February 10 2014 - 5 Areas that Have a Major Impact on DC'S, MD'S DO'S... in 2014 & Beyond

5 Areas that Have a Major Impact on DC'S, MD'S DO'S... in 2014 & Beyond

It is easy to see today's Puzzle Piece is from Brandy Brimhall.  She has major information to protect and promote you she will be covering this year.  This list must not be ignored.  She has much more on each topic to relate to you but this is a start to make you aware of what is necessary and important to get started on immediately.

If you have specific questions, please contact her directly.  She is getting numerous contacts now from doctors in trouble with their boards etc.  Please be proactive now, not after an unfriendly notice.


Why You Need to Implement EHR Now

To avoid a reduction in Medicare payments beginning in 2015, you must begin to show Meaningful Use THIS YEAR.

The only way to demonstrate Meaningful Use is to transition to a Certified EHR program and follow the Stage I and/or Stage II Meaningful Use guidelines.

This also means, that the incentive payments that are currently offered for providers that do demonstrate Meaningful Use will expire later this year.  So, this is your last chance!  By waiting until the year end, you will find that you are unable to meet Meaningful Use criteria and will be penalized in your reimbursements.

Additionally, ICD-10 is scheduled to be implemented on 10/1/2014.  With this, there are greater levels of documentation specificity that are required.  In order to meet these documentation requirements, it will be very time consuming and complex if handwritten documentation is still your preferred method.

There is much to know and much to do so please ask!  I would be glad to send you Meaningful Use guidelines as well as EHR Certified software recommendations to help make your transition as easy and efficient as possible.

Let me know how I can help but please don't wait!


Dear Doctors and CA's,
Hopefully I had the opportunity at our recent Homecoming event to speak with you.  If not, there's much to share with you about the latest of changes that impact your practices.  Please stay tuned to up and coming newsletters as well as a new feature that I'll be soon adding to even help you more!


5 Areas that Have a Major Impact on Chiropractic and Medicine in 2014 & Beyond

In this article, I'm going to share with you 5 of the hot topics that are impacting medical practices across the country.  I'll also briefly define a few things that each one brings to the plate for us.  See future editions of the Spotlight for more information on these things as well as helpful guidance to follow so as to give your practice the greatest chance of a smooth transition.

Affordable Care Act:  The Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) continues to develop through this year.  What this may bring to chiropractic practices:
-Greater volume of patients...now that they have insurance coverage, you may have an increase of patients
-Greater coverage limitations and possibly fewer covered benefits
-Higher patient deductibles, co-pays and co-insurances.

ICD-10:  October 1, 2014 marks the implementation date for ICD-10 in which our diagnoses coding will have a new face.  What this brings to chiropractic practices:
-Greater level of specificity requirements for diagnosing
-Documentation requirements will increase so as to comply with coding guidelines and fully support medical necessity of care
-Possible coverage and benefits changes with some carriers
-Changes in the way we identify diagnoses and submit claims  (there's a new claim form already out that you should be transitioning to soon)

Compliance:  Including OSHA, HIPAA and requirements for written Compliance Plans in practices.  Compliance related issues are known as the "silent killer" for medical practices...why?..well, because it's overlooked, avoided and/or set to the side and left incomplete in the majority of practices.  What isn't overlooked though by governing organizations are the rules and guidelines that are in-fact in place for us as well as the penalties for non-compliance of these many requirements.
Ask me for a Compliance Checklist for your practice to see where you stand!

Meaningful Use:  Deadlines are also approaching to comply with Meaningful Use.  This means that by not transitioning to a Certified EHR software AND performing required Meaningful Use protocol, practices will begin to be penalized beginning in 2015.  This truly is your last chance to get onboard with Meaningful Use if you wish to avoid payment penalties in the future.

PQRS:  The Physician Quality Reporting System is updated record keeping requirements (including Pain Assessment & Follow-up and Functional Outcome Assessment) for our Medicare patients.  This also includes appending appropriate G-codes to claims so as to confirm that these reporting measures are complied with.  Again, by not implementing PQRS now, payment penalties will be assessed beginning in 2015.  Ask me for the PQRS Guidebook to help you implement this easily into your practice.

While I've only very briefly described the 5 hot topics above, they're all very significant and impactful to practices.  These things can be confusing and also time consuming.  So, what do you do?  Get help...ask questions...delegate...prioritize.  Each of these topics deserves the attention of your practice as soon as possible.

That's why I'm here.  Please reach out for information, guidance and help at whatever level is most necessary for your practice.  Please don't wait until it's too late to begin working on these things.  Being proactive is much more cost effective and less stressful than being reactive.

For more information on any of the topics above, please stay tuned to future Spotlight newsletters and also reach out to me with your questions and concerns.

ChiroCode Deskbook 2014 & ICD-10 2nd Edition

If you haven't already gotten your 2014 coding references, you need to do so now.  As always, the 2014 ChiroCode Deskbook contains all current year data that we must have on file AND review with our team.

The ICD-10 manual contains training help, an ICD-9 to ICD-10 mapping guide, as well as a complete list of chiropractic ICD-10 codes that we need to understand prior to the implementation date.

Send an e-mail to Brandy<mailto:[email protected]> to request your order form today.