Quality in Practice: A monthly newsletter from TMF's Doctor's Office Quality Improvement team

Register Now: Earn Free CME/CNE for Flu Vaccination Education

All clinical and administrative staff are invited to participate in October 15 Webinar.

TMF will present "Staff/Patient Influenza Vaccinations: Are you ready? Flu season is here!" at 12:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, October 15. This one-hour, Web-based educational opportunity will help your staff learn the facts about vaccinations as well as prepare them with the information your patients need to make decisions for themselves and their families.

Call-in and registration information is posted at Upcoming Events on the TMF Web site.

CMS Releases Guidance on Incentive Payments for EHR Use
Agency recommends coordinating systems for Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services notified state Medicaid directors earlier this month that states will be reimbursed 100% for incentive payments made to providers who demonstrate "meaningful" use of electronic health records. This directive included a recommendation that payment systems should include Medicare reimbursements as coordination activities develop.

New Web-Based PQRI and E-Prescribing Training Available from Medicare
Continuing education credits available for completion.

The 60-minute online course describes how to complete, submit and maintain required documentation to successfully participate in Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) and Electronic Prescription Incentive (E-Prescribing) programs. The course is directed at physicians, health care professionals and medical administrative staff.

The course can be accessed online through the Medicare Learning Network. Scroll down to "Related Links within CMS" and select the "Web Based Training (WBT) Modules." Register as instructed, if needed. Once on the Web-based training module page, select the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative and Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program WBT from the list provided in the lower left pane.

All publicly available information for PQRI is posted here, and information for E-Prescribing is posted here.

Colorectal Cancer Screenings Disparities Persist Even in "Safety Net" Setting
Leading predictors of screenings are regular visits and insurance coverage.
A review of administrative records of a Texas "safety net" health system shows that those patients who saw the doctor regularly or who had insurance were up to four times more likely to have had a colorectal cancer screening. The study looked at 54- to 75-year-old eligible patients served by Tarrant County's John Peter Smith Hospital Health Network. Only 22% of this population had been screened for colon cancer, compared with the national average of 61%. Rates dipped nearly to zero among patients with no insurance or regular health care appointments.

Audit Process for New HIPAA Rules Unclear
Strengthened rules in stimulus package not backed with enforcement guidelines.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) officials have not issued specifics regarding how the recently updated security and privacy stipulations for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in the stimulus package would be enforced. HHS officials have suggested that an expansion of current audits or a partnership with the inspector general could cover enforcement of the new regulations.