| NHIC, Corp.DME MAC A ListServe | For Immediate Release |
| March 20, 2009 Weekly What's New The following publications have been posted to the DME MAC A What's New page:Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS) Supplier Accreditation (SE0903) Important Information Regarding NPI/PTAN NPPES Crosswalk Update on Final Rules Regarding ICD-10 Code Sets and Standards Governing Electronic Transactions (CMS Message 2009-03-17) National Patient Safety Awareness (CMS Message 2009-03-07) March 24th is Diabetes Alert Day (CMS Message 2009-03-18) New Oxygen related FAQs are now available For more information visit: http://www.medicarenhic.com/dme/dme_whats_new.shtml Update on Final Rules Regarding ICD-10 Code Sets and Standards Governing Electronic Transactions (CMS Message 2009-03-17)On January 15, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released two final rules that will facilitate the United States' ongoing transition to an electronic health care environment through adoption of an updated set of diagnosis and procedure codes and updated standards for electronic health care and pharmacy transactions.In accordance with the White House Chief of Staff's memorandum of January 20, 2009 entitled "Regulatory Review," a determination has been made that the effective date will not be extended and the comment period will not be reopened for either of these rules.The first rule finalizes new code sets to be used for reporting diagnoses and procedures on health care transactions. This final rule replaces the ICD-9-CM code sets, developed nearly 30 years ago, with greatly expanded ICD-10 code sets. The second final rule adopts updated versions of the standards governing electronic transactions under the authority of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. The updated versions replace the current standards and will promote greater use of electronic transactions. In response to public comments suggesting that more time would be needed for effective industry implementation, the final rules include later compliance dates. More specifically, the final rules provide compliance dates of Jan. 1, 2012, for the transaction standards and Oct. 1, 2013, for the ICD-10 code set. National Patient Safety Awareness (CMS Message 2009-03-07)The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reminds beneficiaries and health care professionals what patients and their local healthcare providers can do to improve the safety of care. CMS is also working to make health care safer through its Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) Program.What can patients/consumers do to make health care safer? According to the National Patient Safety Foundation, consumers can help bring patient safety to the forefront of healthcare providers' agendas:Ask your hospital or health care professional about patient safety, and how communication and partnership between you and your providers can be improved.Ask your hospital or health care organization what they are doing for Patient Safety Awareness, and attend events to learn more about patient safety.Communicate with your provider about your health care safety concerns.Let your health care provider know who they should talk with in the case that you are unable to speak for yourself.Consumers can also work with the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) in their state to raise concerns about the quality or safety of care they or a loved one have received under the Medicare program. QIOs will work to find the reason why things happened to cause the concern and to determine the likelihood that it will happen again. The purpose of a quality of care review is not to punish the doctor, but to help improve care delivery for future patients. In cases where chances are high that the scenario will happen again, the QIO will help health care providers make changes in procedures to prevent future problems.CMS has published two guides for consumers about working with QIOs about quality/safety of care problems.Quality of Care Concerns: What Can Your Quality Improvement Organization Address? (Publication CMS-11362), available online at http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/11362.pdf; andFrequently Asked Questions: What to Do If You Have a Quality of Care Concern (Publication CMS-11348), available online at http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/11348.pdfConsumers can learn more about how the QIO works with them in their state by visiting the directory of QIOs online at http://www.medicare.gov/ContactsWhat is CMS doing to make health care safer? In addition to working with consumers on quality of care problems, QIOs are working nationwide with select hospitals and nursing homes to improve patient safety by:Improving surgical safety/infection rates.Reducing rates of certain infections in hospitals.Intensively working with "nursing homes in need."Improving care for patients with heart failure.Preventing pressure ulcers (or "bed sores") in patients from nursing homes and hospitals.Eliminating physical restraints in nursing homes.Combating drug-drug interactions and potentially inappropriate medication errors.Health care professionals can learn more about how QIOs are making care safer at http://www.qualitynet.org/medqic. This website contains more information about each of these tasks, as well as tools designed to help providers improve quality in each of these areas. Professionals can also contact the Patient Safety QIO Support Center at psqiosc@okqio.sdps.org March 24th is Diabetes Alert Day (CMS Message 2009-03-18)March 24th is Diabetes Alert Day. Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. However, early detection and treatment of diabetes can prevent or delay many of the complications associated with the disease.In conjunction with Diabetes Alert Day, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would like to remind health care professionals that Medicare provides coverage for several diabetes-related services, including:diabetes screening tests,diabetes self-management training,medical nutrition therapy, andcertain other diabetes supplies and services.CMS offers several educational products related to Medicare-covered preventive services, including diabetes services. Please visit the Medicare Learning Network (http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNGenInfo/) for more information, including the following diabetes-related pages:The MLN Preventive Services Educational Products Web Page ~ provides descriptions and ordering information for Medicare Learning Network (MLN) preventive services educational products and resources for health care professionals and their staff. http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/35_PreventiveServices.aspDiabetes-Related Services Brochure ~ This tri-fold brochure provides health care professionals with an overview of Medicare's coverage of diabetes screening tests, diabetes self-management training, medical nutrition therapy, and supplies and other services for Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes. http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/DiabetesSvcs.pdfTo order copies of the brochure, go to the MLN Product Ordering System located at: http://cms.meridianksi.com/kc/main/kc_frame.asp?kc_ident=kc0001&loc=5The CMS Web site provides additional information about the Medical Nutrition Therapy benefit at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicalNutritionTherapy/For more information about diabetes, please visit the National Diabetes Education Program web site at http://www.ndep.nih.gov/. This site contains several publications to help you educate your patients about diabetes prevention, including The Road to Health Toolkit, which contains resources specifically tailored for community health workers in Hispanic/Latino and African-American communities, who are at a higher risk for type 2 diabetes. |
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