Meaningful Use, does anyone know what it means yet?

The Health IT Policy Committee is supposed to be finalizing and publishing the definition of Meaningful Use for EHRs.  This definition is to be publicly released and available for review.  Basically the committee’s goal was to have a working definition, versus the amorphous definition floating around right now.  It was thought that this would happen this month.  After the issuance of the NPRM [notice for proposed rulemaking] for meaningful use happens, there will be a 60-day window for people to review and comment on the proposed definition, followed by review and any revision before a final definition is reached for release.

eTHOMAS Focus Group

You are cordially invited to attend

eTHOMAS Focus Group Meeting for Medical Offices

Hosted by the Genius Solutions Support Department

January 19, 2010 12 pm - 4 pm

January 20, 2010 9 am - 1pm

@ Warren City Hall (Conference Room)

One City Square, Warren, MI 48093

or 

February 2, 2010 9 am - 1pm

@ Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites

5401 28th Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546

Medicare fee cuts delayed until February 28, 2010

Senate passes FY 2010 Defense Appropriations Bill Dec 19, 2009, which will temporarily halt the present plan to implement Medicare fee cuts of 21.2%, until February 28, 2010. This also delays the updated fee schedule that Medicare was going to put into effect until the end of February as well.

Medicare no longer recognizing consultation codes

As most of you are aware Medicare and MAC's will no longer recognize Consultation codes as of January 2010.  Early reports from CMS suggested that a modifier would be created for initial hospital days.  Attached is a MLN Matter article that explains the use of the new AI modifier and use of prolonged service codes.  Please view the article located on the CMS website at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/MM6740.pdf

 

Genius Solutions' December News Flash is out

Genius Solutions' December News Flash e-mail was just sent out. If you missed it, you can click here to view it: December 2009 e-News Flash.

Cahaba GBA has released new payor IDs for individual states.

Cahaba GBA has released new payor IDs for individual states.
Alabama 10102
Georgia 10202
Tennessee 10302
More information on these changes here: http://ping.fm/zhAxF
Affected Genius clients who send Medicare claims to multiple states will have to add additional insurance codes per state with the correct payor ID included. Both dTHOMAS and eTHOMAS software are able to handle this change easily. Our technical support team would be happy to provide our clients with recommendations based on their specific needs. We are available Monday through Thursday 8am to 6pm and Friday 8am to 3pm at (800) 645-0955 option 6.

Pink Gloves: Hospital staff goes wild for breast cancer awareness

I’m glad to see that you medical professionals don’t take yourselves too seriously. I’m also glad to see that you do take your causes seriously. If you haven’t seen it already I highly recommend the following “Pink Glove Dance” video to the tune “Down”, from the hospital personnel and support staff over at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEdVfyt-mLw

Suggested Year-End Procedures for THOMAS

At Genius Solutions we understand that end of the year can be a very stressful time for your office.  In hopes of streamlining your process we have come up with these recommends to close out 2009 properly.  We do not recommend posting any 2010 charges until these steps have been completed.  During this process everyone should be out of THOMAS, and this checklist should be followed in the order given.  The length of time required to complete these functions will vary depending on the size of your practice and the amount of data that you have in your system. 

eTHOMAS v9, Are you Up-to-Date?

Are you updated to eTHOMAS version 9 yet? If not, you should be updating your eTHOMAS now.

If you are not up-to-date with your eTHOMAS, you are not up-to-date with the most current federal and insurance payer changes. Do 2010 right, start by updating to v9 today.

Find us on the internet at www.GeniusSolutions.com 

Bill to Guarantee Women Access to Preventive Health Screenings

Senator Introduces Amendment to the Senate Health Care Reform Bill to Guarantee Women Access to Preventive Health Screenings and Care at No Cost

Senator Barbara Mikulski from Maryland introduced an amendment to include women's preventative care in all health plans at no additional cost.  Senator Mikulski stated “Today, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the top killers of women are cancer: breast, cervical, colorectal, ovarian and lung, and heart and vascular disease. And silent killers if they go undetected like diabetes. For these killers, we have screenings at no cost that are proven to detect these diseases early. Guaranteed access to these screenings will save money and save lives."

FTC Extends Red Flags Rule Enforcement Deadline Again

In November, just in time to extend the November 1st extension, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that they are delaying enforcement of the "Red Flags" Rule until June 1, 2010.  This applies to financial institutions and creditors who are subject to enforcement by the FTC.

Welcome to the GeniusMedical News Blog

Thanks for joining us at our new news blog.  Flash of Genius: Medical Matters is now officially, and truly, electronic. 

We will no longer be publishing our quarterly newsletter, although the older newsletters will continue to be available on our website.  Mark’s hot news flash items will also be worked into this news forum.  We wanted to be more vibrant and timely in our news delivery to you.  We will continue to present the feature articles that you have come to expect and look forward to in our newsletters and more.  We will now be able to deliver interesting and timely news that we find, but was too stale to post by the time the quarterly newsletter came out.  It will also allow us to get and keep in touch with you even faster.

You can view the news blog at time by linking from our web site at www.geniussolutions.com, by saving the link to this blog on your computer, or better yet, join up and follow us so that you know as soon as we post new news.  You can follow us at this blog; you can also sign up to follow us on Twitter and Facebook (see links on the right).

Thanks again for reading,
Penny Henriksen
Genius Solutions’ newsletter writer and editor
As always you can reach me at newsletter2009 @geniussolutions.com
Visit our web site at www.geniussolutions.com