Maria Ruiz celebrates five years with Dynamic Health IT!

Dynamic Health IT would like to congratulate Maria on making five years with the company on June 29th!

Maria has been a true asset to our company since she joined us. In those five years, she has contributed skill, time, ideas, energy, and loyalty. We’ve noticed and appreciated all these contributions on our behalf!

Congrats on your 5 years of service with DHIT!  You’ve grown a lot during your time here and accomplished a lot.  Master of invoicing and ICD Pointer Table uploads are two that come to mind.  Also, I appreciate your new skills with web development!  I’m excited that you are finishing your Computer Science degree and look forward to you continuing your career development with DHIT. 

-- Jeff Robbins

I remember a brilliant young math genius, who simply needed a part time job while finishing college.  Fast forward five years, and  we have not only a graduate, but now a budding programmer working on a second degree and so knowledgeable now about healthcare IT!  I've enjoyed spending these years with you and not only watching your development, but also benefiting from your hard work.  I can't wait to have you on the team programming VBScripts for HL7Connect projects!!  I've very excited about that.

 -- Connie Zimmermann

What a journey! You have come a long way. I am looking forward to seeing you continue to soak in the knowledge and grow with DHIT! It's been amazing to see your palette of talents develop, from office administration to graphic and web design, ICD-9/10 and trademarking.  Next on the horizon... programming!

-- Raychelle Fernandez

It is a pleasure to work with Maria. She is a great asset to DHIT. Happy 5 years! 

-- Ozlem Kurt

Maria – It has been great working with you over the past three years!  You are a fantastic resource to DHIT and a wonderful roomie!  :)

-- Renee Martin 

No challenge is too great for this young crusader! Maria’s quiet but unrelenting work ethic is to be commended. I know working through school and a full time job will pay off for both you and DHIT! You’ve been an inspirational teacher to me and I enjoy working with you. Congratulations on 5 years of flourishing and best wishes for many more!

-- Beth Lanier

Maria’s resourceful problem solving abilities and diligence mixed with a pleasant personality make her an ideal employee and coworker. I am impressed and eager to watch her abilities grow over time.

-- Matthew Dugal

Maria is an awesome member of the DHIT team and it is such a pleasure to work with her. I learned many things from her and hope to keep learning from her in the future. Congratulations on making 5 years Maria!!!
-- Katelyn Borden

Thank you Maria for always driving me around when I didn't have a car and thanks for helping me at the office!
-- Luke Robbins

Thanks again Maria for your hard work and dedication to Dynamic Health IT!

.NET/SQL Healthcare Software Developer (New Orleans)

 

Small, fast-growing dynamic local healthcare information technology company is looking for a New Orleans area individual with software development and programming expertise. Must be customer service oriented self-starter.

Required skills/experience:
- Database experience, including MS SQL Server. Ability to write Stored Procedures.
- Experience with web development and ASPX
- Knowledge/experience with software implementation/programming, including VB and/or .NET

Other desirable skills/experience:
- Experience with hospital/Healthcare application software
- Familiarity with XML
- Expertise with HL7
- Project management skills
- Experience with healthcare applications/workflow

Must be available to work here in the office. Excellent compensation. Flexible hours, good benefits, casual friendly work environment. Great location on street car line in uptown New Orleans
==> Excellent compensation + Benefits

==> Will pay $ for referrals!!!

Would a hardship exemption save you?

Are you doing everything you can to avoid the upcoming Medicare payment adjustment for the 2015 reporting year?

Payment adjustments for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program will begin on January 1, 2015 for eligible professionals.

All you need to do is complete the hardship exception application and supporting documentation that proves demonstrating meaningful use would be a significant hardship for you.

Applications for the 2015 payment adjustments are due July 1, 2014 for eligible professionals. If approved, the exception is valid for one year.

This applies to you if you are a Medicare provider who was unable to successfully demonstrate meaningful use for 2013.

CMS has posted hardship exception applications on the EHR website for:

•Eligible professionals

•Eligible professionals submitting multiple NationalProvider Identifiers (NPIs)

Hardship Exception Tipsheets

You can also avoid payment adjustments by successfully demonstrating meaningful use prior to the payment adjustment.

Dynamic Health IT has solutions for Stage 2 MU & ONC Certification headaches.

 

 

 

EP Meaningful Use Payment Adjustments and Hardship Exception

As the reporting period start date deadlines are drawing near for Eligible Professionals (EP), and vendors are still working to get their EHR's certified and rolled out to their customers, a big question on everyone's mind is 'what happens if I can't attest in 2014?'. Eligible Professionals must begin their 90-day reporting period by October 1, 2014 in order to attest in 2014. So what options do EP's have if they can't meet these deadlines?

First, let's look at who Payment Adjustments affect and when these adjustments begin. The adjustments will affect Medicare EP's as well as EP's that bill Medicare and can participate in either the Medicare or Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. The only individuals who are not affected are Medicaid EP's who can only participate in the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program and do not bill Medicare. If you are eligible for both the Medicare and Medicaid programs, you must demonstrate meaningful use in order to avoid the payment adjustment - receiving a payment for adopt/implement/upgrade (AIU) under the Medicaid EHR program does not make you exempt from payment adjustments.

Adjustments will be applied at the beginning of the 2015 calendar year for EP's (January 1, 2015). For EP's, the Adjustment starts at 1% and increases by 1% for every year that an EP is not meaningful user with a maximum adjustment of 5%. EP's must continue to demonstrate meaningful use every year to avoid payment adjustments in subsequent years.

So, how does CMS determine who the 2015 adjustments apply to? In order to avoid the adjustments, EP's must demonstrate MU prior to 2015 calendar year. This means they have either attested to MU successfully in the 2013 reporting year or the 2014 reporting year.

What if your vendor does not deliver software to you in time to attest in 2014? In this case you can apply for a Hardship Exception based on the reason of '2014 Vendor Issues'.

If you are an EP planning to attest for the first time in 2014 (new participant) and your vendor will not meet the deadline for you to attest in 2014, you can apply for a hardship exception for the 2015 payment adjustment.  You must attest by October 1, 2014 to receive incentives and avoid 2015 penalties. If you cannot attest by October 1, 2014, EP's should apply for the hardship to avoid 2015 penalties.  To apply, use the eligible professional hardship exception form for 2015. These forms must be submitted to CMS by July 1, 2014.

EP Hardship Exception Form

If you are an EP who attested to MU in the 2013 reporting year, you will not be subjected to the 2015 payment adjustment. But if your vendor is not able to deliver a 2014 certified solution before the attestation deadline, you can apply for a hardship exception for the 2016 payment adjustment. To apply, use the eligible professional hardship exception for 2016 which will be available after July 1, 2014. These forms must be submitted to CMS by July 1, 2015.

Contact Dynamic Health IT if you have questions about Meaningful Use or if you need assistance with your 2014 Edition Certification at 504-309-9103.

EH Meaningful Use Payment Adjustments and Hardship Exception

As the reporting period start date deadlines are drawing near for Eligible Hospitals (EH), and vendors are still working to get their EHR's certified and rolled out to their customers, a big question on everyone's minds is 'what happens if I can't attest in 2014?'. Eligible Hospitals must start their 90-day reporting period by July 1, 2014 in order to attest in 2014, so what options do EH's have if they can't meet this deadline?

First, let's look at who Payment Adjustments affect and when these adjustments begin. The adjustments will affect Medicare EH's as well as EH's that bill Medicare and can participate in either the Medicare or Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. If you are eligible for both the Medicare and Medicaid programs, you must demonstrate meaningful use in order to avoid the payment adjustment - receiving a payment for adopt/implement/upgrade (AIU) under the Medicaid EHR program does not make you exempt from payment adjustments.

Adjustments will be applied at the beginning of the 2015 fiscal year for EH's (October 1, 2014). Hospital adjustments are based on the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) - to read more about EH adjustments, visit the EH and CAH Hardship Exception Tipsheet. EH's must continue to demonstrate meaningful use every year to avoid payment adjustments in subsequent years.

So, how does CMS determine who the 2015 adjustments apply to? In order to avoid the adjustments, EH's must demonstrate MU prior to the 2015 fiscal year. This means they have either attested to MU successfully in the 2013 reporting year or the 2014 reporting year.

What if your vendor does not deliver software to you in time to attest in 2014? In this case you can apply for a Hardship Exception based on the reason of '2014 Vendor Issues'.

If you are an EH who planned to attest for the first time in 2014 (new participant) and your vendor will not meet the deadline for you to attest in 2014, the deadline to file for hardship exception to avoid the 2015 payment adjustment has passed. These forms had to be submitted to CMS by April 1, 2014.

If you are an EH who attested to MU in the 2013 reporting year, you will not be subjected to the 2015 payment adjustment. But if your vendor is not able to deliver a 2014 certified solution before the attestation deadline, you can apply for a hardship exception for the 2016 payment adjustment. To apply, use the eligible hospital hardship exception for 2016. These forms must be submitted to CMS by April 1, 2015.

Contact Dynamic Health IT if you have questions about Meaningful Use or if you need assistance with your 2014 Edition Certification at 504-309-9103.

Meeting the Percentages

 

50% and 5% are thresholds for the Meaningful Use Stage 2 (2014 Edition) View, Download & Transmit requirement (VDT) – one of the toughest Stage 2 requirements for both vendors & providers.

Post-encounter, a minimum of 50% of patients must have on-line access to key clinical data and 5% must actually view, download or transmit this data.

The vendor certification requirement is:   § 170.314(e)(1) : View, Download and Transmit to 3rd Party

 

CCDA documents must be loaded to the patient portal and available for the patient to:

• View Human Readable format
• Download in XML format
• Transmit via Direct Protocol

The Required Code sets for CCDA: 

 Smoking Status, Procedures, Problems and Care plan - SNOMED-CT

 Medications and Medication Allergies - RxNorm

 Laboratory Tests and Values/Results – LOINC

 

CCDA (Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture) XML format with Common MU Data Set

 

A certified EHR must provide patients (and their authorized representatives) with online VDT.  Specifically, this requires:

• Support for Direct Protocol, including HISP (Health Information Services Provider)
• Online Patient Portal with “authorized representative” capabilities
• Portal must meet WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)