News 7/16/13

Clinical Holdings Corporation, a new physician services business of Ascension Health Alliance, will deploy athenahealth’s RCM/PM services to over 4,000 providers. Analysts believe the deal may be worth $42 million in revenue for athenaheatlh.

Free EMR-provider Practice Fusion is rumored to be closing on a $60 million fourth round of funding, on top of the $34 million raised less than a year ago.

Ambulatory EMR/RCM provider Integrated Solutions Groups, the parent company of Professional Data Services, acquires Data Strategies, a McKesson Practice Partner EMR reseller and the provider of the PDS Cortex PM platform.

Emdeon will integrate the Simplicity Settlement Services by ECHO into the Emdeon Payment Network. Emdeon also announces its recent opening of a 100,000 square-foot facility in St. Louis, MO and the introduction of Virtual Card Services, an electronic payment option to reduce payment distribution costs and payment processes.

Middlebrook Family Medicine (VA) selects Benchmark Systems EHR, billing, and collection software.

Concerned about MU audits? Here are some pre-payment audit preparation best practices, based on the experiences of EPs that have survived pre-payment and post-payment audits:

• Understand core and menu set measures
• Use multi-disciplinary teams
• Document measure compliance
• Analyze security risk
• Have documentation that indicates the installed EHR is certified.

CMS highlights key 2014 deadlines for the EHR incentive initiative and other eHealth programs.

A dozen employees from the Raleigh, NC offices of Allscripts volunteered to help clean up tornado damage in Moore, OK and presented the local hospital with a check for $50,000. Allscripts covered all of their expenses and paid their full salaries.

Physicians in larger states, ER specialists, and pathologists have historically experienced higher levels of PQRS success, according to CMS data.

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