Health Technology Services Newsletter

Issue 44  May 2016
Your Trusted Source for Staying Current with Health Technology Information   
Top 5 What You Need to Know Now!
click on the links for more information






Register for FREE Webinars
CMSwebinarsTuesday, May 3, 2016 - 10-11 am MDT
Overview of the Quality Payment Program Proposed Rule
Presented by CMS
Webinar Description
The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) changes the way Medicare rewards clinicians for providing quality care by streamlining multiple quality programs into a new Quality Payment Program tied to Part B Fee-For-Service payments. With the implementation of MACRA and the replacement of the Sustainable Growth Rate, we will pay clinicians participating in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System or Advanced Alternative Payment Models of the Quality Payment Program beginning in 2019.
 
This listening session is an opportunity for stakeholders to provide CMS early feedback on proposed policy for the Quality Payment Program. We encourage participants to review the proposed rule (CMS-5517-P) prior to the listening session.
  

Wednesday, May 4, 2016 - 10-11 am MDT
The Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) in the Quality Payment Program
Presented by CMS
Webinar Description
As one path of the quality payment program, MIPS streamlines 3 currently independent programs to work as one to ease clinician burden. MIPS also adds a fourth component to promote ongoing improvement and innovation to clinical activities.
 
This listening session is an opportunity for stakeholders to provide CMS early feedback on proposed policy for the Quality Payment Program. We encourage participants to review the proposed rule (CMS-5517-P) prior to the listening session.
 

Tuesday, May 10, 2016 - 12-1 pm MDT
MACRA Listening Session: Quality Payment Program Proposed
Presented by CMS
Webinar Description
The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) changes the way Medicare rewards clinicians for providing quality care by streamlining multiple quality programs into a new Quality Payment Program tied to Part B Fee-For-Service payments. With the implementation of MACRA and the replacement of the Sustainable Growth Rate, we will pay clinicians participating in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System or Advanced Alternative Payment Models of the Quality Payment Program beginning in 2019.
 
This listening session is an opportunity for stakeholders to provide CMS early feedback on proposed policy for the Quality Payment Program. We encourage participants to review the proposed rule (CMS-5517-P) prior to the listening session.
 

Tuesday, May 10, 2016 - 1-2 pm MDT
HIPAA Enforcement, Business Associates and Breach Notification
Presented by HealthInsight, Health Technology Services and
HIPAA One
Webinar Description
HIPAA privacy and security officers and administrators - join us for an update on the latest HIPAA enforcement activities and requirements for managing business associates and breach notification.
 

Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - 1-2 pm MDT
Are You Planning for PQRS 2016?
Presented by Health Technology Services
Webinar Description
Join us to review changes in the 2016 PQRS program and key dates for scheduling your activities. We will look at the pros and cons of group versus individual reporting as well as options you have for reporting.  It's not too early to start planning for your PQRS participation in  2016!

Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - 11 am - 12 pm MDT
PQRS: Quality Reporting and Tool Introduction/Preview
Presented by QualityNet
Webinar Description
Join us for a PQRS Overview and Reporting Tool Introduction.
 

Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - 1-2 pm MDT
PIN UP - Lessons Learned
Presented by Health Technology Services
Webinar Description
Montana's Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) and Montana Hospital Association (MHA) funded Performance Improvement Network's Unleashing the Power (PIN UP) project is winding down. Now we want to share what we've learned with you!

Join Mary Erickson of Health Technology Services, department of Mountain-Pacific Quality Health, as she shares lessons learned, successes and obstacles. 


Did You Miss our Latest Webinar - Making Sense of Clinical Quality Reporting in 2016?
Need help with your clinical quality reporting?  On April 5, Mary Erickson, HIT/QI Consultant with Health Technology Services, presented hospital and eligible professional quality reporting requirements for the meaningful use program as well as inpatient and outpatient quality reporting in 2016.  View the recording and presentation slides.
 
Do you have a webinar topic you would like us to present?  Email your hot topic to Deb Anderson.  See our upcoming webinars.
Top 5 What You Need to Know Now!
T1Meaningful Use (MU):  What is the new MACRA proposed ruling that will replace MU for Medicare EPs?
On April 27th, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule to implement key provisions of the Medicare Access and Chip Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) with a new approach to paying clinicians for the value and quality of care they provide. 
Currently, Medicare measures the value and quality that physicians and other clinicians provide through a variety of programs. In the MACRA legislation, Congress streamlined these programs to help clinicians transition to payments based on value from payments based on volume.
Scheduled to be published in the Federal Register May 9, this proposed rule creates a "Quality Payment Program" to replace the old reporting programs, including the Medicare Meaningful Use Program.  The proposed rule would affect Medicare payments to physician offices, not Medicare hospitals or Medicaid programs.
"This proposal, if finalized, would replace the current meaningful use program and reporting would begin January 1, 2017," said CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt.

Comments will be accepted through June 27, 2016 at the Department of Health & Human Services eRulemaking website.
For more information, read

Register for a CMS MACRA Proposed rule webinar.

 

Find all the latest Meaningful Use resources on our HTS website. Need assistance with MU?  Please contact HTS.


Top2Meaningful Use (MU): Do you know what to do to meet EHR Incentive Program Requirements for 2016?
Stay current with all the EHR Incentive Program requirements for 2016 at CMS 2016 Program Requirements website.  Here you will find all the objectives and measures, including alternate exclusions, and any latest changes to specific objectives.  You will also find registration and attestation checklists as well as a complete list of resources.

Here is an important update to the 2016 requirements.
Objective 9 - Secure Electronic Messaging
This objective has a phased approach for its measure's threshold. For 2016, the measure is "For an EHR reporting period in 2016, for at least 1 patient seen by the EP during the EHR reporting period, a secure message was sent using the electronic messaging function of CEHRT to the patient (or the patient-authorized representative), or in response to a secure message sent by the patient (or the patient-authorized representative) during the EHR reporting period."
Find all the latest Meaningful Use resources on our HTS website. Need assistance with MU?  Please contact HTS.
 
Top3Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS):  Need help finding the 2016 eCQM updates for EHs and EPs?
Recently the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) posted the 2016 annual update for electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) for eligible hospitals and eligible professionals. Providers will use these updated measures to electronically report 2017 quality data for CMS quality reporting programs.

CMS updates the specifications annually to improve their alignment with current clinical guidelines and code systems so that they remain relevant and actionable within the clinical care setting.

The updated measure specifications are available on the CMS website eCQM Library and the Electronic Clinical Quality Improvement (eCQI) Resource Center.

  • 29 updated measures for eligible hospitals for the 2017 reporting period

Reporting period for eligible hospitals is defined as the measure data capture period of the calendar year between January 1 and December 31.

  • 64 updated measures for eligible professionals for the 2017 performance period

Performance period for eligible professionals is defined as the measure data capture period of the calendar year between January 1 and December 31.

Need help with PQRS - contact Sarah Leake, HTS Health Technology and Quality Consultant, or check out our new 2016 HTS Services designed to help you stay current with changing regulations for MU, MACRA, PQRS and so much more.

Top4Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS):  When can I register for 2016 PQRS GPRO?
Groups can now register to participate in the 2016 Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) Group Reporting Option (GPRO) via the Physician Value - Physician Quality Reporting System (PV-PQRS) Registration System. PQRS GPRO is an option available to groups with 2 or more eligible professionals (EPs). Groups must meet the satisfactory reporting criteria through the PQRS GPRO in order to avoid the -2.0% CY 2018 PQRS payment adjustment. More information is available on the PQRS Payment Adjustment Information web page.
Groups can participate in the PQRS program for the 2016 performance period by selecting one of the GPRO reporting mechanisms between April 1, 2016 and June 30, 2016 (11:59 pm EDT):
  • Qualified PQRS Registry
  • Electronic Health Record (EHR) via Direct EHR using certified EHR technology (CEHRT) or CEHRT via Data Submission Vendor
  • Web Interface (for groups with 25 or more EPs only)
  • Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR)
The Registration System can be accessed using a valid Enterprise Identify Management (EIDM) account. Instructions for obtaining an EIDM account with the correct role are provided on the PQRS GPRO Registration web page. Instructions for registering to participate in the 2016 PQRS GPRO are provided in the 2016 PQRS GPRO Registration Guide.
Need help with PQRS - contact Sarah Leake, HTS Health Technology and Quality Consultant, or check out our new 2016 HTS Services designed to help you stay current with changing regulations for MU, MACRA, PQRS and so much more.

T5HIPAA Security:  Does your hospital have safeguards in place to prevent a cyber attack?
At the beginning of April, hackers took control of MedStar Health's computer system, shutting down electronic operations of 10 regional hospitals and 250 clinics.  MedStar Health is Washington's second-largest health system.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation is currently looking into this cyber attack.

The demand for hospitals to expand digital services, including patient access to health records, telehealth and mobile registration, made this attack unnerving for hospitals and the health care industry.

Hospitals are more at risk for sophisticated attacks like ransomware that MedHealth experienced.  Ransomware is a software bug that can lock people out of a system until a payment is made. Attackers often threaten that if no payment is made, they will wipe the system clean making it impossible to recover any files including secure patient data.

Read more about Hospital Safeguards against Cyber Attacks in 4/8 MHA Weekly News Report.

Need help with your organization's privacy and security requirements?  Email Susan Clarke, ISC2 Certified Health Care Information Security and Privacy Practitioner with Health Technology Services, or call 307.248.8179.  See 2016 HTS HIPAA Security Offerings.
HTS Contact Information
Health Technology Services is a department 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! 
 
Thank-You!    
 
Health Technology Services
Mountain-Pacific Quality Health
Contact HTS at (406) 457-5897
  
Coming Soon!
Don't Miss the
MT HIMSS 2016 Annual Conference & Trade Show
 
May 10-12, 2016
Big Horn Resort, Billings MT
 
The conference will include Montana and Wyoming participants - all passionately dedicated to the concept of "Transforming Health Through IT". 

A dynamic agenda includes presentations that are relevant to today's issues in health care and health IT. 
 
Click 2016 MT HIMSS Conference for more details, agenda and to register. 
Thank You!
National Hospital Week is celebrated this month. 
 
We would like to thank our hospitals and the dedicated women and men who support the health and wellbeing of our rural communities through dedication and compassionate care from the heart.
Clinic Corner
Do you know what quarterly MU audit evidence documentation is needed and why?  Stay current with the latest MU and PQRS information and webinars in the Clinic Corner at our HTS website.
Hospital Corner
Did you know that OCR has begun its next phase of audits of covered entities and their business associates? Visit the Hospital Corner at our HTS website for the latest webinars and information.
When will your SLR be available for 2015 MU Medicaid Attestation?
Below are the various state level registry websites and deadlines for 2015 Meaningful Use attestation.

EPs - open 4/30 - 6/30
EHs - open 9/30 - 11/30
not available yet
EPs - open 4/29 - 7/29
EHs - open late August
EPs - open 5/2 - 6/30

QIO Corner
Heart Health Awareness!

May is American Stroke Month and National High Blood Pressure Education Month - a great opportunity for you to talk with your patients about improving their cardiac health.
 
Here are some tools you can use to help people understand that strokes and high blood pressure are largely preventable, treatable and beatable.
 
Come See Us
May 10-12, 2016
Visit Mary Erickson, HTS Consultant, who will be speaking Wed May 11 at 1:30 on Lost in Translation at the  2016 MT HIMSS 5th Annual Spring Conference & Trade Show in Billings MT.
 
Visit with Deb Anderson, MT HIMSS President-Elect, during the conference.
 
May 11-12 2016
Stop by and visit Sharon Phelps at the Mountain-Pacific Quality Health booth at the  2016 Wyoming Immunization Conference in Casper WY.
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 Deb Anderson for details.
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