HEALTHCARE IT NEWS & BLOG
Epic to jump into medical billing, currently hiring for new unit
The new service, which should launch later this year, is aimed at smaller customers hoping to outsource revenue cycle management, a spokesperson said.
A want ad recently appeared on the website of Verona, Wisconsin-based electronic health record colossus Epic Systems Corp. for "bright, motivated individuals to join our new billing services team as we enter the world of medical billing."
The ad notes that Epic is seeking billers who have good communication and customer service skills; are familiar with medical terminology and remittance/denial codes; are knowledgeable about Medicaid, Medicare, and other insurance guidelines, and have a coding certification or background. Applicants should also live within 45 minutes of the Verona campus.
"Our goal is to simplify the payment process by helping Epic organizations with the complexities of submitting claims and posting payments," according to the ad. "Attention to detail is vital as you'll be posting payments and denials; reconciling payment files, claims, and statements; resolving posting errors; and calling payers to follow up on outstanding or unpaid claims."
The ability to offer billing could be a boon for Epic's efforts to grow its business with resource-strapped small hospitals and physician practices.
The company is targeting organizations such as those as it rolls out the new streamlined EHR versions it announced earlier this year: a mid-range "utility" version, and a system called Sonnet whose scaled-back features and lower price point could make it appealing to smaller providers.
"We’re finding that people need different things," Epic CEO Judy Faulkner told Healthcare IT News at HIMSS17 in February. "If you are a critical access hospital, you don’t need the full Epic."
The value-add of billing service could make the choice for a simpler EHR that much more appealing.
"With a billing presence across all 50 states, Epic is well-positioned and excited to share our best practices and take on some of the billing work, and associated IT functions, for our Resolute Professional Billing customers," said Epic spokesperson Meghan Roh.
"Launching later this year, this new offering will help those who are struggling to scale their billing services, looking to keep a light operational footprint, or those who are just simply hoping to step away from revenue cycle management," she said.
Apple reveals plans to put health records on the iPhone
The company aims to pull all healthcare information, such as labs and medications, into one place.
Apple has been in talks with hospitals and other healthcare organizations to explore the possibility of bringing health records together via iPhones, media outlets reported.
The effort to make all personal health information available via its devices would be a first for Apple, which until now has focused it healthcare work on fitness and wellness with its Apple HealthKit. Apple has been typically mum on the developments and CNBC, which first reported Apple’s latest intentions for healthcare, said the works has thus far been “secretive.”
[Also: Will Apple buy athenahealth? Jonathan Bush calls rumor baseless]
Unnamed sources told CNBC Apple is looking at startups in the cloud-hosting space to give it a foothold in healthcare.
The company has already acquired personal health data startup Gliimpse, which has a secure platform for consumers to manage and share their own medical records.
The entrepreneur Anil Sethi, who built Gliimpse and sold it to Apple three years later, is now working at Apple. His title, according to his LinkedIn page, is Director, Apple Health.
More recently, Apple recruited Sumbul Desai, MD, from Stanford, where she has been involved in several successful digital projects. Apple executives have not released what role Desai will play, whether she might join the team working on ResearchKit, HealthKit and CareKit, or work on another project altogether.
Also, Apple insiders reportedly talked with people at The Argonaut Project, which is promoting the adoption of open standards for health information, and to "The Carin Alliance," an organization that advocates for giving patients a central role in controlling their own medical data
Google to crack down on medical records in search results
Google added "confidential, personal medical records of private people" to its removal policy, signaling the company's first step to eliminating sensitive health information from its search results.
The tech giant updated the list of content it reserves the right to remove from search results June 22, according to Bloomberg. Under the revision, private medical records will be considered "sensitive personal information," which also includes information like individuals' Social Security, bank account and credit card numbers.
Prior to June 22, Google's most recent change to its removal policy took place in 2015, when it added a category related to "nude or sexually explicit images that were uploaded or shared without ... consent," according to The Guardian.
The decision follows several information security incidents that demonstrated how medical records may be posted online. A pathology lab in India unintentionally uploaded more than 43,000 patient records in December, according to Bloomberg, which were indexed in Google's search results.
The removal policy targets personal information that "creates significant risks of identity theft, financial fraud or other specific harms," according to Google. The search engine applies its right to remove content on a case-by-case basis, in part by reviewing individual requests submitted online.
Click here to view Google's removal policy.
DOD reveals Cerner implementation timeline
During a Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing on March 29, the U.S. Department of Defense presented an updated timeline for its Cerner implementation rollout.
Here are five things to know.
1. Stacy A. Cummings, a program executive officer for defense healthcare management systems, testified on behalf of DOD at a hearing on the defense health program budget for fiscal year 2018. She said rollout of the new EHR system, MHS Genesis, will follow a "wave model," ultimately replacing DOD's legacy healthcare systems, which encompass more than 9.4 million beneficiaries.
"This approach allows DOD to take full advantage of lessons learned and experiences gained from prior waves to maximize efficiencies in subsequent waves," Ms . Cummings said during her testimony.
2. The EHR system uses a commercial platform by Cerner as part of a $4.3 billion DOD contract awarded to Leidos, Cerner and Accenture in July 2015.
3. The first wave of facilities to receive MHS Genesis began on Feb. 7 in the Pacific Northwest, when the DOD implemented MHS Genesis at Fairchild Air Force Base outside Spokane, Wash.
4. The next three implementation sites will be Naval Hospital Oak Harbor, Naval Hospital Bremerton and Madigan Army Medical Center outside Lakewood, all located in Washington state. This MHS Genesis roll out will begin at the end of fiscal year 2017.
5. From there, deployment will proceed with 23 waves across three continental U.S. regions and two regions overseas through 2022. The typical wave will include three hospitals and 15 physical locations and will last for roughly one year.
Click here to view the full testimony.