Are you overwhelmed with all the talk about the healthcare stimulus?   Are you lost in the ever changing rules and regulations, and discussions on meaningful use, certified EHR, eligible professionals?  Is the tidal wave of new acronyms about to wash you ashore? 

Fortunately there is an ocean of information available to you to help you wade the waters, and most software vendors offer their own menu of educational opportunities.  Below are a couple of  recorded webcasts as examples of what is out there.  Are all free, and are available for unlimited viewing unless otherwise noted.  Each requires a minimum input of your professional contact information.

We will continue to provide information as the Proposed Rules are developed.  If you would like to speak with someone regarding any questions you might have, please open a ticket with the help desk and someone from our Clinical Solutions department will be happy to call you.

Allscripts offers an excellent online webcast on the Proposed Rules for Meaningful Use, and once you have provided login information, you can return to view the webcast again until April 14^th. (1 hr)

Click here to register 

Modern Healthcare offers this webcast entitled "The Search for Meaning--and Money--in 'Meaningful Use' Regulations (1 hr 15 min)

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-to-a-Joint-Session-of-Congress-on-Health-Care/

Hopefully you haven't been the victim, but at the very least you've surely aware of the explosion of malicious software and viruses.   Their names include scareware, ransomware, malware, and rogueware.  Regardless of the name, one thing's for sure; it's a huge headache and a major inconvenience for the end user who becomes infected.

The techniques were dubbed "ransomware" and "rogueware" years ago and are nothing new, however due to more believable tactics and the addition of windows-like error and dialog boxes, there has been a recent explosion in infections.  Unfortunately, the average user is unable to distinguish the difference from the scareware and legitimate antivirus products.  The scareware looks like fully functional software and in some cases even looks to be incorporated with Windows itself due to the Microsoft Windows like warning messages.  These new malicious applications, although similar, are far more aggressive.  If a computer becomes infected the program will not only recommend a purchase to clean the system, it will lock out other applications and web browsing and will not let the user continue until they pay.

40 percent of all scareware in the past 5 months involved a family of products named "Total Antivirus".  (Example 1) Once infected, it demands that users pay $50 for two years, or $80 for a lifetime license.  Of course purchasing the subscription does nothing to stop future infections, and users report that the initial infection wasn't even removed even after the payment.

Last month, December 2009, the FBI issued new warnings about the broader categories of malicious software termed "scareware" specifically focusing on Pop-up Advertisements.  These programs, which are generally picked up via infected websites or email, install on users' computers and claim to detect viruses or other malware.  The program then offers to do a "full scan" and of course identifies additional infections which it states can be removed for a small payment of anywhere from $25-$50 dollars.  The latest scheme is a malicious program called Data Doctor 2010. (Example 2)  It doesn't actually disable the software or web browser, but instead encrypts the files on the victim's computer forcing them to pay for the decryption.  The FBI estimates that victims have lost over $150 million dollars to scareware and reansomeware in 2009 alone.

If an unexpected antivirus dialog box lands on your computer screen, call us as soon as possible while the window is still open at the numbers provided below. 

If for any reason you cannot call us immediately, close the window by clicking on the 'x' in the upper-right hand corner or ending the process.  Don't use the "OK/Cancel" buttons in the window as these buttons are often reprogramed to start the installation of the malicious content.

As always call us if you have any questions about these new internet threats.

The Eligible Professional will be asked for an email address when they call to request the reports and the report will be e-mailed within  30 days of the request.  If no report is available, the provider will receive an email notification.

If you are requesting information based on TIN or Group Practice you are still required to access the report via the PQRI portal after first registering with IACS.  Once you have received your id and password you will be able to access your feedback report on line through the secure portal. 

The portal site is http://www.qualitynet.org/pqri

The House of Representatives has postponed the 21.2 percent reduction to Medicare physician payments that was scheduled to take effect Jan.1. The House included an amendment to the 2010 Defense Department appropriations bill, HR. 3326 that freezes Medicare payments at their current levels until Feb. 28, 2010. The bill passed by a vote of 3950 in In the meantime a filibuster is expected which may cause delays in consideration of the bill.

CMS delays instruction on date of service for diagnostic tests; place-of-service instruction effective Jan. 1

In response to concerns brought by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), the Radiology Business Management Association and others, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has delayed instructions to its contractors on the date of service (DOS) to be used for diagnostic tests.

As reported in the Dec. 2 MGMA Washington Connexion, CMS released instructions to its contractors on the DOS and place of service (POS) for the professional component or interpretation (PC) and technical component (TC) of diagnostic tests. The instructions direct CMS contractors to require the actual DOS that the PC of a test is performed on the claim, instead of the current policy of having the DOS of the TC serve as the date for both the PC and TC of the test. CMS also instructs contractors to require the ZIP code of the location where the PC was performed and provides clarifying information for the use of various POS codes, including "home," "office," "ambulatory surgery center," "hospital outpatient," "temporary lodging" and "other."

After discussions with the agency, CMS agreed to delay the DOS instruction until July 1. The POS instruction was not delayed and became effective on Jan. 4. The transmittal with the updated effective date will be available on the CMS Web site.

CMS eliminates consultation codes - FAQs, crosswalk and guidance available

In the final 2010 physician fee schedule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) eliminated the use of all consultation codes (inpatient and office/outpatient codes for various places of service except for telehealth consultation G-codes) on a budget-neutral basis. Instead, CMS increased the work relative value units (RVUs) for new and established office visits, as well as initial hospital and initial nursing facility visits. Recently, CMS released Transmittal 1875 and MLN Matters 6740  which provides guidance to practices on how to bill for services for Medicare Part B patients now that consultation codes have been eliminated. CMS announced that the modifier to distinguish the admitting physician from other physicians who may furnish care is "-AI." The admitting physician should append the "-AI" modifier along with initial visit codes to their claims while other physicians who perform initial evaluations should only bill the appropriate evaluation and management (E/M) code. CMS instructs providers to select the appropriate E/M codes based on the content of services provided and not the level of documentation.

According to agency, documentation should merely support the level of services provided. CMS advises practices to take time and/or controlling factors into consideration when determining the level of service provided. In this transmittal, CMS also clarifies billing procedures for:

• Observation services;
• Inpatient hospital care;
• Emergency departments; and
• Nursing facility services