Announcements
Noridian announces that as an added feature to the Noridian Medicare Portal (NMP), providers and suppliers who submit their redeterminations and/or reopenings through the portal will now receive the Level 1 Medicare Redetermination Notices (MRNs) via NMP. This means that if the outcome of the redetermination or reopening results in a fully favorable (payable) determination, the Remittance Advice (RA) will continue to be the method of communication; this process will continue. For all other decisions, which would receive an MRN, the method of communication will be the Appeal Status Inquiry feature in the NMP.
This enhancement means that providers and suppliers will now be able to obtain their MRNs quickly and efficiently, with the option to print the determination letter, when they use the NMP for submission. Because MRNs will no longer be mailed, please ensure that the appropriate staff are enrolled as an NMP user.
Noridian encourages the submission of electronic reopenings/redeterminations and all supporting documentation (10MB per file; unlimited file submission per claim) via the NMP. This submission method ensures that the redetermination or reopenings contains all required information, including the signature on redetermination requests. For more information, click here.
The Academy is warning ophthalmologists that the federal government may seek to recoup physician incentive payments given to promote electronic health record adoption. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General issued a report documenting millions of dollars in EHR incentives overpayments for the 2011-2014 performance years. The investigators are urging the agency to undertake meaningful use audits to assess the validity of these awards. The Academy is urging practices who received these payments to get your documentation in order. Start by relying on Academy resources that can help you successfully navigate a meaningful use audit
If you haven’t yet heard, Frontiers in Medicine, the Wyoming Medical Center-sponsored CME meeting will be vastly different this year. The conference is now called, Frontiers in Primary Care: 2017 and will be held April 20-21 in Casper at the Ramkota. More information is forthcoming, but if you like to save the date for important events, here is your chance.
The Prevention Management Organization of Wyoming sent a reminder to WMS and others this week regarding the locations of all of the Prescription Drug Donation Drop boxes in the state. They can be found here.
Publications
The Official CMS news from the Medicare Learning Networks, also known as MLN Connects released a June 8 edition with posts on reducing legionella risk in water systems, hospice review of first provider reports and more. The June 1 edition of MLN Connects featured a post about new Medicare Cards offering more protection for patients and more.
RT Welter and Associates, a Denver-based healthcare services firm, offers its monthly newsletter with a post about the Social Security Number Removal Initiative for Medicare. The newsletter also touches on coding and offers tips for practices. RT Welter’s June 4 edition featured a small post on soft skills and Todd’s Tips on an honest Proforma.
Providers Clinical Support System has released two new podcasts on opioid abuse. One is the Non-Opioid Pharmacological Management of Chronic Pain and the other is Naltrexone as Treatment for Opioid Abuse Disorder. Click here to check them out.
In a blog that appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, Nora Volkow. MD, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and Francis Collins, MD, Director of the National Institutes of Health, reiterated the NIH’s commitment to not only addressing the opioid overdose epidemic, but also to finding alternatives to opioids for treating pain through increased research efforts.
The United Healthcare Network Bulletin is the organization’s monthly publication for participating care providers. In the latest edition they have posts on a new telemedicine policy, colorectal cancer screening webinars, and an important change for network DME providers.
Not to be out-done, Cigna also sent a provider communication piece in June regarding the WannaCry ransomware. It reads, “You may have received an email from Cigna@mail.hiperos.com with the subject line “Hiperos 3PM Cigna Survey: Cyber Threat.” Please note: This is a valid request from Cigna. If this is your first time using our automated survey system, you will receive an introductory email with your username and password. Cigna kindly requests that you complete the survey as soon as possible. Your answers will be held in strict confidence. If you received the Hiperos survey and are not the correct contact for your company, please forward the message to the correct contact. This malicious software attack has been detected across multiple sectors in more than 74 countries and affects several versions of the Microsoft operating system. It is crucial to patch all operating systems to prevent attacks and take steps to prevent the introduction and propagation of this malware.”
KEPRO, released its Case Review Connections a quarterly e-newsletter from your Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organization (BFCC-QIO). Click here if you are an acute care provider and interested in reading more. Click here if you are an post-acute provider.
Webinars and Conferences
The Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho chapters of the American College of Surgeons will have its annual meeting in Big Sky, Montana, Jan. 26-27. All specialties are welcome to attend. A registration link will be coming in October, but for questions or comments, email csportsman21@outlook.com.
If you haven’t yet heard, Frontiers in Medicine, the Wyoming Medical Center-sponsored CME meeting will be vastly different this year. The conference is now called, Frontiers in Primary Care: 2017 and will be held April 20-21 in Casper at the Ramkota. More information is forthcoming, but if you like to save the date for important events, here is your chance.
Mountain Pacific Quality Health and the American Cancer Society offers a webinar pointing out an evidence-based approach to improving your practice’s colorectal cancer screening rates. This is the first of a four-part webinar series and is presented by Dr. Durado Brooks, manager director of Cancer Control Intervention, Prevention and Early Detection at ACS. The webinar is set for noon-1 p.m. on June 20. For more information, contact Amber Rogers at arogers@mpqhf.org.
Mountain Pacific offers a number of upcoming webinars. On June 20 from 1-2 p.m. it offers Session Four of Creating a MIPS Action Plan. This session will include steps you can take to address MIPS, things to consider when pulling all four categories together and information to keep for audit purposes.
Session Five of its series on MACRA and MIPS is called Scoring and Submission Methods and will cover how each category of MIPS will be scored. That webinar is slated for June 27 from 1-2 p.m.
Finally, Session Six of the series is called Improving Your Score and will be offered July 11 from 1-2 p.m. This session will include information about using the eCQI process to select areas for improvement and how to use a methodology to guide the improvement process.
Remember the Face-off keynote from last week’s WMS Annual Meeting? His hospital in Boston – Brigham and Woman’s Hospital along with Harvard Medical School offers a CME called Healthcare Quality and Safety 2017 Oct. 16-17 in Boston. This is a conference for those who plan, manage, or support quality and safety initiatives.
The US Department of Veterans Affairs, the Army Medical Command and the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury present a webinar on Opioid Therapy for Chronic Pain: Understanding Updated Guidelines on June 22 from 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. The new guideline, “Clinical Practice Guideline for Opioid Therapy for Chronic Pain,” includes evidence-based information to help providers manage all aspects of patient care. It also supports the Military Health System goal to improve patient health and well-being Sign up for the webinar at http://dcoe.cds.pesgce.com.
The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense also offer a Suicide Prevention webinar on June 13 from 1-2:30 p.m. Click here for more details.
The American Association of Addition Psychiatry reminds folks that its 28th Annual meeting and Scientific Symposium will take place in San Diego, Dec. 7-10. Dr. Michael Scimeca along with Dr. Thomas Penders and Dr. Brian Hurley will present a case focusing on synthetic cannabinoid abuse and Dr. Corneliu Stanciu will be the fellow. The overall goal of the Case Conference is to reveal the thinking, reactions, and clinical approaches our experts personally bring to treating patients with substance use disorders and to stimulate attendees to become as involved as our presenters in responses and discussion.
The UNMC Olson Center for Women’s Health sponsoring a Breastfeeding Conference in Omaha Aug. 23. Earlybird registration is $115 and it costs $140 after July 26. The keynote speakers are Dr. Jane Morton and Dr. Alison Stube. For more information, call 402-559-6345.
The National AHEC Organization offers a free continuing education opportunity to learn more about the HPV vaccination. This self-study guide, gets you one AMA category 1 credit and is run by Julianne Gee, MPH of the CDC. The presentation includes information about vaccine safety systems in the US, HPV vaccine safety data, and safety monitoring and evaluation for the 9-valent HPV vaccine.
Mountain-Pacific Quality Health offers a webinar called Medicare Coding and Billing for Vaccinations, which is scheduled for June 28 at 1 p.m. The presentation will be an introduction to Medicare beneficiaries vaccination coverage and detailed information on what forms should be used and how billing works. This presentation will identify the difference between vaccinations covered under Part B and Part D and diagnosis, procedure and vaccination codes that should be used.