Posts Tagged ‘EMR’

Official EMR Credentialing Body Chosen

Monday, August 30th, 2010

The Drummond Group Inc. (DGI), Austin, Texas, and the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT), Chicago, Ill., were named Aug. 30 by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) as the first technology review bodies that have been authorized to test and certify electronic health record (EHR) systems for compliance with the standards and certification criteria that were issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) earlier this year.

Announcement of these ONC-Authorized Testing and Certification Bodies (ONC-ATCBs) means that EHR vendors can now begin to have their products certified as meeting criteria to support meaningful use—a key step in the national initiative to encourage adoption and effective use of EHRs by America’s health care providers.

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MU Incentive Payments May Begin May 2011

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) says it will begin making “meaningful use” incentive payments to eligible  providers and facilities as early as May 2011.

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Revenue Cycle Strategist: “Coding in an EMR: Impact on Clinicians and Coders”

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

AAPC member James Taylor, MD, CPC, explains how coding in an EMR can help organizations improve the accuracy of their claims, but it involves a role shift for both clinicians and coders. This article is not available online but can be found on cover of the June issue of Revenue Cycle Strategist.

Advance: “Double Jeopardy – Copy-and-paste functions are convenient, but they also multiply risks.”

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

Copy-and-paste has long been a function in word processing, but it’s taken off in the era of EHRs. Physicians tired of typing the same notes day after day can simply drop in documentation for a normal exam or common procedure; for a particular patient, family history or medication lists can be copied from a previous caregiver. But improper copying can lead to fraudulent billing, warns Rhonda Buckholtz, CPC, CPC-I, CGSC, COBGC, CEPDC, CENTC, vice president of business and member development for the American Academy of Professional Coders.

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EHR Adoption Lags Despite Success Stories

Friday, April 16th, 2010

A recent Center for Information Technology Leadership (CITL) study comparing health information technology (IT) in the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) to norms in the private sector concludes that the VA spent proportionately more on IT than the private health care sector spent between 1997 and 2007, but it achieved higher levels of IT adoption and quality of care.

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FDA Launches Initiative to Reduce Radiation Exposure

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in February an initiative to reduce unnecessary radiation exposure from three types of medical imaging procedures: computed tomography (CT), nuclear medicine studies, and fluoroscopy.

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Donald Berwick is Obama’s Likely Pick to Head CMS

Monday, April 5th, 2010

Word on the street is that President Barack Obama will probably nominate Donald Berwick, MD, MPP, to relieve acting Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator Charlene Frizzera. Dr. Berwick is a nationally known researcher on health care quality and patient safety and president of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). Read more »

Protect Yourself from a Data Security Breach

Friday, March 12th, 2010

Do you know where your cell phone is? If it falls in the wrong hands, and unsecured data is breached, you could conceivably be in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

The number of health care professionals who store patient data on laptops, USB memory sticks, and other portable electronic devices is growing, but some say data security is not.

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White House Adopts Military EHR

Friday, March 12th, 2010

The Military Health System (MHS) set up a version of its Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application (AHLTA) electronic health record (EHR) system for use in the White House.

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AAPC Hosts 18th National Coding Conference in Nashville

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Coders and their providers can bone up on coding, regulation, compliance, and billing while earning continuing education units (CEUs) and continuing medical education (CMEs) at AAPC’s 2010 National Conference in Nashville, Tenn. on June 6–9.  This annual event draws thousands of attendees including doctors, medical coders, and office/practice managers to connect on the business side of health care.  This is the first conference to be approved for 15.75 CME (AMA PRA Category 1™) credits.

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