Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Understanding Meaningful Use In Medicare And Medicaid

Nationwide, physicians who treat Medicaid or Medicare patients must begin establishing “meaningful use” of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) by 2015 or risk having their reimbursements reduced. Meaningful Use is a term that refers to a set of EMR usage requirements that qualified providers must meet in order to receive incentive payments.

The intent of Meaningful Use is to help ensure that providers using EMRs implement the software in a manner that supports higher quality and more efficient delivery of healthcare. Because physicians may not receive both Medicaid and Medicare incentives, it is important to understand the difference between Medicare and Medicaid Meaningful Use before participating.

Incentive Money

Under Medicare, the incentive amount is 75% of the physician's Medicare allowed charges for the year, up to a maximum of $44,000. Under Medicaid, it is 85% of the physician's Medicaid allowed charges up to $63,750 per year.

Incentive payments for the Medicare program are spread out over five years and for the Medicaid program over six years, with diminishing amounts available to those who start in later years. For providers in federally designated health professional shortage areas, incentive payments will be 10% greater.

Requirements to Qualify

Every Medicare eligible professional must have a National Provider Identifier (NPI) and be enrolled in the CMS Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS) to participate in the EHR incentive program. Most physicians also need to have an active user account in the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES). The Medicaid EHR incentive program is offered and administered voluntarily by states and territories.

Time Frame

Medicare must complete 90 days of continuous EHR Meaningful Use within the calendar year before reporting to the government. Under the Medicaid plan, you are not required to demonstrate Meaningful Use until Year 2. The Year 1 requirement for Medicaid is demonstration of “efforts to adopt, implement, or upgrade certified EMR technology.”

Providers Who Are Eligible for Incentive Payments

In both the Medicare and Medicaid programs, physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors, optometrists and dentists are eligible for incentive payments. However, in the Medicaid program, nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives, and physicians assistants are also qualified to participate.

Penalties for Non-Participation in the ARRA Program

Unlike the Medicaid incentive program, the Medicare program incorporates penalties. The Medicare fee schedule for providers who are not "meaningful EMR users" will be reduced by 1% in 2015, by 2% in 2016 and by 3% in 2017.

Implementing Meaningful Use

If you need more information about the implementation of Meaningful Use and how it improves efficiency for medical professionals, contact e-MDs, a leader in electronic medical record software provision. e-MDs will help you understand how to use your new EMR system or assess and upgrade your current system in a way that achieves ARRA-defined Meaningful Use.

e-MDs offers a host of affordable, certified EHR solutions for physicians and facilities looking to modernize or enhance their services with the latest electronic health records technology. e-MDs is committed to providing affordable and integrated EMR and Practice Management Software solutions, including clinical, financial and document management modules designed to automate medical practice processes and chart management – delivering the clinical tools needed to succeed in today’s health care environment.

Source of articles : www.populararticles.com

Friday, March 4, 2011

Botox Training

Botox injection has become an increasingly popular practice in the last decade and many practitioners and doctors are looking to specialize themselves to offer this service – for that very reason, Elite AMBT is now offering Botox Training in London, England. Elite AMBT is established as being a leader in aesthetic, medical and business training and offers a complete and professional training course on how to use Botox effectively, combined with a course on Dermal Fillers, which are often used in combination with Botox injections. Elite AMBT is proud to now be able to offer this service to clients located in London, England as well as all over major cities in North America.

Elite AMBT, which is short for Aesthetic Medical and Business Training, is an industry leader in offering training programs and options to professionals looking to further their specialization. Elite AMBT's prime vision is to combine world-class instructors, affordability and state-of-the-art techniques in order to provide you and your team with the best training option available. Aside from their renowned Botox Training program, Elite AMBT also offers courses such as Sensible Weight Loss, Laser Therapy, Cosmetic Lasers, Lipodissolve/mesotherapy, Marketing Guidance and more.

Those courses are commonly offered in many different learning options, to fit every client's particular needs; online training, private training, private seminars, regular seminars, cross-continent seminars and webinars. This allows for each practitioner to be able to fit the Elite AMBT training course of his choice into his schedule and according to his needs and availability. Of course, certain programs, such as the Botox Training program, are more or less recommended as webinar or online training since the hands-on approach offered in seminars or private training will be more beneficial. Following the increasing demand for the Botox Training course, Elite AMBT has now established a U.K. program located in London, England – the hands-on approach can now be offered to international clients.

One of the great advantages of attending a seminar or private training in person with Elite AMBT is the use of live models during the training. Being able to train with real individuals will allow anyone who is following the training to practice Botox injections as soon as possible after getting certified by Elite AMBT. Of course, every procedure is supervised by a certified professional so there is no danger for the model or the practitioner at any moment during the training.

Elite Aesthetic Medical and Business Training is offering many training programs such as Marketing, Business, Botox Training and Dermal Fillers, Fibromyalgia, Cosmetic Lasers and more. The popularity of the Botox Training program in North America has allowed the team behind Elite AMBT to offer the course in London, thus allowing for U.K. based clients the opportunity to get the training they need with world-class professionals and a hands-on approach on live models combined with an affordable pricing option.


Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/elite-ambt-is-offering-top-botox-training-in-london-england-2869494.html#ixzz1Fcva7YpE
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