Publications
Interested in how the rapidly changing U.S. healthcare landscape will affect patient privacy? “Information Privacy in the Evolving Healthcare Environment,” edited by Linda Koontz, CIPP/US, CIPP/G, and published by HIMSS, 2013, should be a good read for you. Leading health privacy experts explore the meaning of privacy and teach readers how to tackle the healthcare community’s most significant privacy challenges, including: • The relationship between privacy and medical ethics;• The synergy between information privacy and security; and• The complex legal landscape governing health information privacy.This title is available in hardcover or as an ebook from the HIMSS online store at https://marketplace.himss.org.
ICD-10 Updates
ICD-9 to ICD-10 comparison utility
The NextGen Healthcare ICD-9/ICD-10 Comparison Utility is an educational and testing tool used by NextGen clients to help familiarize themselves with the mapping of ICD-10 codes to the ICD-9 codes most commonly used on a day-to-day basis. The tool allows for the analysis of the 837 claim file, providing a snapshot of current billing with ICD-9 and the impact of changing to ICD-10 codes. The utility also provides the capability to generate an 837 claim file with ICD-10 codes and analyze 835 remittance data. Contact NextGen Healthcare via www.nextgen.com.
Tips, webinars, planning guides and more
ADP AdvancedMD has launched “My ICD-10 Timeline” at MyICD10.advancedmd.com, an online resource to help medical practices prepare for the October 1, 2014, transition to ICD-10. The website features a timeline and a wealth of tools, including training aids, articles and webinars, to help any private practice prepare for the big coding change. A downloadable “ICD-10 Trail Map” recommends four phases of ICD-10 preparation and provides valuable templates and checklists to guide users through a successful transition.
Strengthen your coding core
Optum ICD-10 Core Education delivers complete ICD-10 instruction that leverages the expertise Optum has gained by conducting ICD-10 business readiness assessments with hundreds of health systems across the country. This training program is fully customizable for the particular needs of physicians, nurses, coders, clinical documentation improvement specialists and other hospital staff affected by the ICD-10 change. Curriculum options include overview training, knowledge-based/skill transfer and on-the-job training. Supplemental training is also available. Learn more at www.optuminsight.com.
Security
Providers using the cloud give vendors high marks; non-users are very wary
Don’t knock it till you try it. According to a new report from KLAS, cloud users give an average 4.5 out of 5 rating on security and how safe they feel using off-site IT services. Interestingly, non-cloud users are overwhelmingly leery, with 66 percent saying that security is their greatest concern. The report, “Cloud Computing Perception 2013: The Hybrid Cloud in Healthcare,” profiles the evolution of the cloud in healthcare, provider concerns and vendor performance.
“The contrast in this report between cloud users and non-users is really telling,” says Erik Westerlind, research director and report author. “It really helps providers and vendors get a sense of the gaps that exist within current cloud offerings. Furthermore, providers will understand which vendors might be able to resolve their concerns.”
The rated vendors in this report are Allscripts, Cerner and Siemens. Learn more at www.KLASresearch.com/KLASreports.
EHRs
McKesson expands its million-dollar software giveaway
McKesson’s initiative to recognize and reward physician practices that provide unreimbursed healthcare to America’s neediest citizens has gone national. The McKesson Gives Back program, launched in November 2012 in select cities, is now available to qualifying physicians and clinics across the United States.
Physicians and clinics selected by the program are provided with McKesson Practice Choice, a fully integrated, Web-based electronic health record (EHR) and practice management solution. They receive a free 26-month license, which typically carries a $399 per month fee for each physician. The ONC-certified software gives providers clinical, financial, operational and patient tools to help manage their practices and provide quality care.
Program acceptance is on a rolling basis until 100 providers are selected. Ten software packages have been awarded to date. To qualify, physicians must specialize in primary care, internal medicine, family practice, gynecology or pediatrics; be in private practice (not hospital employed); work in a practice of one to 10 physicians; have a demonstrated history of providing unreimbursed care to the low-income community for six months or more; and have broadband or high-speed Internet connectivity in the location where the physician expects to use the software.
The program aligns with McKesson’s Better Health 2020, an initiative designed to help healthcare providers achieve better patient care, better business health and better connectivity in their communities. Learn more at www.mckessongivesback.com.
