The 20th annual AAPC National Conference wrapped up last week and the folks at ICD-10Monitor.com hosted live podcasts each day of conference. Among the AAPC leadership that appeared as guests included AAPC Chairman and CEO Reed Pew, VP of ICD-10 training and education Rhonda Buckholtz CPC, CPMA, CPC-I, CGSC, COBGC, CPEDC, CENTC, National Advisory Board president Cyndi Stewart, CPC, CCS-P, CPC-H, CPMA, CPC-I, AAPC director of education Raemarie Jimenez, CPC, CPMA, CPC-I, CANPC, CRHC, director of curriculum Katherine Abel, CPC, CPMA, CEMC, CPC-I and director of ICD-10 development and training Kim Reid, CPC, CPMA, CEMC, CPC-I.
Listen to the full podcasts here.
April 9th, 2012
In February, 2009, Congress passed and President Obama signed the ARRA Act, mandating implementation of EMR systems meeting meaningful use requirements by 2015 for physician practices that bill Medicare claims. In the past year, I’ve spoken to many physicians that do not want to implement an EMR system and a handful of physicians that have un-installed their EMR system. The fact that so few physicians have currently installed EMR systems (estimated between 20-35 percent have installed), when almost all physicians are aware of them, tells me that many physicians don’t see the benefit vs. the cost. To counter that, the Federal Government will give up to $44,000 for each EMR system installed that meets meaningful use. In other words, the government will force physicians to purchase what many don’t want and then help them pay for it.
Our workshop in March on EMRs will help you and your practice deal with the EMR issues that have plagued us, and it will explain how to get the $44,000 from the government. It also educates coders on the inevitable shift in duties as healthcare becomes fully part of the digital age. The workshop was created by a physician that has been a director of coding, is now director of healthcare revenue cycle management and has gone through a large EMR installation. If you are frustrated with your current EMR or are contemplating one, I believe this is a workshop well worth attending.
Reed E. Pew, CEO
February 12th, 2010