Tech Update
April 19, 1999 2 minutes read
Tech Update
• All bills submitted for services to Medicare beneficiaries must now be Year 2000 compliant to help assure that providers are preparing their computers. All healthcare personnel filing claims must now use 8-digit dates in order to be paid. As of the end of March, 78% of Part A electronic billers, which includes home health agencies, were submitting Y2K compliant claims. The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA; Baltimore) has established a telephone line, (800) 958-HCFA, where agencies can find out about software and other materials needed to be Y2K compliant. The same information can be found on the Internet at www.hcfa.gov/y2k.
• The Virginia Association for Home Care (VAHC; Richmond, VA) and the Ohio Council for Home Care (OCHC; Columbus, OH) have each formed an agreement with Outcome Concept Systems (OCS) that gives VAHC and OCHC access to the OCS-OASIS software. VAHC’s Executive Director Martha Pulley said the software will help its members better meet requirements of the Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS). VAHC represents the majority of home care agencies in Virginia. OCHC represents about 300 home care agencies in Ohio.
• BayCare Health System has implemented InterAction, an Interlynx Technology (Boston) product designed to automate the human resources, payroll, and benefits processes. Before deciding to purchase InterAction, BayCare performed an analysis of current practices and cost and found that the automation estimates a 12.6% annual return on investment over five years, with the technology paying for itself in about 3.5 years, Interlynx said.
• qmed (Laurence Harbor, NJ) has said that its ohms/cad system for the management of heart disease saved 36% of a California managed care organization’s annual costs for coronary artery disease. The data came from the Bakersfield California Pilot project. qmed CEO/President Michael Cox said the system is "part of the solution for the spiraling costs of care," as well as the "issues surrounding the solvency of Medicare."
• A technology called Santrax, built by a company of the same name in Port Washington, NY, offers the home healthcare industry a third-party verification system to make business more efficient. It can create an audit trail by date and time stamping the arrival and departure times of each worker. It will collect data to be transferred directly into the payroll and billing system and save time on collecting paper timesheets. It can also collect travel time and mileage, allowing a company to monitor employee productivity. For more information on the product, call (800) 544-7263.
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