their duties to bring efficiency in their performance that effect directly on the medical billing services.

Your practice should have right number of medical billing staff

There are several ways to determine the right number of staff for the billing department. This may depend on the number of patient visits, volume of claims to be processed, and number of accounts that each biller has.

However, the best practice is to have an established standard to determine the accurate number of employees you will need to run your medical billing department. The standard may vary between specialties, depending on their workflow and patient visits.

According to the benchmark set by American Academy of Ophthalmic Executives (AAOE) for ophthalmology practices, cost of billing staff should be approximately 5% of your income.

Make sure your billing staff has the right skills

While advertising the position of medical biller, be very particular about SOP of the billing services and specific requirements of your specialty along with the general responsibilities.

Billing is a complex department. In order to deal effectively with insurance payers and patients, the medical biller need to be self-motivated, has an eye for details and creative enough to find problems to issues.

It is ideal to hire billers who have experience or knowledge of medical terminology and medical coding system. However, in-house training provided to the billers can be more beneficial. Well-trained billers will understand the specific workings of your practice, the patientflow and mechanism to deal with the issues faced with payers.

Make Patient-Practice Communication part of your Medical Billing Process CureMD 09:29

Communication is the key to a strong relationship. In a patient-practice relationship, effective communication of financial responsibilities of patients can result in increased payments.

Patient payment is crucial part of the medical billing procedure. Taking care of your patients means that you are taking care of your business, ensuring that the patients’ cooperation in paying bills.

Let’s find out how communication improves your medical billing practices.

Listen to your patient

Listen to understand is the first rule of effective communication. While taking down information from patients, listen to them carefully. Train your staff in standards of clear and comprehensive communication of financial details and responsibilities of patients. This includes practice’s payment policy.

This way, patients are left with no ambiguity regarding their payment plans and responsibilities towards the practice.

Make the message simple

Patients are not financial analysts. While drafting medical billing policy of your practice, keep in mind that it should be in a language which is comprehensible by the patients. Refrain from using too many billing and insurance jargons. Keep it simple and concise.

However, patients should be informed about necessary insurance plans and procedures, like deductibles, co-insurance in a simple language.

Be transparent in your dealings

A medical billing process of a practice should be fair and transparent. When a new patient makes an appointment, communicate to them about your insurance eligibility policies. Discuss with them what is included and what isn’t in their health insurance plan and whether your practice can assist them in this regard.

Do not make promises that you cannot deliver in future. It is better that the patients are communicated about their responsibilities, and procedures and services allowed in their insurance plan.

Medical billing process is a complicated segment of practice. To make things relatively simple, practitioners should try to develop a strong relationship with theirpatients for timely patient collections. 

How does outsourcing medical billing expedite claims? CureMD 06:04

The time between when a claim is sent out from your office to the time you receive a reimbursement for that claim varies from practice to practice. You might have noticed competitors managing the process swiftly and efficiently, and getting their money faster in the process. There are two ways by which you can do the same; a huge billing department with as big a payroll or via outsourcing your billing service to professional billing companies.

By outsourcing, you can still maximize reimbursements without the added cost of allotting lavish budgets to your billing department. The article will give you an overview of the claim submission process after which you will have a better understanding of the benefits of outsourcing.

   

With in-house billing, once you code and document a patient’s visit, the claims are sent to the insurance carrier or Medicare for reimbursement. The process can take approximately 3 to 6 weeks.  

However, with outsourcing, the process will be shortened to just a couple of weeks. Additionally, your patient information is just as well protected, if not more.

Here’s how the process will work

First is the transmission of claims (either electronic or paper) for coding to the outsourcing company. The billing company will enter and recheck your claims for errors before transmitting batch orders.

The batch orders are sent either to a clearinghouse or directly to the insurance carrier. The clearinghouses convert the data into a standard format before sending it to the carrier for processing. 

The clearinghouse helps identify any medical coding errors and results in the amount of claims delayed due to errors falling to almost nil.

When the carrier gets the claim, it issues a receipt of conformation for claim tracking. Receiving a reimbursement via electronic claim filling usually takes around two weeks after which you receive a reimbursement check and an Explanation of Benefits (EOB).

Furthermore, you can always find out the status of any claim from the outsourcing company. And without worrying about your practice’s billing, you can focus more on your patients as the billing process is in the hands of competent and experienced professionals. 

Why should a small practice outsource medical billing and coding? CureMD 09:42

With the amount of regulation in the healthcare industry, a few errors are all that separate your practice from a huge compensation price. This makes a lot more sense in the context of billing documentation and medical coding; a few errors in either could cost the disruption of quality care to your patients in addition to making your wallet significantly lighter.

By outsourcing, you will save the expense of employing personnel with diverse skill sets. In most cases, especially for smaller practices, it is not practical and feasible to employ separate IT specialists and separate billing specialists.

Consequently, with thousands of new ICD codes coming up, coupled with the HIPAA audits beginning this year, you will require competent, experienced and able personnel to do your medical billing for you. Here’s how they’ll help your practice prosper and flourish:

Facilitating compliance with strict coding regulations is one of the foremost and key benefits of outsourcing. Taking time on billing is important, as you don’t want insurance companies to deny payments because of small errors in your bill. With so many deadlines, guidelines and instructions, even the biggest of practices fall prey to such mistakes. Your practice is much smaller, and thus, such mistakes will have more impact on your revenue stream with the subsequent audits and potential fines. 

   

The specialized personnel to whom you've outsourced this service have a strong grasp of the service, and the expertise required to get the job done with the maximum success rate in the minimum time. Moreover, they possess the extra time, which a small practice like yours seldom has, to recheck the reports they've compiled and to identify any changes in regulation and compliance that you could easily overlook. 

The overall revenue for your practice will also rise as they have the resources and the experience to effectively claim reimbursements, ensure receivables are collected faster and to minimize denials. With the revenue cycle of your business flourishing, your practice will enjoy accelerated growth.

Your patients will also be more satisfied with lesser errors, and more importantly with the added time that you are now able to dedicate to them.

Consequently, you save a significant amount of money and markedly more time to focus on your practice.

Levels of Patient Engagement through EHR CureMD 12:40

Changes in the healthcare industry encourage patients to be proactive about their wellness and health regime, helping them to change the culture from treatment to prevention. Proper implementation and use of ElectronicHealth Records (EHRs) facilitates the proposed change by engaging patients in wellness programs through the Patient Portal. However, the level of patient engagement may differ, depending on the use of EHR systems.

The first level of patient engagement requires practitioners to implement an integrated EHR system at their practice – facilitating their patients to interact with physician and practice staff for medical advice, scheduling visits and bill payments.

An uninterrupted communication through Patient Portal will allow the patient to stay connected with the practice, so that they are informed of their test results, change in medical dosage, appointment schedule etc.

At this level, a contributing patient emerges. This patient, after connecting with the information exchange tool, contributes towards the health record sharing. Such patients would like to stay updated about their health condition by accessing the information available on their Patient Portal. Similarly, they contribute to the medical information by adding information relevant to changes to their health, such as medications, allergies, immunizations etc.

By this level, access to and sharing of health information gives rise to a more responsible patient, the conferring patient. Based on their medical history and health information, they actively seek out advice, ask questions and engage with their physicians for creating health plan that would help them to lead a healthy lifestyle.

At this point, providers should adopt different models of practice to provide health advice to proactive patients with convenience. Telehealth is a cost and time effective means of providing healthcare to patients, who seek preventive medical advice to increase quality of their health.

Meaningful Use of EHRs is not only beneficial for medical practices, but it also helps patients to stay informed and engage in medical decisions to prevent health hazards.

Practice Management: Physicians’ call for improved business CureMD 12:57

It has been getting difficult for small practices to keep their business up and running because of increase in costs and decline in collections that result in financial loss. According to a survey by QuantiaMD and CareCloud, physicians were asked to highlight reasons behind decrease in profitability at their practices. Of the 5,012 physicians, 65% reported decline in reimbursements, 57% cited rise in costs, 48% responded Affordable Care Act, and 44% said changes in method of billing and coding.

These challenges pose threats to a business of any size, but small practices can be the most affected. One way to combat these threats is to implement a practice management system at your practice to minimize the threats.

Improve rate of claim decline

A Practice Management system can help physicians to improve the claim rate of practice. This issue has become even more important with the 2% cuts made for Medicare payments. Although physicians cannot do anything about reduction in Medicare payments, but they can increase their reimbursement amount by submitting accurate and clean claims.

In this regard, practice management system comes in handy as they allow non-clinical and billing staff of the practice to verify insurance details of the patients to ascertain their eligibility and use accurate codes to create claims that have lower chances of being declined.

Minimize the costs

A reliable Practice Management system can help cut down costs of running a practice. The electronic system of billing and making claims would help physicians in reducing the money spent on resources, such as stationery, while also saving time on making claims. According to estimates by MGMA, submitting a paper-based claim to insurance companies can cost $6.63, while the same claim if submitted electronically will cost physicians $2.90 only.

A Practice Management system can also help in reducing the cost of human resources. By hiring and training the less number of staff in using the electronic system, practices can cut down on costs of extra staff as workload will be reduced.

Changes made in Coding

ICD-10 deadline may have been delayed for another year, but without any doubt the system is going to be implemented. Therefore, it is recommended to buy a Practice Management system that qualifies for ICD-10 coding. This will not only reduce cost of buying or upgrading the system once the new coding system is implemented, but also helps to train the staff in advance in the new coding system.  To minimize the error in coding, a Cloud-based Practice Management system is highly recommended, as it allows the system to upgrade automatically, thus saving the cost of buying a new one.

EHR system is usually talk of the town in minimizing cost and improving efficiency of the practice workflow. However, practice management is equally important for small practices to reduce the cost and improve their business.

Mastering Meaningful Use - It's still not too late! CureMD 08:55

Eligible providers, have you missed the July 1st Meaningful Use deadline?

As a Medicare provider, if you have not meaningfully started using a CCHIT certified EHR by July 1st; you will be facing a 1% reduction on Medicare part B payment in 2015.

However, it is still not too late. You can avoid further penalty in 2016 and still receive the government incentive payment if you follow a timeline in the next few months.

Tune into our webinar to learn how CureMD’s experienced Meaningful Use consultants can help you gear up for October 1st MU deadline, so you can get back to what matters most - helping your patients.

Key points:

• Increase financial stability by avoiding payment penalties
• Ensure successful documentation of Meaningful Use
• Improve the overall effectiveness of patient care
• CMS Audits for MU – What you need to know?

We will help you with everything from start to finish. 

                                   

How Oncology Specified EHR Can Improve Patient Care? CureMD 09:28

Electronic Health Record (EHR) system should be designed in a way to enable physicians with specialized practices to provide quality care to their patients. Oncology is a complex specialty that requires acute care in medical treatments such as, chemotherapy, and even a minor mistake in the dosage or treatment may cause problems. Therefore, vendors should design EHR specific to requirements of Oncology that not only enable Oncologists to record accurate patient information, but also helps in patient treatment and dosage calculation and management.

An ideal OncologyEHR would help physicians in their daily workflow and provide quality patient care. The system should have following attributes:

·       Library containing diagrams and charts to help Oncologists in diagnosing and planning patient specific treatment plans·       Helps in clinical decision of measuring and managing patient dosage and keeping track of regular treatments·       Automated alerts for the nursing staff to keep them informed of change in treatment plans·       Electronically helps in order, preparation and administration of the chemotherapy plan·       Helps in non-clinical practice by keeping record of all charges required for billing of the complete treatment and services. 

Interoperability for better care of patients

Oncology EHR should be interoperable to ensure efficient working of the system and smooth information sharing among necessary stakeholders, such as other physicians or surgeons involved in treatment of the patient, laboratories and hospitals, and pharmacists. This will enable stakeholders to access patient information in a timely fashion and create a treatment plan or conduct surgery according to the medical history of the patient.

mHealth is the new standard

The best software is the one that is user friendly and runs equally smooth on every device including, Smartphone, tablets, laptops and desktop. mHealth has become necessity of the time, as physicians would want to access patient documents on the go. Therefore, it is suggested that Oncologists opt for an EHR that allows them to gain access to patient information even when they are away from their desktop.

Electronic Health Records Help Improve the Patient Care CureMD 09:39

Electronic Health Records have various kinds of advantages over the traditional paper based records. Using EHR’s ability large amount of information can be stored in one place with enhanced accuracy also it will improve the patient care. Researchers and hospitals are finding quality jump in the healthcare after they have adopted EHRs

EHRs Enhance Patient Care

Adoption of Electronic Health Records means that there will be significant improvement in patient care. Also the number forms and tests that are needed in this kind of care will drop at same time.

One of the greatest advantages of having EHRs is that they allow the health system to gather large amount of patient related information which will be contained in specific file for much easier access. The information regarding the patient can help understand patient allergies, immunizations, medications and procedures the patient has undergone. These are just some of the examples, having this kind of information can ease out the needs of patients everywhere.

Another advantage of this technology is that doctors have a faster access to patient data such as medical histories that can be of a key benefit in the event when a quick diagnosis is required.

It Helps Reduce the Number of Outpatients

The enhancements made while adopting the Electronic Health Records technology go beyond than just improving patient care. From the start it has been determined that electronic health records will help reduce the outpatient care at least by 3 percent. In further study they also found that EHRs also decrease the population that needed care in hospitals.

The Significance of Electronic Health Records for Small Scale Practices CureMD 08:20

Many healthcare experts believe that Electronic Health Records (EHRs) can enhance the efficiency and quality of healthcare. But what will happen to the costs that are linked with this kind of technology, especially for small group practices? A Research by Robert Miller Ph.D and his fellow colleagues from the University of California, funded by commonwealth found that for small scale practice that are using EHRs, their initial costs are $44,000 per physician.

These expenses does seem high but researchers estimated that on average a practice would cover its costs under three years and later it will profit considerably. But most of the physicians spend large amount of time at work in the beginning.  Some of the practices will face significant financial risks like billing problems, long payback periods and data loss.

Quality of life and financial costs

According to the costs they start from $37,056 to $63,600 per physician. Differences in expenses portray the different levels of current hardware before EHR implementation and negotiating and technical skills of office staff. Average yearly costs per physician are of $8,400 per physician were for software maintenance, hardware replacement support, further payments to information staff.

Providers also reported that they work for a longer duration on average of four months, but as they added data in software they become familiar with it. After the implementation period some providers also reported enhanced quality, accessing records from home and time savings.

Enhanced billing lead to efficiency

Regardless of the high initial costs average practices take around 2.5 years to pay for them according to the authors. The physician practices that were studied the benefits for them were $33,000 per year for each physician. The sources for these savings were the improved coding level that leads to improved billing and enhanced efficiency with the decrease in personal costs. All of the practice reported some savings that start from $1,000 to 452,000 per physician per year.

But some of the practices were not able to fare as well. According to the study one practice took nine years to cover it costs and another two didn’t paid for their EHR systems.

EHRs not being used for qualityimprovement

With Electronic Health Records physicians have some “automatic” benefits such as enhanced data accessibility, organization and legibility. All the study practices that are engaged in some kind of quality improvement EHR related activities. Two of the practices make an extensive use of EHR capabilities to further improve the preventive and chronic care. Twelve of the practices used computerized reminders but only five of them had the practice set reminders for patients with one type of chronic condition. Four of the practice made a list of patients which needed services such as diabetic patients whose hemoglobin tests are overdue and two of the practice generated report on provider performance.

Some facts and figures:

·       It costs average of $22,038 per physician for Electronic Health Record software training and installment.
·       Revenue gains related with efficiency accounted for 8.1 % of financial benefits but only three of the practices reported it.
·       Almost every provider used electronic health record for common tasks such as prescribing, viewing and billing. Few of the practices used it for quality improvement, patient-provider communication or performance reporting.

Benefits of Having Electronic Health Records CureMD 13:00

If you are accessing, updating and changing your electronic health 

records digitally using computers or other electronic devices then they are called Electronic Health Records.

CureMD Electronic Health Records by curemd In the same way as any other record keeping transforming patient’s records from paper to computer creates a greater efficiency for providers and their patients. But efficiency isn't the only benefit. Access to good care becomes safe and easier when records can be easily shared. With an existing electronic health record (EHR) time can be saved at the doctor’s office. Having quick access to health records can be lifesaving in the case of emergency.

Government has set up an incentive system to encourage providers to adopt and implement electronic health records and they need to follow the list of requirements for an enhanced care and those requirements are called Meaningful Use.

In the case of natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and California fires have showed the benefits of having digital records. Those who were injured and got sick during the advent of natural disasters were easily treatable and have a better result than those who didn't have access to their medical records. If you have a large scale EHR it will save your health records at various places across the country so that in case of any tragic event they won’t be destroyed.

Another advantage of EHRs is safety. Previously in the past when you visited the doctor they used to collect your health history by asking you. Every time you visited them you would filled out a form about your history, your previous surgeries or the drugs that you have taken. If you left out any information because it seemed unimportant to you or you forgot to mention it then your doctor wouldn't have that piece of information to work with.

But with the advent of EHRs your doctor only has to ask your name, birthday or other possible means of identifying information. Then the doctor can bring up all your medical records from the electronic storage. All the information that doctor needs will be in front of him. Decisions regarding diagnosis and treatment will be made based on the information which is much more comprehensive than what you might have written on paper.

Before in the past when doctor would close his practice or if he dies of any illness then it would be very difficult to get access to patient’s medical records but having these records electronically means not only doctor but the patient can also have access to them.

Lots of money is saved by using electronic health records not only the cost of paper is saved but also the costs associated with space and labor. The efficiency that is made possible by recognizing key strokes to access patient’s record as compared to sifting through thousands of files and folders.

Meaningful Use and Penalties CureMD 13:06

The Electronic Health Records Incentive Program for eligible professionals started in 2011 and will go until 2016. It depends on the year of participation; eligible professionals can participate for up to five years throughout the duration of the program. The last year for participating in the Medicare EHR Incentive program is 2014. 

In order to qualify for Medicare EHR Incentive payments, Medicare eligible professionals need to prove the use of “meaningful use” for each year of participation in the program. 

The meaning of “meaningful use” means that the providers need to show that that are using the certified EHR technology in the ways that can be measured in quantity and quality.

The criterion for Meaningful Use is made in three steps over five years.

• Stage 1 implemented in 2011 and 2012 will set the base for information sharing and electronic data capture.
• Stage 2 implemented in 2013
• Stage 3 will be implemented in 2015 and will continue to expand the baseline and develop future rule making.

Deadlines 

Stage 1

• If you are going to begin Stage 1 in 2014 then you are required to begin your reporting period on January 1, April 1 or July 1 to avoid Medicare penalties in 2015.

Stage 2

• If you have completed the Stage 1 meaningful use, you can begin the three month reporting period for Stage 2 Meaningful Use.
• The Medicare providers they only need to attest for a three month quarter. They can start in April 1, July 1 or October 1.
• For Medicaid provider they are required to attest only for 90 days and they are not required to align their reporting period to the quarter.

Incentive payments are to be made on the basis of calendar year. The reporting period for the first year is 90 continuous days and the reporting period for the later years will be the entire calendar year.

For calendar years from 2011 to 2016 those eligible professionals who demonstrated the Meaningful Use of certified EHR technology can receive up to $44,000 over the five years under the Medicare EHR Incentive Program.

It is also important to note the penalty provision for 2015 and later. Those Medicare eligible professionals who do not successfully demonstrate the meaningful use their payments will have a negative adjustment to Medicare reimbursement. In the beginning there will be a payment reduction at 1 percent and will increase every year up to 5 percent if a Medicare eligible professional do not demonstrate the Meaningful Use.

Those Medicare eligible professionals who qualify as Medicaid eligible professionals need to select between Medicare and Medicaid incentive programs at the time of registration.

Who Should Upgrade?

Meaningful Use is considered as an optional program and those providers who have participated in the program by October 1, 2014 will have to face Medicare penalties in 2015.

 All those providers who are taking part in the EHR Incentive Program need to upgrade their software in 2014. Whether you are starting stage 1, or continuing the stage 1 or starting stage 2 you need to update your software before the start of your three month reporting period.

The Right Way to Implement an EHR CureMD 10:30

Implementing an EHR can be difficult if the practice is small. Small practice is considered as a small business and the priority of any business is to have more money to operate. Only those who have seen the monthly pressure of running a small practice can know the reason why the EHR implementation is so hard.

But nothing is impossible; before you begin you might want to consider these mistakes:

Choosing the wrong EHR-the important part of selecting an EHR is to do the research first. You would want to pick the product that you will use to improve your practice’s efficiency.

Taking the task too lightly- EHR vendors make the implementation sound easy. To utilize the full benefits of EHR, you need to consult, plan carefully before you select the EHR.

Unclear goals-If your reason of implementing an EHR is to get the incentive from the government than that is not a good reason. You can lose far more than with a bad implementation.

Tips for Success

The definitionof a successful EHR implementation is one that doesn’t frustrate the staff and patients, or bankrupt your practice or reduce the productivity of your practice. Your goal should be to continue the daily operations normally. Follow these tips for the initial implementation:

Target on easy gains first- Advantage of having an EHR is that you can access the information from anywhere. You can access consult notes, radiology reports, labs and office notes from a single place that is accessible from any location. The difficult part of using an EHR is to put the information in the patient record. 

You can optimize your data retrieval by doing following:

• Scan in all consultation reports, radiology reports etc.
• Get the other practices and local hospitals to send you the important documents electronically to your EHR
• Interface with the labs

Implementation is a process- Even after using the EHR for so many years; changes are still implemented to the process. So it is an ongoing process that never stops.