Be sure to read this page and a half Medicare PECOS notification urging providers to either enroll, or verify their enrollment in PECOS.  CMS will use Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS) records to verify your Medicare status prior to issuing EHR Incentive payments.

PECOS Enrollment Required For Incentive Payments! is a post from: ACOM Health Blog

A lot of questions are circulating as to what will make a DC eligible to receive EHR incentive payments.  The following information comes directly from the Medicare & Medicaid EHR Incentive Program power point presentation dated August 10, 2010 (beginning on slide 40) and provides answers to many FAQs.

To participate a chiropractor must:

• Register via the EHR Incentive Program website  (the website is up, but the registration area is not yet open for business)
• Be enrolled in either the Medicare FFS or Medicaid FFS (fee-for-service) 
• Have a National Provider Identifier (NPI)
• Use Certified EHR technology (it is my understanding software vendors will be assigned a Unique Identifier Number once they’ve been certified, and you will enter this # during registration to meet this requirement)

Registration requirements include:

• Name of the eligible professional
• National Provider Indentifier (NPI)
• Business address and business phone
• Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) to which the provider would like their incentive payment made
• Medicare or Medicaid program selection (you may switch between programs before 2015, but only once)

Timeline of the program:

• Fall 2010 – Certified EHR technology will be available and listed on the website (ACOM Health fully anticipates our Rapid software will be certified by year’s end)
• January 2011 – Registration for the EHR Incentive Programs begin
• April 2011 – Attestation for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program begins
• May 2011 – Medicare EHR incentive payments begin (Medicare will automatically cut the check once a provider hits the $18,000 max, otherwise you’ll have to wait until the year has ended)
• February 29, 2012 – Last day for EPs to register and attest to receive an incentive payment for CY 2011

If you treat more Medicaid patients than Medicare, I encourage you to go through the power point presentation to get a better understanding of the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program and how it differs from the Medicare program.

EHR Incentive $$ – What Chiropractors Need To Participate is a post from: ACOM Health Blog

I attended the Medicare conference call Aug. 10th and was very pleased to finally get some questions answered in regards to meaningful use and chiropractic.  

We (ACOM Health) have long been tracking the prescription drug related meaningful use requirements due to the fact that the vast majority of state chiropractic scopes exclude drug prescription/immunization.

Two potentially devastating problems existed that may have prevented DCs from getting stimulus checks.  First, might a chiro fail to meet “meaningful use” if they never prescribe drugs?   Second, does our limited scope keep us from qualifying for enough Clinical Quality Measures (CQM) to get paid?  The simple answer to both is NO!

View the power point presentation if you want more details.  If nothing else, see the bottom of slide #21…I’d like to think my questions to CMS during the public comment period earlier this year got them to include the chiro example (toot toot).

So what do you think? Many Docs have expressed serious doubt that Chiropractic would be eligable for any stimulus money, is the glass half full or half empty?

Meaningful Use Update…Looking Very Nice For Chiropractors! is a post from: ACOM Health Blog

Medicare has a EHR incentive program information conference call scheduled for Tuesday, August 10th from 2:00 – 3:30 EST.  In order to participate you must register here as space is limited. 

“If you are an individual provider, this FREE session will help you learn the details of the program that specifically pertain to you – eligibility, payment, what you need to register, timeline, meaningful use objectives and measures.”  – CMS website

I highly recommend you be on this call.  By the way, when you register, you are given an opportunity to include comments that the presenters will try to cover.  The more DCs who participate and pose questions/comments the more likely our concerns will be addressed.

Conference Call To Educate Providers On EHR Stimulus Program is a post from: ACOM Health Blog

HHS/CMS has set up an official website dedicated to the EHR/EMR Incentive Program.  This site is for those of you who like to hear things directly “from the horse’s mouth.”  If you would rather someone else do the reading, I’ll continue to report on significant developments as they occur.

EHR/EMR Incentive Program Website is a post from: ACOM Health Blog

Lately I’ve had several questions come up from clients regarding signature requirements for documentation.  Just last month CMS released a Medicare Learning Network (MLM) Matters article on the topic.  Check out pages 12 and 13 of this related document for examples of what reviewers use to determine if the signature requirement is met.  Also, notice on page 13 the very vague, in my opinion, statement regarding electronic signatures: 

Know Your Medicare Signature Requirements is a post from: ACOM Health Blog

I read an interesting HealthCareITnews.com article this morning discussing where consumers and employers stand regarding the top 10 meaningful use arguments posed by providers.  Apparently, the public doesn’t agree with what hospitals and physicains view as an overly cumbersome undertaking - meaningful use of a certified EHR.  Of the top 10 arguments, consumers only view one as having any credibility.

Public Doesn’t Echo Providers Meaningful Use Concerns is a post from: ACOM Health Blog