The feds appear to be preparing to clamp down on the sometimes porous flow of patient data handled by vendors of healthcare organizations, which has exploded with the growth of EHRs, analytics and mobile devices in healthcare.
Click here for more information: http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20160323/NEWS/160329942?utm_source=modernhealthcare&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20160323-NEWS-160329942&utm_campaign=dose
The protocol for the second round of HIPAA compliance audits has now been published by the Office for Civil Rights. Email comments can be submitted, although OCR says the protocol is final.
Click here for more information: http://www.hipaajournal.com/new-hipaa-audit-protocol-3382/
Effective April 1, 2016, CoventryCares of Virginia, which offers a Virginia Medicaid managed care plan began doing business as Aetna Better Health of Virginia. This trade name will refer only to the Medicaid health plan.
For medical providers, the provider contract you currently have in place with CoventryCares of Virginia will remain active for the Aetna Better Health Medicaid product. For behavioral health providers, the contract you currently have in place with MHNet will remain active for the Medicaid product.
Please note that although your current agreements will remain active through this transition, we plan to move all Medicaid providers to an Aetna Better Health contract in the near future.
For more important information on this change, please click the link below:
AetnaBettherHealthOfVA.InitialProvNotice.04.14
For a Quick Reference Guide, click here: AetnaBetterHealthOfVA QuickReferenceGuide.04.14.2016
Highlands Physicians, Inc. is pleased to offer presentations by SVMIC on Payment Reform and Patient Experience. The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 6 from 2:00 to 4:30 PM at HPI’s office at 2004 American Way, Suite 201, Kingsport. Guest speaker will be Jackie Boswell, MBA, FACMPE, Senior Medical Practice Consultant with SVMIC and Stephen Dickens, JD, FACMPE, Senior Consultant in Organizational Dynamics.
Payment Reform:
New reimbursement models are being tested and implemented by Medicare, Medicaid and commercial payers. The movement to value-based payment can take many forms, but the concept of paying for value and quality of the care delivered is becoming the new normal. This shift in delivery models and reimbursement will impact the way you practice medicine as well as the way both you and your staff interact with patients. This program will give the physician and practice manager guidance in developing a strategy to fit the goals of the organization.
Objectives:
The Patient Experience:
As healthcare trends away from patient satisfaction toward the patient experience, it is important for physicians, practice executives and staff to understand how this shift in ideology will impact their practice. At the conclusion of this session, participants should be able to:
– Patient experience
– Patient understanding/involvement in their care-better health
To enable us to adequately accommodate everyone planning to attend, please RSVP by March 31st to Agnes Lester, alester@highlandsphysicians.com or by calling 423.392.1920.
Two $50 drawings will be awarded at the meeting.
Thank you!
Our mailing address is:
Highlands Physicians Inc.
2004 American Way
#201
Kingsport, Tn 37660
Education and 23 years of experience makes Dr. Anthony Seaton an expert in his field of Ophthalmology. Dr. Seaton is known throughout the Kingsport community for his excellence and expertise in patient care and treatment options such cataract surgery and LASIK surgery.
What most people don’t know about Dr. Seaton is that he also examines premature babies in Holston Valley Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. When babies are delivered before 30 weeks gestation (40 weeks is a full term), weigh less than 1500 grams (3.3 pounds), or when they have needed significant oxygen after birth they are at risk for a eye disease called Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP). ROP is the leading cause of childhood blindness. Dr. Seaton is dedicated to providing the best care for these babies through careful screening and treatment. He has committed his life to excellence in patient care.
Dr. Seaton practices at the regional eye center in Kingsport Tennessee. He is accepting new patients and welcomes the opportunity to assist in enhancing your life-style by improving your eyesight.
There are many components of clinical research studies, but according to Dr. Morin, Director of Clinical Research at Holston Medical Group, teamwork is arguably the most crucial. Each day physicians and healthcare workers participate in innovative studies that improve the efficiency and effectiveness of patient treatment and care. Dr. Morin and his team work tirelessly to organize and maintain approximately 100 clinical research studies at any given time. As a result of their dedication, HMG has emerged as one of the leading clinical research facilities in the nation. Highlands Physicians Inc. proudly commends Dr. Morin, his staff, and HMG for their successes in the clinical research field.
Highlands Physicians, Inc., a leading Independent Practice Association (IPA) with more than 1,100 physician members, today announced that it has partnered with MTBC (NASDAQ:MTBC), a leading provider of fully-integrated, cloud-based healthcare IT solutions, selecting MTBC as a preferred vendor for electronic health records, practice management and revenue cycle management.Read More
Reposted from
MTBC.com
As we move in to the respiratory season, we thought it might be helpful to provide information on influenza and pneumococcal immunizations.
Below is the link to the CDC Vaccine Information Statement (VIS) site. The following statements are included on the site. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/index.html
Both influenza VISs – IIV and LAIV – have been updated for the 2015-16 flu season, and may be used immediately.
Important note: These flu VISs, for the first time, are designed NOT to be specific to a single flu season. In other words, they may be used next year, and in future years, unless there are significant changes to influenza vaccine recommendations that would require them to change.
Attached are the following posters/signs.
If you would like laminated copies of any of the signs to post in your office, please contact Jane Berke at jberke@highlandsphysician.com or at 423.392.1920.
Please Note: The updated VIS for Pneumococcal vaccines are available at the above link to CDC Vaccine Information Statement (VIS) site.
Also included in the attachments are the current Adult and Pediatric Immunization Schedules.
Melinda Beck
Sept. 27, 2015 7:46 p.m. ET
Doctors, hospitals and insurers are bracing for possible disruptions on Oct. 1 when the U.S. health-care system switches to a massive new set of codes for describing illnesses and injuries.
Under the new system, cardiologists will have not one but 845 codes for angioplasty. Dermatologists will need to specify which of eight kinds of acne a patient has. Gastroenterologists who don’t know what’s causing a patient’s stomachache will be asked to specify where the pain is and what other symptoms are present—gas? eructation (belching)?—since there is a separate code for each. (Read Full Article).
This article originally appeared at The Wall Street Journal
Barbara J. Paterson, DO, Hospitalist Medicine (IM), Wellmont Medical Associates, Bristol and Kingsport, TN.
Amanda Jackson, NP, Nurse Practitioner under the supervision of the physicians of Northeast Tennessee Emergency Physicians, Northeast Tennessee Emergency Physicians, Kingsport, Bristol, and Rogersville, TN.
Kent Lord, MD, Orthopaedic Surgery, Watauga Orthopaedics, PLC, Kingsport and Johnson City, TN.