WebPT Blog
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5 CommentsFeb 22, 2011| Heidi Jannenga PT
As we have discussed in a previous blog, there are 2 methods of reporting your PQRS data to CMS: Claims-based or Registry based. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Once you have decided on a reporting method, how do you decide on what measures to report on? Here are some tips on making this important decision.
1. Diagnoses or clinical conditions treated in your clinic: Having eligible patients who qualify for the measures you choose is important in attaining your end goal of the incentive. If using claims-based reporting, you must acheive a greater than 50% participation in reporting and if using registry-based, then you must acheive 80% or greater participation. So, if 50% of your payer mix is Medicare and you see 100 patients in a month, then at least 25 of your Medicare patients that month would require PQRS data for claims or 40 for registry based reporting. If you choose a measure that only 10% of your Medicare patients qualify for, then you will not meet the criteria for that measure; so knowing your patient population is important.
2. Current treatments/interventions provided by therapists in your clinic: Most of the measures are specific to a narrow field based on specific diagnosis requiring specfic treatment interventions. If you are already providing this service in your clinic, then its a no brainer, ie: diabetic foot evals. However, this can be complicated and may not be the right choice for a clinic if they are not currently providing this service with a therapist proficient in this evaluation process. On the other hand, if you have a therapist who is interested in that service, its a great tool to monitor and grow another adjunct specialty to your practice.
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Feb 19, 2011| Mike Mannheimer
WebPT is committed to maintaining and enhancing the features of our system. We consistently resolve bugs in the system, update new tests and clinical tools, and add functions to make the system work better for our members.
As a result of all of the great member suggestions and ideas from our innovative development team, WebPT is prepared to release on March 5th what will be a series of great new features. This release of new features is going to give our members some new functions that are going to make working in the clinic even easier.
Key features in this release
New Add/Edit Patient Screen
There will be a new look on the Patient Intake Screens. The new screen will eliminate scrolling navigation on the Add Patient page. We are implementing tabbed browsing into the patient information to make it easier to see and quickly retrieve patient info. Outside of the obvious simplicity that the new format will bring, it also will pave the way for future features and integrations.Email Appointment Reminders
Another feature will only affect those clinics that currently use WebPT Scheduling. We are implementing the ability to send reminder emails to patients regarding their upcoming appointments. This function will become available for members currently utilizing the schedule at no extra cost. With this functionality in place, clinics should see a reduced no-show and cancellation rate. Clinics will alos benefit from utilizing a standardized method of communication with patients.Scan Directly Into Patient Files
Clinics who are currently using WebPT's eDoc feature will also have an added functionality. eDoc will now feature the ability to scan directly into a patient file. This feature comes by popular demand and will make the clinical work flow that much easier.Each of these features will come with a comprehensive user guide that will explain the full range of functionality. We hope that these new features, and other new ones that are on the way, will continue to simplify the way you run your clinic. These added functions and tools come as a result of our commitment to bring the rehab industry into the digital age and to continue moving EMR forward.
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Feb 13, 2011| Heidi Jannenga PT
Brrrr! As a cold front descended on New Orleans, Louisiana (or Nawlins as the locals say), so did just over 9100 PTs, PTAs, and PT students for 2011 CSM. Per the APTA, this was one of the best attended Combined Sections Meetings to date. The city has a lot of draw with Bourbon Street, riverboat gambling, hurricanes (the drink of course), ghost and swamp tours, and Cajun food. There was also the Rock-n-Roll Marathon & ½ Marathon on Sunday following the show which I know was a perk for quite of few of the PTs and students we spoke to.The Exhibit Hall was huge this year with over 400 vendors displaying a wide variety of physical therapy specific products and services. With this being our 4th showing at CSM, I can say that there was definitely a buzz in the hall with PT professionals engaged and interested in what the vendors had to offer. WebPT had a larger booth space this year giving more PTs exposure to our Electronic Medical Record as well as doing a promotional iPad give away. Thank you to all that stopped by our booth and congratulations to Joseph Nazzari, PT of SportsCare of America, PC our iPad winner!
Some highlights from the conference:
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Feb 9, 2011| Heidi Jannenga PT
The Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) is a program designed by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to improve the quality of reporting in the healthcare industry. The program is now considered to be permanent and therefore the program name has been amended to the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS). PQRS reporting is based on individual measures which are associated to a specific patient group by diagnosis, ailment, age, or clinical action taken by the reporting therapist. All Medicare Part B FFS (fee for service) patients are eligible, but must meet inclusion criteria for each measure.
There are 2 methods of reporting your clinical data to CMS: Claims-based and Registry. Choosing your reporting method is very important in reaching your 1% incentive goal. What is the difference between the 2 methods? What are the Pros and Cons of each? Let’s explore:
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Feb 8, 2011| Mike Mannheimer
In our effort to simplify the clinical environment while maintaining quality and compliance, we decided to dedicate this month the exciting topic of Medicare Regulations. This topic can to be either terrifying or boring for PTs, but it is something that must be considered and is equally important in patient care.
This article aims to clear up some of the most common questions regarding the program formally known as PQRI. For your convenience I have translated the legislative jargon into plain English.
Note: WebPT is one of 2 certified PQRI Registries in the Physical Therapy space. We have just finished updating our module to the 2011 specifications. WebPT members can contact their member representatives to learn how to activate this feature and begin participating in this program.
What are PQRI and PQRS?
PQRI stands for the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative. This program is administered by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In regular governmental fashion, CMS has recently changed the program to a permanent feature rather than a temporary initiative (as of January 2011). In light of this adjustment the name of PQRI was changed to PQRS. PQRS stands for the Physician Quality Reporting System. This is the new lingo so let’s get with it. (I’m also trying to light a fire under CMS here– their website is not even updated with the new name yet).
