The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology (HIT) reports the Drummond Group has certified nine electronic health record (EHR) products and the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) has certified 54 products.

Fast improvements in the technology driving electronic health record (EHR) systems spurred by Medicare and Medicaid incentive programs are making it easier for you to use EHR systems efficiently and profitably, says David Blumenthal, MD, CMS's national coordinator for health information technology.

You're probably familiar with "high deductible health plans" (HDHPs), sometimes also known as "consumer-driven health plans." They're hot insurance products, so if you haven't heard of them yet, you're likely to soon. Make sure you know how to collect when you are entitled to payment under these plans.

As times continue to be tight, you must identify and plug revenue leaks, experts say. You have the same major potential sources of recoverable revenue regardless of practice size, says Ron Rosenberg, CEO of the Practice Management Resource Group in Tinley Park, Ill. While there are many ways you can lose earned revenue, they generally fall into these three categories.

Use physician office billing data from CMS to determine which preventive services are frequently done for the patients in your billing locality and the average amount your peers charge in your area. CMS has updated its Physician Payment Information for Value Driven Health Care files.

Anyone who thinks it's an absolute certainty that Congress will step in and stop the pay cuts coming this December and January is "smoking funny weed," Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) president William Jessee, MD, said at a media lunch during the group's recent conference in New Orleans. You've been on a roller coaster of payment cuts, freezes and minor increases for years, with Congress stepping in at the last minute to save the day. But this time around, a disenfranchised electorate, poor economic conditions and a $330 billion cost makes the fix less certain, Jessee believes.

CMS finalized the 2011 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule -- and it's not pretty. The conversion factor used to calculate Medicare services will be $25.5217, down 30.78% from $36.8729. We'll have a comprehensive analysis by Thursday night, but for now, feast your eyes on these top highlights from the final rule, based on an exclusive preliminary Part B News analysis.

When Riverside Health System implemented its EMR in 1996, the idea was that it would be able to use the data to help drive improvements in care. 

It’s time for physicians to ditch the file folders and start relying on electronic health records (EHR) to manage their patients’ medical information. 

When it comes to medical staff peer review, few areas are stickier than conducting ongoing professional practice evaluation (OPPE) for low- and no-volume practitioners. Medical staffs already struggle to collect data from numerous sources to assess the competence of high-volume practitioners, and the struggle becomes even more difficult when physicians visit the hospital only once or twice per year.