News from the AOA's Blog

The Medicare Learning Network® (MLN) – the official U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) source of information for Medicare fee-for-service health care practitioners – offers a number of resources (including several introduced over the past month) to help practitioners understand the Medicare e-Rx incentive program and other Medicare initiatives.

MLN Matters® Special Edition Article #SE1120 – titled Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program 2011 Updates – which provides up-to-date information about the program, is now available online at  http://tinyurl.com/MLNSE1120.

Eligible professionals may begin reporting the electronic prescribing measure at any time throughout the 2011 program year (Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2011) to be incentive eligible.

A series of fact sheets relating to the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) and the Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program are now available in downloadable format from the Medicare Learning Network®:

• The 2011 Physician Quality Reporting System Made Simple for Reporting the Preventive Care Measures Group fact sheet is designed to provide information to eligible professionals regarding how to report the preventive care measures group, and includes information on how to start using the measures group, as well as some examples of situations and solutions. Download at http://tinyurl.com/MLNPQRSFS.
• The Physician Quality Reporting System Satisfactorily Reporting 2011 Measures: Claims and Registry fact sheet is designed to provide information to eligible professionals and their billing staff regarding some preparatory steps that need to be taken prior to reporting, should they choose to participate in Physician Quality Reporting, and includes guidance on getting started, tips for Physician Quality Reporting, Claims-Based Reporting of Individual Measures, and Common Reporting Errors Associated with Claims-Based Reporting.  Download at http://tinyurl.com/MLNPQRSFSII.
• The Physician Quality Reporting System (Physician Quality Reporting, formerly called Physician Quality Reporting Initiative or PQRI) Reporting Periods for 2011 fact sheet is designed to provide information to eligible professionals regarding the PQRI 2011 reporting periods, and includes information on Physician Quality Reporting Resources and the four six-month reporting period options.  Download at http://tinyurl.com/MLNPQRSFSIII.
• The 2011 Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program Made Simple fact sheet is designed to provide information to eligible professionals regarding the steps necessary to qualify for the 2011 eRx incentive, and includes information on qualifying for a 2011 eRx Incentive by reporting the eRx measure, what is considered a qualified eRx system, and other resources available.  Download at http://tinyurl.com/MLNeRxFS.
• The 2011 Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program Made Simple Quick Reference Chart provides information regarding questions to answer before reporting the eRx measure. Download at http://tinyurl.com/4y75kkw.

Revised MLN products

A newly revised version of Medicare Learning Network’s Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN) – Part A and Part B booklet – designed to provide basic education on the ABN – is now available at http://tinyurl.com/MLNABNBook. A hard-copy version of this product will be made available in the future.

The MLN recently updated its Quick Reference Information: Preventive Services chart which offers coverage, coding, and payment information on the wide variety of preventive services Medicare covers – including those related to glaucoma.  View, download, or print at http://tinyurl.com/3k4kx37.

Optometrists may also wish to consult the MLN’s Quick Reference Information: The ABCs of Providing the Initial Preventive Physical Examination (IPPE) and Quick Reference Information: The ABCs of Providing the Annual Wellness Visit (AWV) charts for information on how optometrists may be able to work with other health care practitioners to provide such services. Both are available on the MLN Products Web page (www.cms.gov/MLNProducts).

The MLN also offers these charts in a laminated, ring-bound booklet titled “Quick Reference Information Resources: Medicare Preventive Services.”

This booklet contains all four of the preventive services charts listed above in a single, easy-to-use format. To order a free copy, visit the Preventive Services MLN page at http://tinyurl.com/MLNPrevent, then scroll to “MLN Product Ordering Page” in the “Related Links Inside CMS” section. (Please note that, aside from a Medicare Immunization Billing chart, these charts are no longer offered individually in hard copy.)

All of the above-mentioned items can be downloaded or ordered on the MLN Products Web page (www.cms.gov/MLN
Products). To order any of the products available in print, scroll down to the “Related Links Inside CMS” and select the “MLN Product Ordering Page.”

MLN podcasts
 
The Medicare Learning Network® offers a series of podcasts designed to provide education to fee-for-service providers on how to avoid common billing errors and other improper activities when dealing with the Medicare program. To download the MLN podcasts, visit the MLN Multimedia Web page (http://tinyurl.com/MLNMultiMedia) and select the topic of the podcast. Also visit the MLN Provider Compliance Web page (http://tinyurl.com/MLNCompliance) that contains educational FFS provider materials to help providers understand – and avoid – common billing errors and other improper activities identified through claim review programs.