General / Hot Coding Topics

Put Your ePrescribing Knowhow Into Meaningful Use

Get your system moving before June 30th or you’ll pay the price.

If you do not have an electronic prescribing (ePrescribing or eScribing) system yet in place, or have not integrated one into your electronic medical record (EMR) system, you better get a move on it. You only have until June 30, 2011 to submit at least ten claims to Medicare demonstrating that you are a successful eScriber for 2011. Otherwise, you are at risk of not only losing the bonus in 2011 but according to the rulemaking for 2011, also facing penalties assessed, reducing your Medicare fee schedule by 1 percent in 2012.

With limited time, it is smart to consider a stand-alone internet based system which you can implement relatively easy. You could get this system up and running right away, at a low cost, with simplified a implementation timeline and without depending on your electronic health record (EHR) selection and implementation which is both much more extensive, costly and more complicated to implement.

If you’re still asking, “Can our practice afford not to adopt ePrescribing?” Then, the answer is NO. Today you need to start doing something.

Background: eScribing is part of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) incentive program called the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS). PQRS offers incentives to practices that meet CMS-set goals for the implementation and practice of electronic prescription on a regular basis. The system was designed with “a carrot and a stick”. While we have been enjoying the “carrot” for the past few years, the “stick is on the cusp of being implemented as of June 30th per the 2011 Rulemaking. CMS will pay you when you implement eScribing in 2011 (a 1 percent bonus), it will penalize you when you don’t put it into practice, a 1percent penalty...

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May 10, 2011
Coding Challenge

Medical Records: 5 Reasons Your EMR Transition Will Pay Off

The hard work and hassle of ditching paper documentation is not in vain.

Question: Our office is weighing the pros and cons of transitioning to electronic medical records (EMRs). We know the process is a huge undertaking that often results in even lower productivity and more confusion. So, is making the change really worth it?

Answer: If you haven’t witnessed or lead a conversion from paper records to an electronic medical record (EMR) system, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the potential downsides. But experts agree that yes, going electronic is worth it. Here are a few reasons why:

1. You Open More Cash Inlets. Many research studies pull their data via electronic records. So, if you can’t tune in to participate, opportunities for cash perks will fly by. “Grant money and incentive programs are available, for example, and they want data in the electronic form,” points out Francine Wheelock, PT, MPA, manager of clinical systems for MaineGeneral Health.

Just look at nationwide push for value-based purchasing and outcome data, and expect to go electronic if you want to be in the loop.

Stay alert: Last year, the federal government launched the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which plans to pay eligible healthcare professionals incentives for the “meaningful use” of certain EMRs.

“SLPs, OTs and PTs are not eligible for the incentive payment,” confirms Kate Romanow, director of health care regulatory advocacy for the American Speech-Language Hearing Association. But they may be eligible in the future, so therapists “may want to consider implementing EHRs now,” she says.

Plus, you can enhance coordination of care with healthcare providers who are eligible for HITECH incentives and are adopting EHRs, points out Sarah Nicholls, assistant director for payment policy and advocacy for the American Physical Therapy Association....

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June 1, 2010