| | |
| |
FMQAI
the Medicare
QIO for Florida, is your
collaborative, quality
improvement partner
working with nursing homes, home health agencies, hospitals, physicians and managed care organizations.
|
|
December
Flu Shot
Reminder | | |
Vaccinate Early to Protect Against the Flu. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends a yearly flu vaccination as the first and most important step in protecting against flu viruses. Medicare pays for the flu vaccine and its administration for seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries with no co-pay or deductible. This year's vaccine will protect against three different flu viruses, including the H1N1 virus that caused so much illness last flu season. Take advantage of each office visit and start protecting your patients as soon as your 2010-2011 seasonal flu vaccine arrives. And, don't forget to immunize yourself and your staff. Get Your Flu Vaccine - Not the Flu.
Remember - Influenza vaccine plus its administration are covered Part B benefits. Note that influenza vaccine is NOT a Part D covered drug. For information about Medicare's coverage of the influenza vaccine and its administration, as well as related educational resources for health care professionals and their staff, please visit: |
| | |
Important
Dates
December 2010
| |
National Handwashing Awareness Week
December 5-11
click here...
&
National Influenza
Vaccination Week
December 5-11
click here... |
|
|
HAPPY HOLIDAYS! |
|
Greetings!
Welcome to the December 2010 edition of Health eNotes: |
|
December 
National
Handwashing
Awareness
Week Dec. 5-11
To read more...
National Influenza Vaccination Week
Dec. 5-11
This national health observance was established to highlight the importance of continuing influenza vaccination, as well as fostering greater use of the flu vaccine after the holiday season and into January and beyond. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) needs your help to ensure that people with Medicare get their flu vaccine. National Influenza Vaccination Week presents an excellent opportunity for you to place greater emphasis on flu prevention.
This year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is encouraging everyone 6 months of age and older to get vaccinated against the seasonal flu. During NIVW, CDC has designated the following special days:
- Monday, December 6 is "Family Vaccination Day"
- Tuesday, December 7 is "Chronic Conditions Day"
- Wednesday, December 8 is "Employee Health Day"
- Thursday, December 9 is "Older Adults Vaccination Day"
- Friday, December 10 is "Young Adults Vaccination Day"
Please use these designated days to encourage family members, seniors and your staff to get their seasonal flu vaccine. Remember, Medicare pays for the seasonal flu vaccine and its administration for all beneficiaries with no co-pay or deductible. Protect your patients. Protect your family. Protect yourself. Get Your Flu Vaccine - Not the Flu. For more information about NIVW, please visit: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/nivw/.
For information about Medicare's coverage of the influenza vaccine and its administration, as well as related educational resources for health care professionals and their staff, please visit the following CMS websites:
http://www.cms.gov/MLNProducts/Downloads/Flu_Products.pdf and
http://www.cms.gov/AdultImmunizations. |
|
PAY FOR
PERFORMANCE
NEWS
Regional Extension Center News
The small to mid-size practices of today need to identify and acquire health information technology tools to adapt and grow in our changing times.
Help and Support is Available
If you see Medicare or Medicaid patients and have adopted or plan to adopt a "certified" EHR by 2015, you could be eligible for federal incentives worth tens of thousands of dollars per doctor, provided you can demonstrate "meaningful use." Final certification criteria are still being hammered out by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
But if you still need help, look for the Regional Extension Center (REC) in your area to provide assistance. It is their responsibility to help small to mid-size practices adopt, implement and use their EHRs according to the definitions of meaningful use. The cost to a qualifying physician or practice for this federal incentive money-winning service is usually zero, or there may be a minimal charge. The REC services are paid by federal funding.
There are four regional extension centers in Florida. To learn more and find the REC in your area, click here to check on the HIT Extension Program.
Special Notice to physicians and practices in Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, Collier, Glades and Hendry counties:
The Center for the Advancement of Health IT (AHIT) is your Regional Extension Center. Registration for the REC services is now in progress. Don't delay! Sign up today.
Call 813-865-3351 and speak with Laura Gamba for information on how to receive the free services or email RECTeam@FMQAI.com.
EHR Incentive Program: Certified Health
IT Product List
Providers must use certified Electronic Health Record (EHR) technology in order to earn incentives under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. How can you be sure which EHR technology has been certified?
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has published the Certified Health IT Product List (CHPL), a comprehensive listing of complete EHRs and EHR modules that have been tested and certified under the Temporary Certification Program. Each complete EHR and EHR module included in the CHPL has been tested and certified by an ONC-ATCB, with reports validated by ONC. Only those EHR technologies appearing on the ONC-CHPL may be granted the reporting number that will be accepted by CMS for purposes of attestation under the EHR Incentive Programs.
The listing will be updated as additional products are certified by ONC-ATCBs and reported to ONC for validation. For more information about this product listing, visit http://healthit.hhs.gov/CHPL. For more information on the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, visit
http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms.
|
|
IMMUNIZATION
NEWS
CDC Report Finds Adult Vaccination
Rates Still Lagging
US Health Officials Urge Adults to Think Beyond the Annual Flu Shot
"Although there have been slight increases in some adult vaccination rates, U.S. health officials reported on Wednesday [November 17] that those rates are still not what they should be.
"'We needed vaccinations as infants and toddlers, but we also need vaccinations as adults, 'Dr. Susan J. Rehm, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, said during an afternoon news conference Wednesday." (HealthDay News) read more...
Influenza
What's new about the flu vaccine for the 2010-11 flu season? (CDC). For more Q&As about the flu vaccine for the 2010-11 flu season,
click here...
|
|
CRC
NEWS
Colon Cancer Screening
Screening: Many Skip Follow-up Tests for Colon Cancer
Many patients who undergo fecal blood tests for colon and rectal cancer fail to take another test within two years as recommended, a study reports. (New York Times). read more...
|
|
EDUCATION
NEWS
2010-2011 Immunizers' Question & Answer Guide
Posted to CMS.gov
The updated Immunizers' Question & Answer Guide to Medicare Coverage of Seasonal Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccinations for the 2010-2011 flu season has been posted to the CMS website.
To link directly to it, click here...
Please note that the guide states, "The issues involved in Medicare and Medicaid billing and administration can be complex and may vary state to state. For this reason, we recommend that you contact your local fiscal intermediary/AB MAC, carrier/AB MAC (Part B), or the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Regional Office for more detailed information."
|
|
CMS
NEWS
Medicare Improves Access to Preventive
Services for 2011
New Physician Payment Policies Emphasize Role of Primary Care
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule with comment period that will implement key provisions in the Affordable Care Act of 2010 that expand preventive services for Medicare beneficiaries, improve payments for primary care services, and promote access to health care services in rural areas. The new policies will apply to payments under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) for services furnished on or after January 1, 2011.
The final rule with comment period implements provisions in the Affordable Care Act that expand beneficiary access to preventive services and, for the first time, provide coverage under the traditional fee-for-service program for an annual wellness visit, beginning January 1, 2011. This visit augments the benefits of the Initial Preventive Physical Examination (IPPE or "Welcome to Medicare Visit") with an annual visit that allows the physician and patient to develop a personalized prevention plan that considers not only the age-appropriate preventive services generally available to Medicare beneficiaries, but additional services that may be appropriate because of the patient's individual health status.
CMS will accept comments on certain aspects of the final rule with comment period until January 3, 2011.
To view the rule and supporting documentation, click here...
To read the entire CMS Press Release issued on November 3, 2010, click here...
CMS also issued Fact Sheets (November 3, 2010) with additional details at:http://www.cms.gov/apps/media/fact_sheets.asp |
|
|
|
|
