Health Technology Services NEWSLETTER

Issue 35 - August 2015 

congratulations

 Health Technology Services Earns National Recognition for Reaching Significant Milestone

 

Join us in congratulating Health Technology Services (HTS) who recently met 100 percent of its milestone target by successfully assisting 1,000 priority primary care providers in achieving Electronic Health Record (EHR) Meaningful Use

Milestone 3!

  

"This is a significant accomplishment," says Sara Medley, CEO for Mountain-Pacific Quality Health, the parent organization of HTS. "In a recent letter from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information and Technology (ONC), HTS was commended for not only ensuring Montana and Wyoming providers meet their EHR meaningful use requirements, but the letter also lauded HTS leadership and staff for translating often complex and sometimes unknown requirements into a plan to help providers who needed assistance most," Sara said.

 

 

 Montana's Critical Access Hospitals Receive Award from HRSA

 

Montana's critical access hospitals understand the importance of providing consistent quality care and strive to make sure their patients receive the best! And they're doing a good job - so good that the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recently honored their efforts with a Flex Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) award!

 

This award is for exemplary quality performance on 2012 to 2014 MBQIP inpatient measures. Montana was in the top 10% for 2 of 5 inpatient measures-pneumonia and heart failure.

 

Join us in congratulating Montana's CAHs on a job well done! 

 

 Deb Anderson 

Appointed
 President Elect of HIMSS 

 

Congratulations to

Deb Anderson, Health IT Consultant for Health Technology Services, who will serve as the new president elect of the Montana Chapter of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).

 

Her term as president elect will begin on August 1, 2015, and it is a position she will hold for two years before becoming president. HIMSS, a global not-for-profit organization, focuses on better health outcomes through information technology. Deb currently serves on the board of the Montana Chapter of HIMSS.

 

Provider/Clinic Corner

 

Did OCR come knocking to do an audit?  Here's some helpful advice. 

 

Get the latest information on these important topics at our Provider/Clinic Corner.

Hospital Corner

  

Did you hear that hospitals participating in MU for the first time in 2015 can attest now? 

 

Get the latest information on these important topics at our Hospital Corner.

QIO Corner

 

Registration Open for WY Quality Conference

  

Register now for the WY Quality Conference: Becoming a Partner in Care to be held Aug. 19-20, 8am-5pm, at the Ramkota Hotel & Conference Center in Casper, WY. Mountain-Pacific Quality Health and the Wyoming Geriatric Education Center (WyGEC) have partnered to host this FREE conference, which is open to all health care providers, members of the public and caregivers.  Questions? Contact Pat Fritz.

 

Register Now and get more information.

 

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The QIO Program in Action:  National Benefits, Local Support

   

Join us for a new learning series brought to you by the QIO program!

 

During this kick-off webinar on August 4, Director of Quality Improvement and Innovation Group, Dennis Wagner from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), will describe the vision of the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO).  

Register Now and get more information.

 

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Don't Miss

"Million Hearts Recommends Preventative Screenings" Webinar

 

September 15, 2015

10 - 11am MDT

Dr. Mary Ann Bauman

Presenter. Register Now

 

Join Our List

 Come See Us!

    
August 19-20, 2015
Stop by and visit the HTS and Mountain-Pacific Quality Health QIO booths at both the Wyoming Quality Conference and Wyoming DOH Immunization Conference in Casper WY.
  
September 2-4, 2015
Stop by and visit the HTS and Mountain-Pacific Quality Health QIO booth at the Wyoming Health Association Conference in Casper WY.
 
September 23-25, 2015
Don't miss Patty Kosednar, HTS Executive Director, who will be speaking at the Montana Health Association Conference in Billings MT.  Also stop by and see Deb Anderson, HTS Consultant who will be sharing a booth with Christy Fuller from Mountain-Pacific Quality Health QIO as well as Mary Erickson who will attend the CEO meeting on September 23.
 

Planning An Upcoming Event?

 

HTS has HIT/CMS Program subject matter experts who can present current and relevant information on many HIT/Quality Reporting topics.  

 

Contact Patty Kosednar for details

Quick Links

CMS EHR Program Info

 

MU Stage 2 Details

 

HTS MU Services

 

HTS HIPAA SRA Services

 

HTS PQRS Services

 

Upcoming HTS Webinars  

  

HTS Services

 

Let Heath Technology Services assist you with all your Health Information Technology needs.

 

2015 Meaningful Use - Tiered Service Offerings 

 

2015 Security Risk Analysis - Tiered Service Offerings

 

PQRS Reporting Assistance - Tiered Service Offerings

 
MU/PQRS/ICD-
10 Combined Services - Tiered Service Offerings


HIT Consulting & Project Management Service Offerings 

 

See details for all services on our website 
YOUR TRUSTED ADVISOR FOR KEEPING CURRENT WITH HEALTH TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION 
HTS Top 5-What You Need to Know

Right Now!  

 Click on the links for more information...

 

Did you hear that hospitals participating in MU for the first time in 2015 can attest now?

 

Have you heard about our collaborative PIN UP project? 

 

While I'm waiting for the 2015 MU changes to be announced, what should I be doing?

 

Your ePHI and Internet applications may not mix well.  Read this recent OCR bulletin to make sure you have strong safeguards in place.

 

What if I didn't sign up for an EIDM account now that IACS transitioned to EIDM on July 13?

 

  Don't Wait - Register for our FREE

Webinars!

Register NOW for our next webinars! 

 

 

 

Coming Soon

2015 CMS Meaningful Use Changes 

A webinar will be scheduled once CMS finalizes and approves the Meaningful Use changes that will take effect in 2015.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday

August 5, 2015

2-3 pm MDT

QRUR - An Important Part of PQRS 

Why should I pay attention to my QRUR?  The Quality Resource Use Reports (QRURs) are part of CMS's Physician Feedback Program which provides physicians with comparative information about the quality and cost of the care delivered to their Medicare fee-for-service patients. CMS will use QRURs to preview the performance scores that will be used in calculating the value-based payment modifier (VBM), a program for physician reimbursement that rewards value rather than volume.  

 

This webinar will be an overview of the different QRUR reports, their content and how they can be a beneficial resource in quality reporting for 2015.

  

Topics include

 * Review of the QRURs available and where to access

* Explanation of key areas of the QRUR as it relates to PQRS

* Identify resources for reference and further education

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

register 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday

September 1, 2015

11am-12pm MDT 

MU Audits - Changes in 2015 

Why should I stay up-to-date with MU audits? 

CMS EHR incentive program audits continue to change in both who is conducting them and how they are conducted. Prepare your organization to survive the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive program audits.


Topics include
*  Audit Types and Sources
*  Common Audit Triggers
*  Audit Notification and Appeals Processes
*  Audit Questions and Responses    

 

 

 

 

 

register

 

Subscriber Webinars Soon to be Scheduled

 

Meaningful Use Stage 1 Open Forum
Meaningful Use Stage 2 Open Forum
HIPAA Security Education - For Your Staff
Quality Reporting Open Forum

 

Learn how to become an HTS Subscriber and enjoy the benefits! 

 

Did You Miss our Latest Webinars on Protecting and Securing Health Information and ICD-10 What Your Clinicians Need to Know Now?

 

Are you ready for the ICD-10 transition?  On July 15, Dr. Joe Nichols, leading ICD-10 specialist and board-certified orthopedic surgeon, shared his extensive ICD-10 knowledge.  Don't miss ICD Training for Office Staff, Hospitals and/or Clinicians.
 
Do you worry about the security of your patient information?  On July 8, Susan Clarke, HTS Director of Operations, helped us understand the 2015 PQRS program and reporting options.  Don't miss Susan's Protecting and Securing Health Information presentation.
 
Do you have a webinar topic you would like us to present?  Email your hot topic to Patty Kosednar.  See our upcoming webinars.

HTS Top 5-What You Need to Know

Right Now!    

TopOneDid you hear that hospitals participating in MU for the first time in 2015 can attest now?

 

CMS will allow hospitals participating in the Medicare Electronic Health Record Incentive Program for the first time in 2015 to attest between now and August 14, 2015.

 

Eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) participating in meaningful use for the first time this year may attest to a 90-day reporting period for fiscal year (FY) 2015. CMS is allowing eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) participating in meaningful use for the first time the ability to attest.

 

The hospitals must first register in the CMS Registration and Attestation System.  Once the registration is active, the hospital should contact Elizabeth Holland to provide the hospital name, CMS Certification Number and contact person information.

 

Read more...

 

Need help with meaningful use?  Contact HTS - we'll be happy to help you.

 

TopTwoHave you heard about our collaborative PIN UP project?


The MT DPHHS, MT Health Research & Education Foundation and Mountain-Pacific/HTS have recently joined efforts (and dollars) to provide technical assistance with EHR quality reporting to members of the MHREF Performance Improvement Network.

 

Funding was made available to assist 25 Montana critical access hospitals over the next year to assess and improve their organization's data-reporting capabilities using the EHR.  We hope to share what we learn so that CAHs can continue to participate in initiatives, make quality improvement happen internally, and keep up with changing reporting requirements.

 

We are just getting the project started so look for more updates to come soon - like Montana Health Association Convention in September in Billings...hint hint...

 

Questions about the PIN UP project?  Contact Mary Erickson at merickson@mpqhf.org.
 

TopThreeWhile I'm waiting for the 2015 MU changes to be announced, what should I be doing?

 

We are expecting CMS to finalize and announce the 2015 Meaningful Use changes any day. In the meantime here are some tasks you'll need to do this year for MU regardless of the changes. These can be worked on now:

  1. Verify you are on the 2014 certified version of your EHR
  2. Activate any new EPs in the PECOS system
  3. Register any new EPs with Medicare/Medicare EHR program
  4. Determine your Medicaid eligibility (for Medicaid program only)
  5. Implement Patient Portal functionality in your EHR
  6. Validate CQM data for needed measures (no proposed changes)
  7. Schedule/perform your security risk assessment
  8. Run current year MU reports and identify gaps
We recommend you actively work on your meaningful use tasks while waiting for the changes to be announced. Any work you can do now will reduce your effort once you begin your reporting period. Please contact us for more detailed information on how you can prepare for MU prior to the changes. HTS will present a public webinar to provide updated information on the 2015 MU changes once they are announced by CMS.
  

For information on how to proceed with MU 2015 until the MU changes are finalized, please see the presentation from our recent webinar.

 

TopFourYour ePHI and Internet applications may not mix well. Read this excerpt from a recent OCR bulletin to make sure you have strong safeguards in place. 
 

"...Specifically, the complaint alleged that workforce members used an internet-based document sharing application to store documents containing electronic protected health information (ePHI) of at least 498 individuals without having analyzed the risks associated with such a practice.  Additionally, OCR's investigation determined that SEMC failed to timely identify and respond to the known security incident, mitigate the harmful effects of the security incident, and document the security incident and its outcome. ... "

 

"Organizations must pay particular attention to HIPAA's requirements when using internet-based document sharing applications," said OCR Director Jocelyn Samuels. "In order to reduce potential risks and vulnerabilities, all workforce members must follow all policies and procedures, and entities must ensure that incidents are reported and mitigated in a timely manner."

 

Read more from the OCR bulletin...

 

Need help with your clinic or hospital's privacy and security needs?  See our HIPAA Security Assistance, or contact Susan Clarke, HCISPP at HTS  for more information.
 

TopFiveWhat if I didn't sign up for an EIDM account now that IACS transitioned to EIDM on July 13?

  

CMS transitioned Individuals Authorized Access to CMS Computer Services (IACS) accounts to the Enterprise Identity Management System (EIDM). Beginning on July 13, 2015, an IACS account can no longer be used to access a group or solo practitioner's Quality and Resource Use Reports (QRURs).  Instead, an EIDM account will be required to access QRURs at https://portal.cms.gov.

 

  • If you do not have an IACS or EIDM account, follow the instructions to sign up for an EIDM account with the correct role.
  • If you have an IACS account that you previously used to access QRURs, follow the instructions to sign up for an EIDM account. You will be allowed to perform the same tasks using your EIDM account that you were able to perform with your IACS account.
  • If you already have an EIDM account, follow the instructions to sign up for the correct role in EIDM.

 

There have been questions and problems regarding correct access and ability to see the Physician Feedback Reports. It was noted by QualityNet that the 2013 Feedback reports will not be available in EIDM, but the 2014 Feedback Reports will be available later this summer.

 

If you have issues with access, please contact the QualityNet Help Desk at 1 (866) 288-8912.

 

On a positive note about PQRS Reporting and MU...

 

For EHR Incentive Program participants - if a PQRS group practice satisfactorily reports for 2015 PQRS using the electronic reporting option, the participating NPIs will also satisfy the CQM component of the EHR Incentive program.  However, the individual EPs will still be required to meet the other Meaningful Use objectives through the Medicare EHR Incentive Program Registration and Attestation System.

 

See PQRS EHR Reporting Made Simple, Page 2.

 

Need help with PQRS - take a look at our Quality Program Reporting Assistance, or contact us directly.

       HTS Contact Information      
Health Technology Services is a division of Mountain-Pacific Quality Health Foundation, QIN-QIO for Alaska, Hawaii, Montana and Wyoming.  Together we can help you use technology to deliver the quality care your patients deserve!
 
Contact HTS at (406) 457-5897
Thank-You!                   

 

Patty Kosednar

Executive Director

Health Technology Services, MT/WY Regional Extension Center

...a division of Mountain-Pacific Quality Health

(406) 461-4410