January 2012 marks the start of CMS's accountable care organization experiment, in addition to the many private partnerships hospitals are forging using the ACO model. AHA (American Hospital Association) President Rich Umbdenstock talks to Hospital & Health Networks senior online editor Haydn Bush about the challenges and opportunities hospitals face in the new era of accountability.
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CMS| News, Analysis, Insights - HIT Consultant
Interview Podcast: ICD-10 Best Practices with Connie Tohara Vol. 2
October 1, 2013 is less than 2 years away leaving healthcare providers faced with the daunting task of making the transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10. Many organizations have already started to prepare for the implementation while the majority have not begun any preparations until the deadlines looms closer. HIT Consultant recently spoke with Connie Tohara, Director of Health Information at University of Utah Hospital and Karen Ferrell, Director, Computer-Assisted Physician Documentation (CAPD)
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Infographic:The ACO Prescription Cure or Disease?
infographic explores whether ACOs are beneficial to the patient and the tax payer in the long run.
2011 has been a busy year for ACOs dominating the industry with the announcements of the ACO final rule, Medicare Shared Savings Program, NCQA Accountable Care Organization Accrediation program, and the 32 health systems selected for the CMS ACO Pioneer Program. Medicare can potentially save as much as $960 million dollars over three years through Accountable Care Organizations (ACO). With
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Interactive: A Status Report on Health Information Technology in the States
This map above provides a status report on where states stand in distributing Medicaid incentive payments for adoption of health information technology based on the latest data that was provided by CMS October 2011.
The 2009 economic stimulus law signed by President Barack Obama contained $27 billion in federal funds for eligible health providers who install electronic health records and follow government “meaningful use” guidelines to improve patient care. This portion of the law — known as
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Guest Post: 5010 Discretionary Period
This guest post was provided by Brien Keller, Senior Manager of Santa Rosa Consulting, Inc.:
The recently announced 90-Day Period of Enforcement Discretion for the HIPAA transaction standards (ASC X12 Version 5010, NCPDP Telecom D.0, and NCPDP Medicaid Subrogation 3.0) is precisely as it is described…a Period of Enforcement Discretion. It is not a delay in the compliance deadline, nor is it an extension on the continued use of today’s HIPAA transactions standards.
There are three key
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Breaking News: CMS Delays 5010 to March 31, 2012
CMS has just announced that it would not initiate enforcement action until March 31, 2012 in regards to any HIPAA covered entity that is not in compliance with the ASC X12 Version 5010 (Version 5010), NCPDP Telecom D.0 (NCPDP D.0) and NCPDP Medicaid Subrogation 3.0 (NCPDP 3.0) standards. Notwithstanding OESS’ discretionary application of its enforcement authority, the compliance date for use of these new standards remains January 1, 2012 (small health plans have until January 1, 2013 to comply
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AMA Votes to “Vigorously” Stop ICD-10
Yesterday, the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association voted "to work vigorously to stop implementation of ICD-10," according to the news release on AMA's website. AMA's presdient, Peter W. Camel, MD stated, "The implementation of ICD-10 will create significant burdens on the practice of medicine with no direct benefit to individual patients' care. At a time when we are working to get the best value possible for our health care dollar, this massive and expensive undertaking will
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CMS releases Medicare Shared Savings application
After the anncounement of the final rule on 10/20, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) has released the 2012 application for their Medicare Shared Savings program. Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) that are interested have the option of two start dates of April 1, 2012 and July 1, 2012.
The following is the outline steps to the Medicare Shared Savings Program Application Process
Step 1: Submitting the NOI is the first step in our application process.
If you are interested in
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CMS Posts Timeline Widgets for HIPAA ICD-10/5010
In an effort to help healthcare providers, payers, and vendors meet HIPAA 5010 and ICD-10, CMS has released detailed timeline widgets that are available for download for large providers, small providers, payers, and vendors. The widgets cover some of the essential activities that is needed to successfully make the transition to Version 5010 and ICD-10, as well as the estimated total duration needed.
It is important to note that every organization is unique, so these specific action items
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Selects 3M ICD-10 Conversion Software
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has selected advanced ICD-10 code translation technology from 3M Health Information Systems to assist the federal agency in converting systems, applications, and reports based on ICD-9 diagnosis and procedure codes into the language of ICD-10. The 3M ICD-10 Code Translation Tool will be used to streamline the code translation process and support ICD-10 transition planning at CMS headquarters in Baltimore, MD.
CMS has also licensed the
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