Sequestration impacts EHR incentives and Medicare payments CureMD EMR 10:49 AM

Since US deficit ($1.2 trillion) has been going up to an uncontrollable level; sequestration was a much needed act—an idea to save cost by cutting down on budgets given to different healthcare organizations of the government.

This has definitely affected EMR incentives and Medicare payments, but this was needed to be done in order to control the deficit.  The cut is for all payments processed after April 1, 2013. Small scale healthcare practices will not feel the impact since the cut is only two percent for Medicare EHR incentives. Eligible hospitals will surely feel a big cut in their pockets.

The payment cut of Medicare is one way government is trying to control the deficit. On March 1, 2013, the Congress under the leadership of President Barack Obama started a massive campaign about government’s budget reduction. For CMS, $11.1 billion in Medicare reductions have been proposed by the Congress, with $5.8 billion in Part A reductions and $5.3 billion in Part B reductions. Another reduction for CMS of 2% is suggested for Medicare EHR Incentive Payments. For eligible professionals (EPs), the reduction for first time Medicare program participants are set to be from $15,000 to $14,700.

Medicare reduction in payments is expected to have some triggers in relation to April 1, 2013 implementation of the cuts, one of the triggers is:

·         Prosthetics and orthotics including claims under the DME Competitive Bidding Program will be subject to the 2% reduction. It will be triggered by the date of service of the start date for rental or multi-day equipment and supplies on or after April 1, 2013.

The sequestration cut has caused distress across the nation. The need to control costs by the government has been realized way back 25 years since the enacting of the Reagan-era Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (BBEDCA). Though the cuts will have significant impact on EHR Incentives and Medicare Payments but in the long term, the government will be able to transform the healthcare industry by making providers realize the importance of reducing costs by the use of technology, and being a part of the revival of the healthcare industry.

The importance of web-based EMR CureMD EMR 11:14 AM

Paper-based world is the un-future. Paper-based world needs to end, though it is popular in some medical offices even today but transformation is slowly taking place since 1990. Obamacare is pushing hard for the much delayed change and this revolution is just not another IT Project. Web-based EMRs are unique in the sense that the information is not soloed: an inefficient organization structure. Some of the key features of a web-based EMR like CureMD are: 

Real-time self service: The basic email function to any other vital function of the business is available on demand to practically anyone, anywhere and anytime.

Easy upgrades: The system of upgrade in the cloud is managed efficiently as the upgrades can be applied across networks on any instance of software at any time.

Customization: With CureMD’s personalized web-based EMR software, the changes could be made easily and quickly for our clients. Every customer is unique and providing customization in the cloud gives an edge to our clients because traditional software wastes a lot of time in the customization process.

Accessibility: Web-based EMR has a significant edge over traditional EMR software because web-based EMR provides accessibility along broad range of devices. As the world becomes ‘techie’, health care providers will require their data to be accessible on devices like iPads, laptops and traditional PCs.

Resource pooling: Pulling resources along several networks in one place allows the use of resources in an efficient manner. Multiple users can access resources/data at the same time, making use of the same tools and functions.

‘E’ for Expansion: Web-based EMR has the ability to expand at a rapid pace allowing its user base to grow without any effect on cloud based system. Web based EMR can easily meet demand and supply chain unlike its traditional counterpart.

Concluding the discussion, it is safe to say that web-based EMRs are the way to go forward instead of having traditional, server-based systems.

What makes the ideal PM software CureMD EMR 2:32 PM

Practice Management (PM) software essentially deals with the day-to-day administrative operations of running a medical practice. So the ideal PM software would have features or tools that integrate within a provider’s daily operations and facilitate its workflow.

With every patient comes loads of patient data that needs to be captured and stored. The ideal PM software makes it easy to do everything related to patient medical records including: storing scanned images and documents, demographic information, insurance information, financial history of the patient, and appointments.

The PM should also make it easy to navigate as well as provide other services such as alerts, referral tracking, memos, to-do lists, and the ability to send messages to patients and other staff within a practice.

One of the major tasks for any provider is scheduling appointments. A good PM gives tools to control your schedule and set up appointments depending on the dynamics of specific practices.

Features such as referral information, co-payment amounts and checkout, alerts for outstanding balances and the ability to search for open time slots on a particular date will be available on a good PM software.

Practice Management software will also generally give providers billing options that will fit perfectly with the other available options. This allows providers to bring together payments efficiently, process claims with more accuracy, and track charges all along the way.

Claims management feature will be able to keep track of all claims. This enables swift reimbursements and shorter billing cycles. Because this serves as an alternative to in-house billing, providers will incur lower labor costs and processing time.

Another feature in an ideal PM is the ability to make customizable reports from patient data and collections data.

Given the highly beneficial options available in comprehensive Practice Management software, effective usage, implementation and integration with the practice system will greatly enhance workflows.