Here we go again. With nearly five months until the mandated ICD-10 implementation deadline, it appears some lawmakers are championing for yet another delay of the international coding system. Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX), a longtime detractor of ICD-10, has once again proposed a bill that would halt the upcoming compliance deadline. In what amounts to a duplicate of Poe's failed bid to stop ICD-10 back in 2013, the Cutting Costly Codes Act of 2015 aims to “prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services form replacing ICD-9 with ICD-10 in implementing the HIPAA code set standards.” Poe is hoping the 2015 version of this bill will receive more consideration from the House than it did two years ago, but as of now it's considered a long shot.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services developed the Physician Quality Reporting System to encourage providers to report quality of care data to Medicare. The ultimate intention is to develop a national health information infrastructure that will give the regulatory body data necessary to improve care quality across a wide variety of measures, such as patient engagement and treatment outcomes.
The healthcare industry is in a state of transformation. Providers have a lot to think about in terms of government mandates, from HIPAA compliance to meaningful use requirements to the ICD-10 transition to continuously updating Physician Quality Reporting System measures. Meeting the basic requirements to comply with healthcare IT mandates may be good enough for some, but the truly successful practices will strive to go above and beyond. Consider some of these suggestions for not only complying, but thriving, in the face of evolving healthcare mandates:
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was developed in 1996 not only to make it simpler for people to maintain health insurance, but also to enhance the confidentiality and security of health care information. While it has been around for nearly two decades, full implementation of HIPAA is still very much under way, and providers have continued to make changes, from implementing new defenses to upgrading practice management software, in order to comply.
Many of you have probably heard the rumors that CMS has released a proposed Meaningful Use flexibility rule, which could change the rules for the 2015 Meaningful Use reporting period. A proposal was released in April and rule-makers have 60 days to discuss the changes before anything is finalized. Experts in the field agree that a final decision should be released in the July/August timeframe.
Transcript: Hi there, and welcome back to the Nextech blog! Today we'll be discussing how to talk to your staff about the impending ICD-10 transition.
Take Advantage of Your EHR The Physician Quality Reporting System is in full force for 2015, offering several methods of reporting, each with their own rules and standards. Nextech provides a way for clients to report electronically, allowing a more streamlined all in one report. For 2015, you can align your Clinical Quality Measures for the Meaningful Use EHR Incentive program with the 9 PQRS measures across 3 domains. If you participated in Meaningful Use in 2014, you should already have the measures in your EHR and we’ll be able to pull a report for the 2015 submission process.
1997 was a year to remember, many would agree.
