December 31, 2013

January 1, 2014

  2014 is the last year that Medicare eligible professionals can begin participation and earn an incentive.

Start of Stage 2 for eligible professionals beginning their 3rd or 4th year in the Medicare/Medicaid incentive programs.

February 28, 2014

See Complete CMS MU Timeline 

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FOR PQRS

February 28, 2014

Deadline for eligible professionals to submit 2013 PQRS data through some reporting methods for the 2013 program year.

Last day for Medicare eligible professionals participating in the Electronic Reporting Pilot to submit quality data to satisfy both the PQRS and the CQM requirement of the EHR Incentive Program.

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FOR ICD-10

October 1, 2014 

CMS Finalizes Physician Payment Rates for 2014

CMS News - Nov. 27, 2013

CMS Makes Outpatient Facility Policy and Payment Changes

CMS News - Nov. 27 2013

ICD-10...The Clock is Ticking

 learn more...

Happy Holidays!

From all of us at Health Technology Services

Deb Anderson 

Susan Clarke

Lisa Corino

Mary Erickson

Patty Kosednar

Sarah Leake

Sharon Milanos

Mark Norby

Issue #15   

Join us for our 2014 webinars below - registration is required.

Stay Tuned for Future Webinar Dates 

Open MU Q&A (For HTS MU subscribers only) - January

** details on how to Become a MU Subscriber **

HIPAA Privacy & Security - February

 See details on our website www.healthtechnologyservice.com

Friday, December 6, 2013

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a new timeline for the implementation of meaningful use for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. Under the revised timeline, Stage 2 will be extended through 2016, and Stage 3 will begin in 2017 for those providers that have completed at least two years in Stage 2.

Additionally, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) proposed an approach for certification that allows ample time for developers to create and distribute certified EHR technology before Stage 3 begins.

The goal of these changes are two-fold: first, to allow CMS and ONC to focus efforts on the successful implementation of the enhanced patient engagement, interoperability and health information exchange requirements in Stage 2; and second, to utilize data from Stage 2 participation to inform policy decisions for Stage 3.

The phased approach to program participation helps providers move from creating information in Stage 1, to exchanging information in Stage 2, to focusing on improved outcomes in Stage 3. This timeline allows for program analysis of Stage 2 data to inform the improvements in care delivery outcomes in Stage 3.

According to the Government Accountability Office, professionals who received technical assistance from a Regional Extension Center in 2012 were 1.9 times more likely to receive an incentive payment than those who did not.  Regional Extensions Centers throughout the nation are prepared to continue supporting providers in their pursuit of quality care through the meaningful use of their electronic health records (EHRs).

Cloud service is becoming popular in the healthcare industry for the ease of enabling swapping files.  But, healthcare organizations need to be cautious in using cloud-base products such as Dropbox who are currently not HIPAA compliant.

According to a November 19, 2013 article by Mike Miliard, Managing Editor of Health IT News, cloud-based vendor, Dropbox, is currently not HIPAA compliant.  In order for Dropbox or any other cloud-based vendor to be HIPAA compliant, they would have to sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) which Dropbox is unwilling to do so at this time. 

Dropbox itself makes that point clear on its website "Dropbox does not currently have HIPAA, FERPA, SAS 70/SSAE 16, ISO 9001, ISO 27001, or PCI certifications. We'll update this page with any new certifications as we receive them."

 .

 read the entire article..."Dropbox in healthcare: A love/hate thing"

2014 HIMSS Spring Convention & Trade Show

May 15-16, 2014

Fairmont Hot Springs Resort

near Anaconda, Montana
 

One of the prime missions of the MT/WY Chapters of HIMSS is to promote networking and educational opportunities to future HIT professionals in an effort to "grow our own" resources as a solution to HIT staffing shortages experienced across Montana and Wyoming. 

To that end, the Montana Chapter of HIMSS is offering student sponsorships to cover convention expenses, as well as additional funds to cover HIMSS student membership fees. For more details, check out the HIMSS website

Montana's Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) have received a grant of $300,000 over three years to fund Health IT education among staff serving Montana's rural hospitals and Community Health Centers (CHCs). The grant will allow the AHEC to fund scholarships for qualifying individuals so that they may continue their education in Health Information Technology (HIT) and Health Care Informatics (HCI). For the purposes of this program the term rural is defined very broadly and includes most of Montana with the exceptions of Billings, Missoula, and Great Falls.

This program will provide tuition support to health care workers in their efforts to master the meaningful use of new health information technologies, such as the Electronic Health Record. Learners who are accepted into the AHEC program, will receive substantial support for tuition and books, allowing them to enroll into any one of the four participating schools- Montana Tech, Missoula College, Flathead Valley Community College, and Great Falls College.

If you know of someone who may qualify, or would like to obtain an application for the scholarship program, contact Cindra Stahl at cindra.stahl@montana.edu.

by Joseph Goedert, December 9, 2013 

Houston Methodist Hospital learned on Dec. 5 that an encrypted laptop and some paper files were stolen, and began notifying patients, local media and federal officials on Dec. 6.

Although most of the compromised information was on the encrypted device and not subject to reporting under the breach notification rule, the hospital is offering a year of paid identity theft protection services to all 1,300 transplant patients affected by the breach.

 learn more... 

by Joseph Goedert, December 10, 2013 

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey is offering 839,711 members a year of paid credit and identity protection services from Experian after two password-protected but unencrypted laptop computers were stolen.

The theft of the laptops, cable-locked to employee workstations, occurred on the weekend of Nov. 1. "A detailed review led by outside computer forensic experts has confirmed that the laptops may have contained files with differing amounts of member information," according to a statement from the insurer. This includes name, address, date of birth, member number, Social Security number and limited clinical information.

 learn more... 

Have you reviewed your practice processes to make sure that your patients' personal health information is protected and secure?

Even though there are no changes to the HIPAA Security Rule, if you are participating in Stage 1 or Stage 2 of the EHR Incentive Programs, you need to conduct a security risk analysis of your practice to meet Meaningful Use requirements. 

Read the latest CMS tipsheet on how to conduct your Security Risk Analysis.

Don't want to conduct your own Security Risk Analysis? 

Contact your HTS REC Health Technology Consultant for help or

Patty Kosednar 406-461-4410

Let Health Technology Services assist you with your HIT needs, from EHR selection/implementation to meaningful use and beyond.  Our HIT services also include: 

• MU Year 2 Monitoring and Stage 2 Preparation
• MU 2014 Risk Assessment Review
• MU Stage 2 Consulting
• HIT Consulting and Project Management
• HIPAA Privacy and Security Assessments and New Network Penetration Testing
• New Lean Sigma Healthcare Methodology
• New Lean Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) 
• New HSMDirect Secure Messaging  

Contact your HTS REC Health Technology Consultant for help or 

Patty Kosednar 406-461-4410 
See more at about these services on our website

Patty Kosednar

Executive Director

Health Technology Services, MT/WY Regional Extension Center

...a division of Mountain-Pacific Quality Health

406-461-4410

www.heathtechnologyservice.com