The approaching switch to ICD-10 codes in 2011 has been making physicians and billers nervous for some time now, so the recent news that the compliance deadline has been postponed for two years will come as a relief to many. This change, released as part of a Medicare regulation in the final days of the Bush administration, gives consideration to the high cost of the switch to practices in this current economic downturn. MGMA has estimated the price tag for upgrading to the more extensive, detailed codes to be about $84,000 for a three-physician practice.  MGMA’s cost estimate includes $7,500 in practice management and medical billing software upgrades – although this estimate assumes that physicians are using client-server technology. If you get free upgrades with your Internet-based practice management software, you’ll save that $7,500 instantly. 

A couple of years ago, pandemic flu was a hot topic. The media were agog; newspaper articles and TV news segments abounded. Although pandemic flu hasn’t been in the spotlight for a while, every so often, an article will surface that acts as an uncomfortable reminder that pandemic flu hasn’t gone away; it’s just formulating its next move, so to speak (or more properly its next mutation).

Last week, it was the dismaying news that 99 percent of the dominant strain of flu this season is resistant to the antiviral drug Tamiflu. Although the mutation does not seem to have developed as a result of overuse of antivirals (in fact, the mutation seemed to appear first in Norway, where antivirals aren’t even prescribed),  the possibility of this resistance transferring to the H5N1 bird flu could be devastating if this strain does, as scientists have predicted, end up mutating and creating the next pandemic. It certainly might give pause to those organizations and universities who have spent money to stockpile Tamiflu as part of their pandemic plan.

Read more about creating a pandemic plan for your university on the Nuesoft Xpress Web site.

A recent article in the Washington Post suggests that practices may be more willing to automate their offices if they can find a truly integrated practice management and EHR system. So far, the EHR adoption rate has been only 21 percent, but Nuesoft Technologies CEO Massoud Alibakhsh believes the answer lies in interfaces between what are known as “rich Internet applications”, which allow smaller offices to go paperless without having to invest in hardware for both EHR and practice management systems, or rely on potentially less secure remote applications that use Citrix-based “terminal server” technology.

Read more about the evolution of technology and what makes rich Internet applications different from terminal server-based applications in this fact sheet.

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Nuesoft Xpress 15-year scholarship program. Five college and university health centers each received an in-kind donation of up to $15,000 toward Nuesoft Xpress™ health center management software.  

The grant recipients are: College of San Mateo, Dominican University, Samford University, St. John Fisher College and University of Missouri – St. Louis.  

You can read more about the scholarship initiative and the winning schools here. Congratulations to all five schools! 

There has been a growing trend among college health centers toward offering student health insurance plans. With budgets being cut and costs continually rising, health centers are trying to find new ways to bring in revenue.

According to the results by the United States Government Accountability Office, about 20 percent of college students aged 18 through 23 were uninsured in 2006. It may seem, then, as through mandatory student insurance plans would be a boon for both students and administration alike, however, an article in The Capital Times reveals that many students are unwittingly left underinsured by taking the university endorsed policy. Some college-offered insurance programs offer low ceilings at $30,000 and “interior caps” on surgery and hospital stays. Many students are able to find better programs off campus.

Often, this is because colleges are torn between trying to find the right balance of affordability and quality. When shopping for a student insurance plan, Dana Mills, MPH, chair of the American College Health Association’s (ACHA’s) Student Health Insurance Task Force and director of the student health center at Wisconsin’s Marquette University makes the following suggestions:

More information on student insurance plan can be found here.

A recent technology survey published in the September issue of Physicians Practice had physicians rank their priorities when implementing new technology. Fifty-five percent replied that it was the cost of the technology rather than the benefits that mattered to them the most. .

Fortunately, physicians can have their cake and eat it. Choosing an Internet-based practice management system can give your practice the benefits of the latest technology in a way that is both cost-effective and quick to implement. Because there is no extra hardware to buy or install locally, set-up is simpler and your staff can focus their efforts on training. 

The same survey also found that 69 percent of those who bought an EMR system reported increased workflow efficiency. Although no figures were given for implementing a practice management system, NueMD clients report seeing an average of four more patients per week and working 23 min fewer minutes each day. 

While investing in technology for your practice may require parting with money that you’d rather not spend, the evidence suggests that, if properly implemented, software solutions will actually save you money and increase your profits.

There has recently been a spate of items in the news about breaches in the privacy of patient information. It seems that electronic records, while transforming the accessibility (not to mention legibility) of patient information, have also presented a new set of security headaches for practices and hospitals alike. It’s therefore essential for those health professionals considering automation or upgrading an old system to shop around for HIPAA-compliant practice management software that has advanced security measures, not only to protect patients from the mishandling of their identity and personal information, but also to protect physicians or their practices from litigation.

Tools to look out for include user-defined permissions, which allow administrators to give users different levels of access to data, and audit trails, which produce a permanent record of which authorized users accessed a patient’s chart at what time. Additionally, some application service provider (ASP) models feature better protection from hackers than others – those that are Internet-based (as opposed to Web-based) create a private platform between you and your data rather than channeling it through the very public forum of the World Wide Web.

 Technology can be misused and abused, but it can also be implemented as an effective tool to safeguard information privacy. Making sure your medical management system is secure will help prevent future lawsuits against you or your practice.

The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) has been existence in various forms for over a century and was originally designed to help facilitate comparisons in mortality statistics across the world. These days, however, version nine of the ICD is perhaps most familiar as a way to ensure that medical providers are being reimbursed properly for procedures. Across the U.S., medical billers and coders and medical software providers alike are quaking in their boots at the news that  ICD-9 codes are to be replaced with the updated, more comprehensive ICD-10 codes by October 2011.

This change is neither arbitrary nor unexpected; most of the rest of the world is already using ICD-10 codes (World Health Organization member states started using ICD-10 as long ago as 1994), and the update will be a useful tool to increase accuracy as the number of codes available will increase from about 17,000 to 150,000

The transition to ICD-10 will not be a painless one. Apart from the obvious discomfort of adapting to the new codes, there is also the nagging concern about how these changes are going to be incorporated into software. A Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) survey found that 95 percent of respondents would need to upgrade or replace their practice management software, and almost two-thirds thought they would need to buy code-selection software. Practices and medical billing companies that have invested in medical software that is delivered in “software as a service” (SaaS) format, especially ones such as NueMD that have a built-in coding module, can at least have the comfort of knowing that this major upgrade will be completed remotely with little participation their end. Unfortunately, those with client-server systems may be faced with the prospect of paying a hefty price to update their soon-to-be-obsolete systems.

NueMD client Behavioral Health Link recently garnered the 2008 Council of State Government Innovations Award for its Georgia Crisis and Access Line (GCAL), which allows counselors to directly schedule an appointment for the caller with a provider.

The award is given to state programs which show innovative, successful experiences that are transferable to other states.  GCAL fought off competition from 10 other regional finalists who were evaluated on the newness, creativeness and transferability of their program.
 
Part of GCAL’s innovative technology is provided by NueMD’s powerful Internet-based scheduler and practice management system, which allows counselors to directly schedule appointments for callers at a number of mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse services locally. .

We would like to congratulate BHL for all of their accomplishments with GCAL and their recent award.

Both Microsoft and Google have, on occasions, promised users the moon; according to September’s issue of Fast Company, both companies have finally delivered it. Microsoft’s WorldWide Telescope and Google Sky are both free virtual telescopes, but while Microsoft’s version requires users to download and install it to their desktop, Google’s version is available anywhere there is Internet access, and even works on mobile phones.

 These differing models are also represented in the galaxy of practice management software. NueMD, like Google Sky, is accessible from anywhere, offering rich functionality that makes lesser applications look clunky. On the other hand, many of its competitors are like Microsoft’s WorldWide Telescope – possessing good features if you don’t mind being tethered to the office, but isolated and incapable of fully interacting with the rest of the health care universe.
 
Just like Google, NueMD has a business model for the 21st century. Medical practice management software may not have the same cache as a virtual telescope, but when it comes to the future of technology, NueMD is reaching for the stars too.