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As many are aware, October 1st, 2013 marks the deadline for the requirement that health care providers upgrade their International Classification of Diseases coding system to the 10th edition.  However, in mid-February this year, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the postponing of the compliance deadline to an unspecified date to allow providers more time to prepare.  While some worry about losing time and money already spent on the upgrade progress of their electronic medical record software, many see the extra time as an opportunity to ensure thorough compliance to the new standard.

The deadline delay has not slowed down physician questions about ICD-10, according to Bizmatics sales rep Kemp Stephens.  “Doctors want to know when we’re going to be ready,” he says and explains that Bizmatics does have a department currently working to bring their PrognoCIS software up to compliance to meet deadline.  Another common question received regarding the ICD-10 is whether or not it will be included in the upgrade or if it will come at an extra cost.  Stephens assures that ICD-10 is included in PrognoCIS and the updates.

Curiously, Stephens finds that the upcoming coding change petrifies many doctors.  “They’re scared because it’s a whole new language,” he empathizes.  “They’re already looking at EMR as slowing down and ICD-10 will slow them down more.”  ICD-10 is so detailed that it actually contains 5 times the amount of diagnostic codes than for ICD-9.  Stephens explains it includes very specific codes for detailed events, such as a fall.  The physician will have to fill in the code in their electronic medical record for the events surrounding the incident.  “Was it [the fall] down some stairs or because they tripped over a bicycle?”  Doctors will have to implement an education program to learn ICD-10 and perhaps rely on the help of coders.

Despite the worry and strife ICD-10 (and its delay) is currently causing, the end result will improve the overall quality of health care.  “By gathering data from across the country, you start to get a detailed, granular look at how different things happen to people,” says Stephens.  “It can be useful for looking at trends overall and for the government, as to where resources need to be and to get better healthcare.”

Many physicians have little to no experience with EMRs and implementation, so the process tends to overwhelm most of them.  In response, the regional extension center (REC) was created to provide accurate information on availability, cost and quality of health information technology services to physicians and purchasers.  With 77 locations throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico, RECs are independent regulatory agencies who promote informed decision making and plan for the health system needs of the physicians who practice in that state.

From a vendor’s point a view, the regional extension center serves as a great tool to connect doctors with EMR vendors.  Bizmatics appears on 30 of the 77 REC site lists, says Anthony Bates, Bizmatics sales rep.  Using the state of Maryland’s Health Care Commission website as a prime example, prospective buyers can view and compare vendor product pricing, security policies and case studies related to electronic health care record systems.  “All our competitors have to have to meet the guidelines set by that regional extension center,” says Bates.  The vendor guidelines vary from state to state; for example, a state may require prospective vendors to already have a certain number of customers in their state to get listed on the website.  REC sites work great for vendors, claims Bates, if the vendor meets requirements and the EMR software is certified, they get listed.  However, some REC sites chose to remain vendor-neutral.

Receiving assistance from an REC actually improves the doctor’s chances of choosing the best EHR and successfully meeting meaningful use.  Some physicians started on paper charts and need the extra guidance; the REC holds their hand in regards to demos of EMRs the doctor is looking at – they set up the interface between the doctor and vendor.  “Doctors really need someone in their state that they can rely upon and not pay an ungodly fee,” says Bates.   “The role of the REC is to be someone neutral that has the doctor’s best interest in mind – that’s why the pricing matrix is for all vendors, so they get to see the cost up front.”  Physicians reap the benefits by having all this information on a website and it provides an assessment for their practice.  The REC is paid grant money to work with the physicians and therefore, the physician gets to engage with someone neutral that doesn’t have ulterior goals in mind.

EMR implementation would be so much less stressful if there was a surefire way to pass meaningful use attestation. No re-applying for the next attestation cycle, no having to upgrade software and you’d get those reimbursement payments rolling in. PrognoCIS offers the ARRA Dashboard, helping doctors meet the core measurements of meaningful use to successfully attest Stage 1.

Launched in March of 2011, the ARRA Dashboard feature of the PrognoCIS EMR solution was developed to demonstrate the progress of meaningful use implementation. The Dashboard has easy to read gauges that clearly tell the doctor whether or not they have met the percentage required for each core objective and menu set. According to PrognoCIS sales rep Anthony Bates, there are actually two dashboards for reference: the main panel dashboard and the Mini Dashboard. The main dashboard gives the doctor the complete picture of the percentage of criteria being fulfilled such as CPOE orders, medication allergies, smoking status and patient demographic for a specific period of time. The Mini Dashboard, Anthony Bates pointed out, provides doctors “detailed information at the encounter level.”

While other EMRs offer similar variations of the dashboard feature, PrognoCIS’ ARRA Dashboard stands out against the rest by giving doctors fulfillment status updates in real-time, meaning no having to wait until the next day or week to run reports. The Mini Dashboard for individual encounters is also a unique feature. “On the close of every visit, we show the progress of the visit per meaningful use,” said Anthony Bates. The Mini Dashboard gives a thumbs up or thumbs down rating for each measure, making certain of the entry of data at each step of the encounter. At the end of an encounter, doctors sign off to indicate the encounter is complete. They are given the opportunity to go back and fill in any missing information needed to fulfill core implementation requirements that guarantee a successful electronic health care record attestation.

Medical Professionals using PrognoCIS EMR have begun to receive their payments. If you have any questions about the ARRA Stimulus, please contact your PrognoCIS EMR representative by calling 877-693-6748 or e-mailing us at mu@bizmaticsinc.com.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) confirms payout of $400 million to qualified medical professionals that as of July 31, 2011. The attestation period for the initial American Reinvestment & Recovery Act (ARRA) Stimulus is coming to a close. Medical Practices that have adopted an Electronic Medical Records software program have until October 1, 2011 to file with CMS for their share of the stimulus dollars. After the October 1st deadline passes the final 90 days of EMR Meaningful Use will be passed. A medical professional that qualifies for ARRA Stimulus must be using an EMR at the “Meaningful Use” level for a period of 90 days during this Attestation Phase. This means simply registering with CMS and identifying the certified EMR by code and “Attesting” that you are using the EMR at a Meaningful Use Level, and the check will be forth coming.

July 5, 2011 (San Jose, CA) – Clinical and business productivity solutions provider Bizmatics is announcing the launch of the ARRA Dashboard in their flagship EMR software PrognoCIS.  Dedicated to making it easier than ever for practices to obtain their ARRA funding, Bizmatics’ new tool allows users to track their progress on meeting the requirements for Meaningful Use.

The ARRA allots for federal incentives to practices and hospitals that use electronic medical records in order to help cover the costs of implementation.  However, the EMR must meet specific standards in order to qualify the user to receive this funding, and until now doctors have had no clear way of knowing whether they meet all the requirements.

Bizmatics’ feature-rich PrognoCIS EMR system now includes an ARRA Dashboard which serves as a clear, graphic representation of the practice’s progress on Meaningful Use implementation.  “We are very delighted to release this powerful graphical tool to help clinics secure their stimulus funding,” says Vinay Deshpande, CEO of Bizmatics and a key figure in the development of PrognoCIS EMR.  “With the click of a button, customers will instantly know the status of their implementation for ARRA.  The Dashboard reemphasizes our focus in usability, intuitive and ubiquitous interfaces, and easy workflows.”

Modeled after an automotive dashboard, the screen features a number of different “gauges” with needles pointing from zero to 100 to indicate the practice’s status in meeting the requirements.  The graphic design of the dashboard conveys the most important data quickly and effectively, and it highlights the critical information on one screen with real-time monitoring.

In addition to providing a view of progress at the provider level, PrognoCIS also shows the level of progress achieved at the encounter level with a Mini-Dashboard.  The Mini-Dashboard presents a complete picture of patient data collection and ensures that the user does not miss any steps and gathers all important data.  PrognoCIS also provides computerized alerts and reminders at different levels of data capture.  Bizmatics’ EMR developments simplify Meaningful Use and make it easy for practices to qualify for federal financing.

About Bizmatics
Bizmatics Inc. is a leading EMR, medical practice management and medical billing service provider with an emphasis on cutting-edge technology and user-friendly features.  Their PrognoCIS EMR system is CCHIT- and ONC-ATCB-certified.  For more information, visit http://www.bizmaticsinc.com.