FMQAI Health eNotes March 2011

Have you registered for the CMS Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs yet? Registration for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs has already begun, and providers and hospitals began receiving their Medicaid EHR incentive payments in January. The University of Kentucky Healthcare, the University of Kentucky's teaching hospital, and Central Baptist Hospital became the first hospitals to receive payments, and physicians at the Gastorf Family Clinic in Durant, Oklahoma, became the first eligible professionals to collect their initial Medicaid EHR Incentive Program payments.

Not sure if you are eligible to participate in the EHR Incentive Programs? Need help with registration? The Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs website features several resources to assist you, including:

The Eligibility Widget - In order to register, you must first find out if you qualify as an eligible professional or eligible hospital. The eligibility widget will walk you step-by-step through the eligibility requirements, letting you know if you qualify for the Medicare or Medicaid EHR Incentives Programs. You can find this resource on the CMS website at: http://www.CMS.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/15_Eligibility.asp.

Information About Registration - To help you prepare, a list of all the information you will need during your registration process is provided for both eligible professionals and eligible hospitals. You can find this resource on the CMS website - click here...
The Eligible Professional Registration Webinar - Are you ready to register? Check out the registration webinar for eligible professionals, which provides video guidance to help you through the registration process. View at:
http://www.YouTube.com/user/CMSHHSgov#p/u/0/sKngNjd8luc.
Hospital Tip Sheets - Located on the EHR Incentive Programs website are helpful tip sheets providing information on payment and eligibility guidelines for Medicare, Medicaid, and Critical Access Hospitals. Click here... to find these resources.
EHR Listserv - CMS has created a new listserv specifically about the EHR Incentive Programs. The listserv will provide timely, authoritative information about the programs, including registration and attestation updates and details about the payment process. By subscribing to the listserv, you'll be kept informed of upcoming deadlines and answers to the questions and concerns that we have gathered from eligible professionals and hospitals in the field. New updates will be emailed through the listserv to keep you informed of any developments, and subscribers will be notified of any new FAQs that are published on the CMS EHR Incentive Programs' website. To sign up and learn more, click here...

Learn more about the EHR Incentive Programs and keep up to date at: http://www.CMS.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms.

EHR Incentive Programs: Not Sure Where to Start?

Everyone's talking about the Medicare & Medicare Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs. Not sure what it's all about? CMS has developed the following tip sheets to get you started. You can view them electronically or order free printed copies.

Payment and Eligibility for Professionals

Payment and Eligibility for Hospitals

And for more information, visit http://www.CMS.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms for the latest news and updates on the EHR Incentive Programs.

EDUCATION
NEWS

The CMS' Provider Communications Group will host a national provider call to provide updates on the 2011 Physician Quality Reporting System and electronic prescribing (eRx) incentive programs. Deadline to register for the call is March 7.

Register for the March 8 national provider call

HIT/EHR

NEWS

Regional Extension Centers

Available to Help Providers

with Meaningful Use of

Certified EHRs

Practices considering the implementation of an EHR system often ask: Are we ready? How do we pay for it? Which system is right for us? How can we implement the system with minimal disruption to our practice? What do we need to know about data security and patient privacy?

One key to success in adopting EHRs is to ensure that your practice has the help and guidance it needs to select the right system, implement it, and effectively utilize the technology. This can lead to improvements in office workflows, better and timelier access to critical information, and can further enhance the provider/patient relationship.

For this reason, the federal government has allocated $677 million in funding through the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, to establish at least one Regional Extension Center (REC) in every state. These centers are charged with providing education and technical assistance to primary care providers to help them adopt and achieve "meaningful use" of certified EHR systems.

For more information on the RECs, including the list of the 62 RECs and their contact information, visit the Health Information Technology Extension Program page on the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) website.

The center for the Advancement of Health IT (AHIT) is the Regional Extension Center for north and southwest Florida. Visit AdvanceHealthIT.org for more information.

IMMUNIZATION

NEWS

March Flu Shot Reminder

It's Not too Late to Give and Get the Flu Vaccine. Take advantage of each office visit and continue to protect your patients against the seasonal flu. Medicare will continue to pay for the seasonal flu vaccine and its administration for all Medicare beneficiaries through the entire flu season. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that patients, healthcare workers and caregivers be vaccinated against the seasonal flu. Protect your patients. Protect your family. Protect yourself. 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 healthcare 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.

This material was prepared by FMQAI, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for Florida, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy.

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