FOCUS TOPICS BEHAVIORAL HEALTH & ADDICTION ICD-10 & PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
April 2015 >> $5
Middle Tennessee’s Primary Source for Professional Healthcare News
PHYSICIAN SPOTLIGHT PAGE 2
ICD-10: Take 3 By MELANIE KILGORE-HILL
Terry Alley, MD
ON ROUNDS
Integrating for Improved Outcomes Hillary Clinton famously said, “It takes a village.” For behavioral health providers, that concept has proven to be true. By taking an integrated, collaborative approach between mental health clinicians, primary care physicians, and an array of social service providers, some of the most vulnerable Tennesseans are finding not only their voice but their sea legs, as well ... 4
Getting Engaged The Face of Patient Engagement in 2015 In today’s world of healthcare, patient engagement is king. But if automated appointment reminders are the extent of your organization’s communication plan, take note ... 8
This time last year, the healthcare industry was gearing up for ICD10 implementation in October. Fast-forward twelve months … and the healthcare industry is gearing up for ICD-10 implementation in October. As the late, great Yogi Berra once remarked, “It’s déjà vu all over again.” At press time, all systems seem a go for an October implementation, with a few expected hang-ups along the way. A March 4 statement from the American Medical Association (and 99 state and specialty societies) expressed concern that “there are not sufficient contingency plans in place to avoid anticipated failures that could result in a significant, multibillion-dollar disruption for physicians and serious access to care issues for Medicare patients.” However, Scott Mertie, CHFP, CMPE, president of Kraft Healthcare Consulting, noted that during the March 9-10 Leadership Healthcare Delegation to D.C., the possibility of another delay was dismissed by the Washington
ICD-10
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Oct. 15
HHS
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Of Presidents & King Insights from LHC’s Annual Delegation to D.C. By CINDy SANDERS
David Wasserman
ONLINE: NASHVILLE MEDICAL NEWS.COM
thought leaders and policymakers. Presenters expressed confidence that hospitals and CMS were prepared for the transition but did discuss the possibility of a brief phase-in period under which both ICD-9 and ICD-10 would be accepted. Local experts like Lori Nobles, RHIA, CHTS-IM, CPHIMS, principal at Cumberland Consulting Group, said a slight chance of deadline extension still looms, reviving the prudent yet lesser known saying, “Fourth time’s a charm.” In the 2009 final rule, implementation was delayed from the proposed date of October 2011 until October 2013. In September 2012, HHS issued a one-year delay, changing the final compliance date to October 2014. In March 2014, Congress voted to delay ICD-10 again. Oct. 1, 2015 was then set as the new implementation date. Nobles, who specializes in health information management, said some concern still evolves around the financial impact
Last month Leadership Health Care (LHC), an initiative of the Nashville Health Care Council, traveled to the nation’s capital with 100 industry leaders for two days of intensive meetings and briefings with Washington insiders. The 2016 presidential race and King v. Burwell, the Supreme Court case regarding the legitimacy of federal tax subsidies in states that opted to use the federal exchange rather than create one of their own, were prevalent topics given the potential impact of each on the healthcare industry. In the presidential race, keynote speaker David Wasserman, House editor for The Cook Report, said he couldn’t bet against Hillary Clinton if she runs. “She starts in a much stronger position than she did in 2008 against Barack Obama,” he noted. “On the Republican side, all the talk is about Jeb Bush at the current time, but Scott Walker (governor of Wisconsin) has really surged in the last month.” (CONTINUED ON PAGE 10)
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