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August 2009 - Volume 9, Issue2
The August 2009 issue of MedNet News includes information about a new
business alliance between Mednet and athenahealth, the latest on
Quality Recognition Programs (PTE, BTE, and NCQA Standards), major
payor updates, and MedNet's activation with HCAS/CAQH for provider
credentialing.
MedNet Affiliates with athenahealth

Meaningful use of Health Information Technology
UHC Important Radiology Notification Reminder

UnitedHealthcare Purchases TPA Operations from FISERV Health
HPHC Newsletter & Network Information Distribution Changes

Medical Claims Service (MCS) Acquired by EBS-RMSCO, Inc.
Credentialing News

Application Process Changes
MedNet Affiliates with athenahealth

MedNet has aligned forces with athenahealth, Inc., a leading provider
of Internetbased business services to physician practices. As a result
of this alliance MedNet
providers can now have preferred access to athenahealth's revenue
cycle management service, athenaCollector and integrated electronic
health record (EHR), athenaClinicals.
Additionally, this relationship has the potential to give MedNet
providers a greater ability to participate in and garner benefit from
the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health
(HITECH) Act.
The HITECH Act was enacted by President Obama on February 17th, 2009
as part of the larger stimulus package known as the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. The act includes incentives to
qualified medical providers demonstrating "meaningful use" of an EHR
starting in
2011.

MedNet became quickly impressed with athenahealth's products and
services which have the potential to significantly improve a
physician's ability to deliver quality care, helping to link rural
physician practices and
avoid unnecessary and costly duplication of services, while reducing
the administrative complexity of practice operations. Additionally,
athenahealth's suite of services is wholly web-based, allowing for a
more affordable
solution for smaller provider practices. athenahealth's services are
designed to deliver consistent financial and clinical results with
very low initial investment and
a rapid implementation and training cycle. athenahealth's
athenaCollector is a physician revenue cycle management service
offering integrated practice management software,
continually updated payer knowledge, and back-office processing
support into a single service. athenahealth's proprietary payer and
clinical rules engine, athenaRules,
is a real-time database of payer rules and regulations with new rules
being continuously added. MedNet providers can access athenahealth's
award-winning athenaCollector
practice management and billing service, which is designed to deliver
faster reimbursement, increased revenue, and ultimately, improved
practice workflow and operations.
athenahealth and MedNet share a common goal to introduce technology
and services that will allow medical providers in Maine to elevate the
quality-of-care delivered while
minimizing administrative hassles associated with operating a medical
office. Also as medical groups, especially small independent physician
practices, look to deal with the inherent challenges presented by
emerging
and existing pay-for-performance and quality recognition programs it
will be critical that they consider network-based clinical services
that are aimed at maximizing care delivery and the payment for it.

For additional information on specifics around this affiliation, or
athenahealth's practice management and EHR service offering please
contact:
Deidre DeRoche, MedNet Provider Relations Manager, 207-773-5116, ext.
128
Tom Drottar, MedNet Director of Networks and Business Development,
207-773-5116, ext. 106

For a review of their products and the company profile, visit the
athenahealth website at www.athenahealth.com.
Meaningful use of Health Information Technology

According to the California HealthCare Foundation, "chronic conditions
are the major cause of illness, disability, and death in the United
States". Much is known about how to prevent or delay many related
complications of chronic disease, yet national statistics consistently
demonstrate suboptimal outcomes. The truth is - achievement of optimal
quality and effectiveness from chronic care delivery requires a
systematic and comprehensive approach. Such an approach requires range
of different interventions. A disease registry is one tool for
capturing, managing, and providing access to conditionspecific
information for a list of patients to support organized clinical care.
Disease registries can exist in many forms. They can be part of a
larger electronic medical records (EMR) system, a homegrown database,
or a simple off-the-shelf software program. Successful disease
registries are also created with pen and paper. The form in which the
registry exists is secondary; realization depends on the consistent
entry of data and the daily use of the system.
The benefits are well documented. However, the up-front costs,
information technology resources, and expertise necessary to implement
and support these applications can be burdensome for some physician
practices. A typical transformation cycle may include many of the
following activities:

Practice Assessment
Solutions Research

Product Selection
Implementation & Staff Training

Office Flow Redesign
Evaluation

Reporting
If you would like to discuss how MedNet can help support your efforts
towards practice transformation please contact Penny Thomas by phone
at 800-556-1144 / 773-5116, ext. 118 or by email
pthomas@mainemednet.com.

UHC Important Radiology Notification Reminder
United Healthcare implemented its new Radiology Notification Program
on December 3, 2007 for all advanced outpatient-imaging procedures to
include CT, MRI/MRA, PET and Nuclear Medicine. All participating
physicians, facilities, and allied healthcare professionals were
required to comply. To follow procedure, Ordering Physicians must
provide notification by using one of the following three options. By
Phone: 1-866-889-8054, by Fax: 1-866-889-8061 or Online at
www.unitedhealthcareonline.com (click Notifications, Radiology
Notification Submissions & Status). Ordering Physicians are strongly
encouraged to document the authorization number provided as a result
of the notification process.

Rendering Providers must verify that a proper notification is on file
by calling 1-866-889-8054 (option #2) or online at
www.unitedhealthcareonline.com. If notification is not on file, the
Rendering Provider must obtain prior notification, via the channels
noted above.
United Healthcare products that require prior notification are Choice,
Choice Plus, Select and Select Plus United Health care products that
do not require prior notification are Medicare Advantage Secure
Horizons, Ovations (all governmental products), Pacificare, Harvard
Pilgrim Co-Branded, Golden Rule, and Options PPO.

List of benefit plans that do/do-not require prior notification is for
illustrative purposes only; it is not exhaustive. A complete list is
located at WWW.UHConline.com.
UnitedHealthcare Purchases TPA Operations from FISERV Health

UnitedHealthcare has wholly purchased the collective third party
administration (TPA) operations owned by FISERV Health. FISERV Health
previously aggregated a broad range of independent TPA operations
around the country, such as WAUSAU, Harrington Benefit Administrators,
Benesight, and Benefit Planners. UnitedHealthcare's newest acquisition
integrates national TPA services and operations under the new name of
United Medical Resources (UMR). Some transition will continue to occur
as former FISERV Health clients migrate to UMR's platform, brand
identification, and enrollee ID cards. More information regarding
UMR's services can be obtained at
http://www.umr.com/oss/cms/UMR/index.html. For assistance regarding
proper handling of member claims, contact MedNet via our general
assistance line at (800) 556-1144 or (207) 773-5116, Option 5.
HPHC Newsletter & Network Information Distribution Changes

Harvard Pilgrim now distributes its news and information
electronically. The new e-newsletter is named Network Matters. Network
Matters consolidates the news and information previously published in
News to Use and Network Leader, and replaces both newsletters. HPHC
encourages participating providers to visit
www.harvardpilgrim.org/providers, submit their email address and join
the distribution list for future electronic delivery.
Please be sure that Harvard Pilgrim has your e-mail address so that
you won't miss an issue of Network Matters. If you haven't already,
please go to www.harvardpilgrim.org/providers and click on the link
under the "News" heading to join the distribution list. As always,
each issue of News to Use and Network Leader is available at
www.harvardpilgrim.org/providers for providers to access at any time.

Medical Claims Service (MCS) Acquired by EBS-RMSCO, Inc.
MCS is now a wholly owned and operated subsidiary of EBS-RMSCO, Inc.
MCS is in the final stages of migrating its claims platform over the
EBS-RMSCO, Inc. platform. Please watch for enrollee ID card changes as
this process is competed, record the new mailing addresses for its
variety of employer benefit plans, as well as take note of EBS-RMSCO's
Emdeon payer ID# 04258 for purposes of electronic claims filing to
avoid remittance delays. For more information about EBS-RMSCO, Inc. go
to http://www.ebsrmsco.com/Default.aspx, or contact MedNet on our
general assistance line at (800) 556-1144 or (207) 773-5116, Option 5.

Credentialing News
MedNet is pleased to announce we began participation with HealthCare
Administrative Solutions (HCAS) as a partner in its collaborative and
streamlined provider credentialing initiative effective March 1, 2009.

In 2007, HCAS implemented a credentialing service solution in New
England that reduces the amount of time providers spend on
administrative tasks. The process includes a single point-of-entry for
providers to submit information used to assess a provider's
qualifications to treat patients and to participate in health plan
networks.
MedNet's participation in this credentialing initiative not only
offers streamlined and simplified processes for network providers, but
it connects MedNet's processes with the Council for Affordable Quality
Healthcare's (CAQH) universal provider credentialing data source, and
online application procedures.

For more information on this credentialing initiative and how it may
effect your participation with MedNet, contact Carole Belliveau via
email at cbelliveau@mainemednet.com, or by telephone at 207-773-5116
ext. 108.
For more information about the HealthCare Administrative Solutions
collaborative, visit the HCAS Web site at www.hcasma.org.

If you are not already participating with CAQH and submitting your
credentialing information to payers online, you can get more
information or enroll at www.caqh.org.
Application Process Changes

MedNet's participation with CAQH has changed our application &
credentialing process.
For initial provider credentialing go to
http://www.mainemednet.com/services.asp, select your provider type,
and download the appropriate forms you will need to complete MedNet's
application process. Please pay particular attention to the HCAS
Provider Enrollment Form. As designated on the website, mail your
completed forms to:

Credentialing Department
Medical Network, Inc.
P.O. Box 15253
Portland, ME 04112
-- Important --

You must participate with CAQH, complete your online CAQH provider
profile, and select MedNet as a payer you are requesting access to. If
you are not currently participating with CAQH, a welcome and
introduction package will be sent to you from CAQH on MedNet's behalf.
For further information contact Carole Belliveau at 207-773-5116, ext.
108 or via email at cbelliveau@mainemednet.com.

Comments about this site? E-mail us at info@mainemednet.com
PO Box 15253, Portland, ME 04112  Tel: 207 773-5116
©2009 Medical Network, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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