Nov 24, 2021 | Live Compliance, Partner
Have you performed and identified your organization’s vulnerabilities with a Security Risk Assessment this year? We understand that achieving and maintaining compliance is a delicate matter as it requires auditing, constant supervision, good staffing, adequate policies, and procedures, along with excellent reporting and investigation of any issues.
The process of assessing and maintaining compliance to any standard is the same, irrespective of the industry but especially when HIPAA compliance is required:
1. Start with a complete understanding of all the rules that you are expected to follow.
2. Establish internal policies and procedures to ensure your organization follows the rules.
3. Regularly check and assess whether or not your organization is following the rules.
4. Address issues whenever you discover the rules are not being followed.
5. Document everything.
6. Perform accurate and thorough Security Risk Assessment(s)
Are you unsure or not clear on what your organization is required to do?
THINGS TO CONSIDER:
● A Security Risk Assessment will target vulnerabilities related to what is potentially exposing Protected Health Information. Correct any potential risks identified within your Technical, Administrative, and Physical deficiencies.
● A Security Risk Assessment should be completed at least twice a year to target vulnerabilities
● Your policies and procedures should be thorough and accurate and reflect the Corrective Action Plan that is determined by the Security Risk Assessment and remediation steps should be taken to correct any deficiencies or vulnerabilities found.
● Workforce training should reflect the organization’s HIPAA Policies and Procedures
Would you like to schedule a compliance team meeting phone conference? If so, please contact support@livecompliance.com or at (980) 999-1585 and one of our compliance support team members will reach out to you.
ABOUT EZCLAIM:
As a medical billing expert, EZClaim can help the medical practice improve its revenues since it is a medical billing and scheduling software company. EZClaim provides a best-in-class product, with correspondingly exceptional service and support. Combined, EZClaim helps improve medical billing revenues. To learn more, visit EZClaim’s website, email them, or call them today at 877.650.0904.
Nov 24, 2021 | EZClaim
In a post-2020 world, consumers now expect every purchase and transaction they make to be personalized, digital, and simple. Groceries can be delivered and paid for with one click of a button. You can try on clothing virtually, get fitted for glasses, and even visit your doctor through your mobile device. To remain competitive, consumer-driven industries have had to create new and innovative ways to engage customers.
The healthcare industry has seen this shift as patients are behaving more like consumers in their healthcare interactions. Switching to a customer-centric mindset can be tricky for the healthcare industry as balancing patient communication and adhering to HIPAA and other regulations is essential. However, these new expectations have opened the door for the medical billing industry to innovate and move forward.
For the medical billing industry, consumers are asking for simplicity and convenience, but they still want choices. According to Healthcare Finance, fewer patients are paying their medical bills by check as the shift to online payment accelerates. It is important for the medical billing industry to understand that while a large segment of older Americans still pays bills through the mail, in-person, or by check, there are growing numbers of patients who prefer an online and mobile bill payment option.
As a solution to the ever-changing environment of payment reconciliation, in 2020 EZClaim launched EZClaimPay with the following features:
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- Allows medical staff to text and email patients with payment reminders
- Allows patients to make payments on their mobile devices or online
- Save credit cards online for fast easy patient payments
- Gives patients the ability to save and print their own receipts
- Patient payments made online import directly to your EZClaim Billing program
- Collect payments 24-hours a day with no change to your “schedule”
In a rapidly changing world that is becoming more technology-based, the medical billing industry must keep up with current consumer trends. EZClaimPay is an excellent tool to keep your practice cutting edge and offers your patients the latest in bill-paying options.
ABOUT EZCLAIM:
As a medical billing expert, EZClaim can help the medical practice improve its revenues since it is a medical billing and scheduling software company. EZClaim provides a best-in-class product, with correspondingly exceptional service and support. Combined, EZClaim helps improve medical billing revenues. To learn more, visit EZClaim’s website, email them, or call them today at 877.650.0904.
Nov 18, 2021 | Partner, TriZetto Provider Solutions
With two more states recently joining the list of locations that allow Full Practice Authority, many nurse practitioners are exploring the option of operating independently. As the need for qualified healthcare professionals continues to grow and the ability for NPs to practice independently continues to increase, quickly gaining credentials and navigating compliance challenges becomes more and more important.
Recently, Massachusetts and Delaware became the latest states to enact Full Practice Authority (FPA) for nurse practitioners (NPs), bringing the total number of states to 24. With this new inclusion, nearly half of U.S. states now allow nurse practitioners to operate on their own. Essentially, this means that registered nurses can practice independently from physicians, allowing for more autonomy in their careers and the care they provide.
So why this is significant? This means that registered nurses can practice independently from physicians, allowing for more autonomy in their careers and the care they provide. Nurses are no longer “tied” to physicians, so to speak.
These new laws cannot come at a better time. We know that the amount of practicing medical doctors has dwindled in recent years, due to the pandemic and many providers leaving the field. This has led to a short supply of physicians in the U.S., which has only 2.6 practicing physicians per 1,000 people, compared to 4.3 in Sweden and 3.2 in France. This decrease is driving unprecedented demand for nurse practitioners (NPs), with an expected increase of 52% through 2029.
Traditionally, state practice and licensure laws required NPs to have a career-long collaborating or supervising physician to provide patient care. However, with more and more states allowing Full Practice Authority, now nearly half of U.S. states now allow nurse practitioners to operate on their own. But in order for NPs to move forward with independent practice, credentialing is essential. How can nurse practitioners looking to establish their own practices quickly gain credentials and painlessly navigate the challenges of compliance?
Operating independently means nurses need to establish credentials as a standalone provider to be eligible for in-network status to receive physician-level reimbursements. These tasks, and complying with the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare’s (CAQH) requirements, can be taxing and time-consuming, even for the most seasoned professional. Creating a new CAQH application is highly manual, and the required quarterly updates for re-attestation can be onerous. Extensive credentials including education, residency, internships, and peer references are also required, which require time to gather information and resources. It’s not an exaggeration to say that many hours must be spent uploading copies of licensing information, board certifications, DEA registration, and insurance certificates.
NPs looking to leave their current situation may need help navigating credentialing challenges. Partnering with a third-party provider to help manage credentialing lightens the load and allows nurses to focus on patient care. TriZetto Provider Solutions (TPS) offers an end-to-end credentialing service that ensures continuous payer follow-up and insight into enrollment status.
Discover the most painless way to gain credentials. Visit our TPS partner page to get started.
ABOUT EZCLAIM:
As a medical billing expert, EZClaim can help the medical practice improve its revenues since it is a medical billing and scheduling software company. EZClaim provides a best-in-class product, with correspondingly exceptional service and support. Combined, EZClaim helps improve medical billing revenues. To learn more, visit EZClaim’s website, email them, or call them today at 877.650.0904.
Nov 11, 2021 | Health eFilings, Partner
MIPS Strategic Guide – How to Choose the Right Reporting Partner
Given the way the MIPS program has evolved, all healthcare practices regardless of size or specialty must evolve their approach to MIPS reporting to assure their success with the program. However, most clinicians do not understand or don’t have awareness of, the different reporting methods available to them and the impact the reporting method can have on their success with MIPS. With what is at stake financially, it is critical that you understand and select the right methodology and partner to maximize your MIPS points and protect your bottom line.
Many clinicians erroneously think that a registry is the only reporting option available to them or that they are required to use a registry. Or, they think that their EHR handles reporting for them. These misperceptions and general lack of awareness of the other reporting methodology will be detrimental to your ability to be successful with MIPS. And, given that 50% of all clinicians will be penalized annually by next year, the legacy reporting methods (registry or EHR) will not be able to fulfill enough of the reporting criteria to earn the minimum MIPS points needed to avoid the 9% reduction in Medicare reimbursements.
To help you determine if you are choosing the right reporting method and partner, we’ve identified the five most important factors to consider in order to increase your probability of avoiding the 9% penalty.
- Reporting Classification – is the reporting partner a CEHRT?
- Service Approach — Does the reporting partner use ONC certified software to do all the work with no IT resources, administrative support, or workflow changes?
- Quality Measures — Is the reporting partner certified by CMS to calculate all eCQMs, which earn significantly more points than registry measures?
- Benchmarking — Are proprietary algorithms used to assess the 9 million possible combinations of Quality measures to maximize earning MIPS points?
- Submission Method — Does the reporting partner submit a comprehensive electronic file directly to CMS to comply with reporting for all MIPS categories?
If you answer “no” to any of these questions, then the reporting partner you are working with will not be able to maximize the MIPS points you can earn. Given every MIPS point matters, because MIPS points determine your reimbursements and impact your bottom line, it’s time to consider a new strategy with a new reporting partner.
Health eFilings, a CEHRT, is the national leader in automated MIPS reporting. They utilize ONC-certified software to handle 100% of the tracking and reporting of the required data to CMS. And because their service is classified as an end-to-end electronic solution, you’ll also earn additional bonus points toward your MIPS score even though they are doing all the work. Health eFilings as your partner is the more effective and efficient reporting method so you will earn more points and, ultimately, receive higher reimbursements.
Learn more about how Health eFilings can help your practice here: https://healthefilings.com/ezclaim. Contact Sarah Reiter, sreiter@healthefilings.com, or 608.841.1866 to find out how to maximize your Medicare reimbursements and protect your bottom line.
About Health eFilings:
Health eFilings, a CEHRT, is the national leader in automated MIPS compliance and quality data analytics. Its services drive improved patient outcomes, optimized quality measures, and stronger financial results for healthcare practices. Their proprietary cloud-based ONC certified software is significantly more efficient and effective than any registry as it does all the work to extract, calculate, benchmark, format, and electronically submit MIPS data to CMS so clients avoid significant penalties and earn maximum reimbursements. And, you can have peace of mind knowing you are working with the best partner because CMS has accepted 100% of Health eFilings’ submissions. Learn more here: https://healthefilings.com/ezclaim
ABOUT EZCLAIM:
As a medical billing expert, EZClaim can help the medical practice improve its revenues since it is a medical billing and scheduling software company. EZClaim provides a best-in-class product, with correspondingly exceptional service and support. Combined, EZClaim helps improve medical billing revenues. To learn more, visit EZClaim’s website, email them, or call them today at 877.650.0904.
