Synergistic Update

February 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:

Internet is abuzz with 5010 experiences

Performance Tip: Match RAM and CPU to Number of Users in SOS

New staff members? Training on SOS products is available

SOS 2012 Resolution: Help You Start Sending Claims Electronically

Easy ways to get current information on the Internet

Recent blog articles:

Must-Read Novels for 2012: Daemon and Freedom^TM December 20, 2011

Resolutions: 2012 January 3, 2012

Who’s Making Money from Healthcare Reform? January 11, 2012

Three Things You Need To Know About Mental Health Billing in 2012 January 16, 2012

Remote Access to PHI Subject of New ONC Initiative January 26, 2012

Psychology Podcasts: Current Info on the Internet January 30, 2012

Square Foot Gardening: Self-care modality February 14, 2012

Internet is abuzz with 5010 experiences

In mid-January, I published a blog post about our experiences up to that time with the transition to the 5010 version of the 837 professional claims transactions. While we have certainly had some difficulties, the transition has not been as bad as it might have been. Of course, I was expecting the worst. For those of you who were expecting a smooth transition, this may have been terrible.

The primary problems have been due to Payer readiness issues. Some Medicare Administrative Contractors (private companies who contract with Medicare to administer Medicare claims) failed to accurately transfer their provider enrollment information from their 4010 to their 5010 systems. Some Medicaid Payers implemented edits that incorrectly caused rejection of claims that should have been paid. Many of the payer systems rejected claims with error messages that provided inadequate information about what was wrong with a claim so it could be corrected.

The healthcare industry at-large has experienced this transition as a very painful event. Dr. Susan Turney, president of the Medical Group Management Association, represents over a quarter-million providers. Her letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) was scathing: http://www.mgma.com/WorkArea/mgma_downloadasset.aspx?id=1369699

Through all of this, the deadline for filing 5010 formatted claims has remained January 1, 2012. The enforcement date was moved to March 31, 2012. We await notice on any possible change in that deadline. In the meantime, if you send claims through Emdeon, they are translating your 4010 claims to 5010 and will continue to do so for the near future.

Performance Tip: Match RAM and CPU to Number of Users in SOS

SOS sometimes receives support calls because SOS Office Manager or SOS Case Manager is running more slowly than is acceptable. On two recent occasions, we found hardware configurations that were causing some problems. Seth has offered some suggestions in a new Document Library post. The amount of RAM in your system (so it can create large enough cache), and the use of multiple CPU cores to handle the work of the program should help.

New staff members? Training on SOS products is available

One of the biggest difficulties experienced by users of SOS software products occurs when an experienced staff member leaves. Even when that person trains the newly employed individual, it often takes much more time for the new person to get up to speed on our products. In fact, we find that this sort of transition leads to more mistaken uses of our software than any other single event.

If your staff, new or old, are struggling to effectively use SOS Office Manager, SOS Appointment Scheduler and/or SOS Case Manager, don’t waste time. Contact us right away. We can provide online training for a reasonable fee so your staff do not waste their time and cost you money. Instead of making it up as they go, they can learn the most efficient ways to use our products so they are productive right away. Contact Trish@sosoft.com for more information.

SOS 2012 Resolution: Help You Start Sending Claims Electronically

We have been very surprised over the years to see the number of organizations who buy our electronic claims module and never follow through by enrolling and sending claims. If you are part of that group, we would like to help you get past your hesitations, get your providers enrolled, and start sending your claims. What makes it worthwhile for you to send claims electronically?

· Speed: If you are currently sending paper claims or submitting at payer websites, the SOS Emdeon ANSI module will save you tremendous, valuable time. Send the same number of claims in a fraction of the time. Spend your time collecting payment rather than folding claim forms.

· Tracking: Emdeon recently added Emdeon Vision. This new tool allows you to track and monitor claims online, and to manage rejections in an easy-to-view format.

· Control: Guaranteed increase in control over what is often the key payment avenue for your healthcare business.

Call us at 352-242-9100 x 1 or click Mailto:kim@sosoft.com to send us an email. Why waste another minute? Take action today!

Easy ways to get current information on the Internet

A very easy way to get lots of current information, about mental health and many other topics, is to listen to or watch podcasts.