Synergistic Update
April 2012
Welcome to Synergistic Update. This newsletter is our vehicle to provide information about SOS Software, events in the healthcare industry, links to important regulatory information, and notes about recent blog posts. Please let us know what issues you would like to hear about. And remember, your feedback is welcome at any time!
In this issue:
· EDI 5010 deadline extended…..again
· It’s a ‘Thank You Current Customer’ Sale: Get 10% off select SOS products
· SOS staff profile: Seth Krieger, President
· New Feature: Customer Spotlight
Recent blog articles available:
·
Telephone Systems: Headaches Revisited,
March 5, 2012
·
Medicare Fraud: CMS engages patients in
fighting fraud, March 15, 2012
·
Collaborative Documentation: New National
Council Webinar, March 21, 2012
A couple of weeks ago, we realized that our 27th anniversary in business is upon us. The second realization that came along with that one is that we have lots of customers who have been with us for a very long time. In fact, we set out to determine how many of our customers have been with us for twenty or more years. Additionally, we wondered how many of those 20+ year customers have maintained a current Support/Update plan since we started paid support in 1996.
We have begun a survey of our records to come up with a list, but it is a labor-intensive process. Naturally, when we first started out, we did not have a contact management program. We did obtain one in the early 1990s, but we know that some of you purchased Mental Health Office Manager (MHOM) in 1986 or 1987. We are working hard to put together an accurate list and will send an email to each of you whose records we can locate by the end of the first week of April. If you do not receive an email from us but you are a 20+ year customer, please send an email to Linda@sosoft.com. If you are a 20+ year customer and you have continuously maintained a Support/Update plan since 1996, please Kathy@sosoft.com. We want to be sure we do not miss anyone.
It is our plan to develop a page on our website listing all of our 20+ year customers who would like to participate. We will do a brief profile of your organization and include a link to your website. This is certainly not mandatory, but we would like to recognize your loyalty. For those who have maintained continuous Support agreements, we will have special recognition!
Please join us in our celebration!
EDI 5010 deadline extended . . . again
Earlier in March, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) notified providers that it will delay the beginning of enforcement actions for non-use of 5010 transactions until June 30, 2012. In our last newsletter, we detailed some of the struggles providers have experienced in dealing with the transition to the 5010 version of the 837 claims transactions. CMS apparently heard the requests of concerned representatives of providers and decided to delay enforcement yet again. You can keep up with these changes by monitoring the CMS website or signing up for notices.
Now that so many have had such a painful experience, CMS recommends a couple of things. I guess these recommendations are for the next time around…maybe for the ICD-10 changes. CMS recommends:
1. Establishing a line of credit to tide your organization over in case there are payment delays. “To avoid potential cash flow disruptions, providers should consider establishing or increasing a line of credit. By doing so, they can prepare for possible delays and denials in payer claims reimbursements….” (CMS News Updates, March 23, 2012).
2. Check on partner readiness: make sure that your payers and/or your clearinghouse and your software vendor are ready for the transition.
‘Thank You Current Customer’ Sale starts April 1, 2012: Get 10% off select SOS Products
Those of you who have current Support/Update plans are eligible to participate in our Thank You Current Customer Sale from April 1 through May 31, 2012. While we have worked hard to keep our prices low, we know that this economy has been tough on all our customers. To make it just a bit easier for you to purchase the products you need, SOS will discount purchases of SOS Office Manager, SOS Case Manager, SOS Appointment Scheduler, SOS First Contact, additional concurrent users in any of these products and upgrades of these products. The 10% discount applies to SOS products, not to those we license from other companies. If you need another user or two in SOS Office Manager, or you have been waiting to add SOS Case Manager to your inventory, now is the time. This offer expires May 31, 2012, so email Trish@sosoft.com now to initiate your order.
Staff Profile: Seth Krieger, President
We decided that it might be fun for you our customers to know a bit more about those of us who work here at SOS. After all, you talk to us often, but many of you have never met any of us. Some of our staff were a bit self-conscious about participating, so we decided to draw numbers to make it easier. As these things happen, #1 was drawn by Seth Krieger, President of Synergistic Office Solutions, Inc. We thought a simple question-and-answer format might be best, so here goes.
How
long have you worked at SOS?
I have worked at SOS since before it was a company. The very first "Office Manager" was a simple program that I wrote in the early 80's to make it easier for our psychology practice's secretary to enter and total each day's daysheet. We had been using Safeguard's One-Write system, so basically it was an automation of that paper-based product. That product sprouted additional features until it became our first DOS-based "Mental Health Office Manager" product. We incorporated as Synergistic Office Solutions, Inc. in 1985. For the next six or seven years I split my time between my practice (forensic psychology -- court ordered evaluations and sex offender treatment), computer consulting and writing software. By 1990 we had hired three additional people, two of whom are still working for SOS. In 1992 I sold what was left of my practice to work exclusively on SOS projects.
How would you describe your role at SOS?
Well, technically I am the company president, but most of my time is spent overseeing tech support and product development and writing most of SOS's documentation. I wish I could be downstairs programming full time, but all I can manage these days is some reporting and SQL coding. Oh, I am also the guy who keeps our internal computer, network, and software infrastructure functioning. That gives me the first-hand experience to assist our customers with these issues.
How do you prefer to spend your time when you are not working?
In addition to my long-standing interest in technology, I am a bicycling enthusiast. A few years ago I discovered a love of bicycle touring when a grad school friend invited me to join him on a ride from Little Rock, AR to Gainesville, FL in celebration of his 60th birthday. We have followed up with two additional long-distance rides and have another scheduled for June. If all goes well, we will finish the last leg of our Key West to Seattle journey next summer. I have documented our adventures at http://sethcycling.blogspot.com. I am also an avid reader of both fiction and non-fiction.
What else would you like our customers to know about you?
I have often said that if I could start over, I would pursue a computer science rather than a psychology education. If I had, though, I would never have met my wife Kathy, nor would I have SOS, so... never mind!
COMING NEXT ISSUE - New Feature: SOS Customer Spotlight
Next issue, we will begin profiling some of our long-time customers. We think it might be helpful to you to know what kind of organizations besides yours use the SOS Suite of Products. Any volunteers out there? Just email Kathy directly if you are interested.