News 12/27/12

A third of providers say they have experienced varying levels of payment delays during the HIPAA 5010 transition, with clearinghouses causing 52 percent of those delays. Navicure is named Best in KLAS as the top claims and clearinghouse provider, followed closely by ZirMed and Office Ally.

ZirMed updates its PQRS Suggested Measures tool for 2013.

PM/EMR provider Henry Schein MicroMD will integrate the eSelectPlus payments gateway from Moneris Solutions into the MicroMD PM software.

Aprima Medical Software completes its first conversions of Allscripts MyWay customers to Aprima as part of its Aprima Rescue Plan. One of the first was Crystal Community ENT (FL), which had been on Allscripts MyWay for less than two months when it received notice that the product would not be enhanced to meet MU and ICD-10 requirements.

The Wall Street Journal reports that more providers are adopting telehealth technology as more insurers and employers agree to pay for virtual doctor visits. Virtual consults typically cost $40 to $45, which is far less than a visit to the ER or urgent care center or a face-to-face appointment with a physician.

A study finds that the perceived lack of human and financial resources is the biggest barrier to the adoption of automated reminder and recall systems for upcoming immunizations. Providers also lack confidence in the accuracy of patient immunization records, given limited data sharing between multiple providers. Additional barriers to adoption include changes to staff workflow, lack of appropriate electronic patient tracking functionalities, and uncertainty regarding the success of automated reminders.

I suspect that many readers are enjoying an extended holiday week. I am – alas – actually working a bit, though I rather be on a beach somewhere or maybe skiing down a mountain. If you are one of the lucky few keeping the HIT wheels churning this week, feel free to drop me an e-mail and tell me what goodies Santa left in your stocking.

E-mail Inga.