June 27, 2013

E-prescribing instances, hardship exemptions must be submitted by June 30 to avoid 2014 penalties

The deadline to report 10 e-prescribing instances or claim a hardship exemption to avoid 2014 e-prescribing program penalties (2 percent of Medicare Part B claims) is this Sunday, June 30, 2013.

Requests for hardship exemptions must be submitted through the CMS Communication Support Page by 11:59 p.m. ET (9:59 p.m. MT) on June 30 of this year. Hardship exemptions must be submitted annually and apply to physicians practicing in a rural area without sufficient high-speed Internet access or those barred by local, state, or federal law from e-prescribing.

Those who successfully e-prescribed in 2012 do not need to meet this reporting requirement in 2013. Other exclusions can be found in the Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program: 2014 Payment Adjustment Fact Sheet.

Registration for 2013 Annual Meeting now open
Join CMS in Vail Sept. 20-22

Registration for the Colorado Medical Society's 143rd Annual Meeting is now open. Make plans to join us in Vail for "Mardi Gras in the Mountains," a celebration injected with a touch of Cajun spice, humor and joie de vivre.

> Click here to download a PDF registration form. Online registration will be available soon.

Don't forget to reserve your hotel room at the Vail Marriott Mountain Resort. Click here to reserve your room online. The CMS group rate starting at $149/night for a standard room is available through Sept. 4, 2013.

For more information on Annual Meeting, including the agenda, go to www.cms.org/events/annual-meeting.

Download hydraulic fracturing confidentiality agreement
Physicians must complete Form 35 to legally request and share names
of certain chemicals related to hydraulic fracturing

Earlier this year, CMS received confirmation from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission that a physician has the right to access specific proprietary or confidential information - above what is available in the public domain - if it is necessary to care for a patient, and that physicians are able to share the information with "patients, other health care professionals or health systems, and with public health agencies" without violating trade secret or confidentiality laws.

In an April 2013 letter, COGCC Chairman Thomas Compton described the rule. "Commission Rule 205A requires oil and gas operators, vendors, and service providers to disclose the specific identity and amount of hydraulic fracturing chemicals claimed to be a trade secret to any health professional who requests the information, has a reasonable basis to believe that knowledge of the information will assist in diagnosis or treatment of a patient, and executes a Form 35 confidentiality agreement."

The required form obligates the physician to only use the information for medical diagnosis and other health needs.

Click here to read the full letter.
Click here to download Form 35.

AMA prescription for a healthier practice:
Increase your practice's efficiency

The AMA has released a new resource - the Administrative Burden Index (ABI) - that can aid your practice in identifying the cost of processing claims with the participating health insurers in the National Health Insurer Report Card. AMA created the ABI to encourage increased physician and payer engagement in identifying and reducing current administrative hassles in the physician practice claims revenue cycle.

Your practice can get a head start on reducing administrative hassles by using electronic transactions, such as electronic funds transfer (EFT) and electronic remittance advice (ERA), with helpful guidance from AMA's toolkits.

This tip is part of the AMA Practice Management Center's "Prescription for a healthier practice" series.
New member benefit: DocbookMD

The Colorado Medical Society is proud to present a new, FREE member benefit, DocbookMD. DocbookMD is a HIPAA-compliant mobile app that allows physicians to send messages, text patient information, and exchange images such as X-Rays or EKGs over a secure mobile platform. It functions in a way that complements what we already do daily, but not in a way that adds work, wastes time, or burdens us with new systems.

Download DocbookMD from the Apple App store for iPhone, and iPad, or Google Play for Android devices. Go to docbookmd.com for more information.

CO Drug Card Help your patients save money
with free prescription drug card

The Colorado Medical Society has partnered with Colorado Drug Card to provide savings to your patients of up to 75 percent on prescription drugs at over 56,000 retail pharmacies. You can help by encouraging your patients to print a free Colorado Drug Card at www.coloradodrugcard.com. The cards are even customizable to your practice; click here for more information.

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