The next time you get a request for records from your carrier or recovery audit contractor (RAC), you would be able to send it electronically under a new CMS pilot program. The Electronic Submission of Medical Documentation (esMD) lets you send any requested record as a PDF document, which typically means you scan or convert the required documents into PDFs.
This could reduce the time it takes to meet a records request, although you will probably need to go through your claims clearinghouse to submit information via esMD, as only large providers are likely to have their own “gateway” needed to reach esMD, CMS says.
The esMD pilot goes live next month and will be phased in from September 2011 through January 2012. Here’s a list of the RACs and Medicare contractors that will participate in the pilot.
September 2011:
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RAC A
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RAC B
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MAC J1
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MAC J3
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MAC J4
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MAC J5
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MAC J9
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MAC J11
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MAC J12
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MAC J13
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MAC J14
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DME MAC A
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DME MAC B
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DME MAC D
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Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) Contractor
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Program Error Rate Measurement (PERM) Contractor
November 2011:
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RAC D
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MAC J10
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Zone program integrity contractor (ZPICs) zone 1 & 7
January 2012:
Check out CMS’s complete esMD site for more information.