As announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on January 16, 2009, updated versions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) transaction will be required to be used by providers beginning on January 1, 2012. The HIPPA standards for electronic health care transactions are changing from version 4010/4010A1 to version 5010. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) oversaw compliance with these standards and this is required by federal law.
The 5010 consists of a new set of standards regulating the electronic transmission of specific healthcare transactions. These transactions include claims, remittance advices, and requests and responses for eligibility and claims status. The 5010 transactions report electronic claims, electronic eligibility verification, electronic claim status, electronic referral certification and authorization, electronic remittance, and more. The 5010 standards will increase transaction consistency, support pay-for-performance, and streamline reimbursement transactions.
Those who are required to upgrade to the 5010 standard include a range of health care providers, including long-term care providers. In this regard, the implementation may change the software, systems and procedures already used for billing Medicare and other such payers. The 5010 will ensure that insurance companies receive accurate bills in the correct data and formats. LINTECH’s COMET application for long-term care billing is set to assure its users that their submissions will be in full compliance with the 5010 requirements.
Healthcare providers who fail to use only the 5010 transactions as of the January 1, 2012 deadline risk claim rejections and interrupted cash flow. Anyone who already electronically submits transactions, such as checking a patient’s eligibility, filing a claim, or receiving a remittance advice, will be automatically updated to the current version.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
COMET Point-of-Care (Touchscreen) Application
Technology is on a never-ending journey as new devices, tools and applications are created to provide better alternatives for people everywhere. Long-term care for nursing home residents requires documenting information in order for nurses and staff to provide the residents with accurate care. Compared to the traditional usage of papers to track data, LINTECH launched the new COMET Point-of-Care (Touchscreen) application, which provides a faster and more organized data entry system, benefiting both residents and staff.
With this application, staff can spend less time entering data and more time concentrating on nursing home residents. In addition, the application saves in costs and workflow. The Point-of-Care application greatly reduces the likelihood of data entry errors from occurring.
The Point-of-Care application uses a picture icon for each of the nursing home’s residents, which makes it easier for nurses and staff members to verify that they are entering data on the correct electronic file. Even for those who are far from being technology savvy, the Point-of-Care application is extremely user friendly. Anyone who is using an ATM machine can use this application.
With LTC software benefiting nursing home residents and staff already, the Point-of-Care (Touchscreen) application is the perfect addition.
With this application, staff can spend less time entering data and more time concentrating on nursing home residents. In addition, the application saves in costs and workflow. The Point-of-Care application greatly reduces the likelihood of data entry errors from occurring.
The Point-of-Care application uses a picture icon for each of the nursing home’s residents, which makes it easier for nurses and staff members to verify that they are entering data on the correct electronic file. Even for those who are far from being technology savvy, the Point-of-Care application is extremely user friendly. Anyone who is using an ATM machine can use this application.
With LTC software benefiting nursing home residents and staff already, the Point-of-Care (Touchscreen) application is the perfect addition.
EMR Software Benefits Nursing Home Residents More Than Hospital Patients
Health information technology (HIT) assists caregivers in providing quality care to patients through electronic medical record (EMR) software. Among other things, EMRs help prevent harmful drug interactions, tracks assessments and monitors clinical outcomes. EMRs also track billings and reimbursements thus reducing paperwork redundancies. It is expected that within the next five years, the growth in EMR systems will rise about 15% annually. The focus of an EMR is not to just make it more convenient for health care providers to retrieve patient medical records, have better storage and allow for easy modifications, but to spend more time in caring for patients. While both acute care and long-term care facilities utilize EMR to provide better care for their patients and residents, the usage and emphasis of nursing home EMR is somewhat different than in hospitals.
Hospitals focus on short-term acute care for those of all ages, whereas nursing homes provide care for residents who are typically older and stay a longer period. Fifty percent of nursing home residents stay for at least one year and 21% stay for five years. In addition, not many realize that a long-term care (LTC) setting is much different as compared to a hospital. Differences include the staffing ratios, staff trainings, and care management and systems, among other things.
Nursing home residents take roughly eight medications a day to help with varying conditions, the majority being chronic conditions. A hospital patient, however, is most likely given a prescription pill to take for a certain period of time to cure a short-term health problem. Therefore, EMRs for LTC facilities need to be set up to respond to LTC’s unique setting.
In 2005, Rainu Kaushal, MD, MPH, and colleagues from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston conducted the study “Functional Gaps in Attaining a National Health Information Network," in which they assessed that there is a 1% adoption of EMRs in skilled nursing facilities. This is significantly smaller compared to the use of EMRs in hospitals, which have an 18% penetration rate. While in recent years the adoption rate of EMRs by LTC facilities has grown significantly, there is no doubt that EMRs in long-term care have still a long way to go.
Hospitals focus on short-term acute care for those of all ages, whereas nursing homes provide care for residents who are typically older and stay a longer period. Fifty percent of nursing home residents stay for at least one year and 21% stay for five years. In addition, not many realize that a long-term care (LTC) setting is much different as compared to a hospital. Differences include the staffing ratios, staff trainings, and care management and systems, among other things.
Nursing home residents take roughly eight medications a day to help with varying conditions, the majority being chronic conditions. A hospital patient, however, is most likely given a prescription pill to take for a certain period of time to cure a short-term health problem. Therefore, EMRs for LTC facilities need to be set up to respond to LTC’s unique setting.
In 2005, Rainu Kaushal, MD, MPH, and colleagues from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston conducted the study “Functional Gaps in Attaining a National Health Information Network," in which they assessed that there is a 1% adoption of EMRs in skilled nursing facilities. This is significantly smaller compared to the use of EMRs in hospitals, which have an 18% penetration rate. While in recent years the adoption rate of EMRs by LTC facilities has grown significantly, there is no doubt that EMRs in long-term care have still a long way to go.
Friday, June 17, 2011
The Benefits of EMR Software for Nursing Home Residents and Providers
Advancements in technology are continuously sparking, helping the healthcare industry to constantly progress. However, it's not just about new medicines, new treatment options or advanced medical equipment helping this field to progress, but also software technology.
Today's healthcare field, including its long term care sector, relies on electronic medical records (EMR) as opposed to the printed medical records kept in a specific closet drawer. An EMR is a computerized medical record that allows the efficient storage, fast retrieval and easy modification of resident records. EMR has advantages for both residents and providers.
According to the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) seminal study, as many as 98,000 people die each year due to preventable medical errors. These errors occur from incomplete or inaccurate information regarding medication adjustments. But, with nursing home EMR software, these medical errors can be prevented. EMR software monitors medication errors with drug interactions between diseases, symptoms and other drugs. In addition, nursing home residents take an average of eight medications each month. It's estimated that one adverse drug event occurs per patient per day. However, with EMR software, medication errors are reduced and resident care improves. With nursing home EMR, a resident’s information regarding medication, drug allergies and reactions are recorded for clinicians, thus helping reduce the occurrence of a medical problem.
Aside from medical errors, time is important when providing for residents. Did you know that the average provider spends 50% to 70% of their time documenting resident information? Did you know that detailed notes can take up to 5 to 7 minutes per resident? This is because providers are relying on paper medical records. However, with EMR, an average documentation is reduced to 2 to 4 minutes per resident. Also, providers don't have to deal with the hassle of disorganized paper medical records kept in a drawer because EMR software remains organized and at your fingertips.
Today's healthcare field, including its long term care sector, relies on electronic medical records (EMR) as opposed to the printed medical records kept in a specific closet drawer. An EMR is a computerized medical record that allows the efficient storage, fast retrieval and easy modification of resident records. EMR has advantages for both residents and providers.
According to the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) seminal study, as many as 98,000 people die each year due to preventable medical errors. These errors occur from incomplete or inaccurate information regarding medication adjustments. But, with nursing home EMR software, these medical errors can be prevented. EMR software monitors medication errors with drug interactions between diseases, symptoms and other drugs. In addition, nursing home residents take an average of eight medications each month. It's estimated that one adverse drug event occurs per patient per day. However, with EMR software, medication errors are reduced and resident care improves. With nursing home EMR, a resident’s information regarding medication, drug allergies and reactions are recorded for clinicians, thus helping reduce the occurrence of a medical problem.
Aside from medical errors, time is important when providing for residents. Did you know that the average provider spends 50% to 70% of their time documenting resident information? Did you know that detailed notes can take up to 5 to 7 minutes per resident? This is because providers are relying on paper medical records. However, with EMR, an average documentation is reduced to 2 to 4 minutes per resident. Also, providers don't have to deal with the hassle of disorganized paper medical records kept in a drawer because EMR software remains organized and at your fingertips.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)