Community
With this newsletter, Net Health hopes to share innovative ways to use the WoundExpert software, and information about new features. If you have ideas for future content or questions, or wish to subscribe to ProgressNotes, please email Marketing.
In this issue:
- Hear What WoundExpert Users Are Saying
- WoundExpert’s ePrescription Saves Your 1% Medicare Reimbursement
-Gary Summerfield of McLeod Regional Medical Ctr.
WoundExpert users are finding a new way to save time every day using the Wound Product Supplier (WPS) module to order patient wound care supplies directly through WoundExpert. The module allows any facility to electronically send orders, pre-populated with WoundExpert data, directly to the supplier, making it significantly faster than traditional paper methods.
Just this year, approximately 2,000 orders have been sent using the Wound Product Supplier Module. No paper, no filling out forms, and no faxing necessary!
""The Wound Product Supplier module saves us 10 minutes or more per order"
- Becky Sharf of South Jersey Healthcare
If you are interested in the possibility of saving time each day by ordering supplies electronically, simply sign up for the free WPS module under the Help Link in WoundExpert.
To learn more about the WPS module or if you need a refresher on how to use the module you can contact client services at 1-800-411-6281, Option 2, or view a short recorded webinar available on the Help Link which explains how to order supplies using WoundExpert.
Using WoundExpert will help your facility avoid the 1% Medicare reimbursement reduction called for in the new rule proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). On June 1st (CMS) released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) in an attempt to modify the measures for 2011 and provide additional significant hardship exemptions. This proposed rule was in comment period until July 25th, 2011 and is now awaiting final ruling, but if approved in its current state will be retroactive to June 30th, 2011. It attempts to merge the MIPPA program that was implemented in 2009 with the HITECH Act and the Meaningful Use requirement of ePrescribing. It states that all providers must have 10 electronic prescriptions written before June 30, 2011 to be eligible for the 2011 payment period under MIPPA. If a provider has not written the required ePrescriptions by that time, they could suffer a 1% reduction in their 2012 Medicare Reimbursements.
A provider who has not written 10 ePrescriptions by the June deadline can apply for a number of hardship exemptions:
- Inability to electronically prescribe due to local, state or federal law or regulation, an example would be a physician that prescribes a high number of narcotics.
- Insufficient opportunities to report due to limitations in the denominator of the measure, for instance surgeons that do not typically prescribe medications for the associated visits of the regulation.
- Limited prescribing activity, like an NP that does not write prescriptions under their own NPI or a physician that has less than 10 prescriptions to write from Jan 1, 2011 – June 30, 2011
- An Eligible Professional who registers to participate in the EHR Incentive Programs and have adopted a Certified Technology.
To the effect of the 4th scenario described above, WoundExpert received complete EHR certification by the Drummond Group in June 2011. Eligible Professionals who use WoundExpert and register their intent to participate in the EHR incentive program will be able to avoid the 1% reduction and position themselves to receive stimulus dollars by demonstrating meaningful use.
Physicians opting to use WoundExpert’s ePrescription module will have the ability to connect with over 76,000 pharmacies registered within the Surescripts’ network. Using the new Inbox feature, providers and administrators will receive real time responses from the patients’ pharmacy. Built in quality assurance checks guarantee that schedule 2-5 prescriptions, ineligible for electronic submission, generate a hard copy version for the provider to apply their wet signature. Pharmacies will be able to send refill requests directly to the provider’s Inbox allowing them to compare the request to the patient’s medication list and approve or deny electronically. Registration is as easy as confirming that key information is already entered in the physician’s account setup (I.E…name, address, DEA#).
ePrescribing is one of the many medication enhancements that will be released this summer. Others include:
- Automatically populating the patient’s medication list with optional medication history retrieval from the patient’s payer
- Drug-drug/ Drug allergy interaction checks
- Drug Formulary checks
Attend one of the two remaining scheduled webinars on the Meaningful Use updates by going to the Help Link in WoundExpert.
WoundExpert will be hosting a Client Conference featuring a WoundExpert update and roundtable discussion. Details to follow!
Attend a scheduled webinar on physician documentation by visiting the Help Link in WoundExpert.
