Oklahoma County Medical Society

AMA Toolkit Assists in Practice Management System Software Selection

The AMA and MGMA have developed a free toolkit for its members, "Selecting a Practice Management System," to assist physicians in selecting the most appropriate software to run their practices.

The new toolkit will provide physician practices with:

*a five-step guide to PMS software selection;

*a comprehensive checklist of PMS software features and functionalities that physician practices can use to determine what their practice needs; and

*a sample "request for proposal" that physician practices can employ in their communcations with PMS software vendors.

For additional information, visit the AMA website:

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/solutions-managing-your-practice/practice-management-center/pms-toolkit.shtml

CMS Conference Call for Physicians on EHR Incentive Program

CMS has just announced they will host a conference call on the new Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program.

Physicians will learn what it takes to become a "meaningful user" of a certified EHR in order to quality for the incentive payments.

The call is scheduled for Tuesday, August 10, 2010 from 1-2:30 CDT. Information on how to register will be forthcoming and we will share it once we have it.

Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released the final regulation on the EHR incentive program referred to as the "meaningful use" regulation. This final rule pertains to Stage 1 that covers the first two years of adoption and meaningful use of certified EHR technology. States 2 and 3 will be defined in future rulemaking.

The AMA believes it will be challenging for many physicians to participate successfully in the program, especially those in solo or small group practices who have not previously used EHRs. For more information, visit the AMA website: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/solutions-managing-your-practice/health-information-technology/hit-resources-activities.shtml

or the OSMA website: http://www.okmed.org

HEALTH SYSTEM REFORM INSIGHT

The AMA has developed Health System Reform Insight to help physicians understand the health system reform legislation and what it means to physicians and their patients.

The series explains how the legislation will affect physicians, when certain provisions are scheduled to go into effect and what patients will need to know.

The first in the series outlines how health system reform will affect physicians' practices. Click on the following link for this information:

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/health-system-reform/hsr-impacts-practice.shtml

The second in the series focuses on information for patients. You are encouraged to visit the AMA's health system reform web site and print copies to share with your patients:

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/399/hsr-patient-information.pdf

The third in the series provides descriptions of Medicare savings under health reform legislation for different provider category groups:

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/399/hsr-medicare-savings-under-reform.pdf

The fourth in the series discusses how the revised geographic adjustments on individual physicians will vary by state and by service. A regulation will need to be issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services before the final numbers and details on the application of the 2010 adjustments will be known. In the meantime, more information on the policy changes and the AMA's estimates of the impacts for each state is available online:

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/399/gpci-impact-table.pdf

The fifth in the series explains key provisions in the new health reform law including tax credit and changes that may affect physicians and their practices:

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/399/hsr-taxes-credits.pdf

The sixth in the series gives an overview of some of the major provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act relating to health insurance coverage and market reforms:

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/399/hsr-health-insurance-coverage-reforms.pdf