Practice Management Insight

December 2009

A report on events affecting Oklahoma providers

HUMOR

December 3, 4

OSDH Training:

Responding to Child Trauma

Norman, Duncan

More Information

December 3, 15-17

OSDH Training:

ICS Courses

More Information

December 11

ASAM with Steve Stewart

Tulsa Technology Center

Lemley Campus

Career Services Center

3420 S Memorial Drive

Contact: 405-522-8300

Fax: 405-522-8320

Event Information

Online Registration

December 18

Oklahoma Play Therapy with Connie O’Brien, M.Ed, LPC

JD McCarty Center

2002 East Robinson

Norman, OK 73071

Contact: 405-522-8300

Fax: 405-522-8320

Event Information

Online Registration

December 10

Conference Call

Emergency Preparedness: Lessons Learned by Behavioral Healthcare Organizations that Have Survived Disasters

2pm-4pm, Eastern Time

Event Information

Online Registration

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

As providers across Oklahoma brace themselves for the coming new consolidated claims processing system the State plans to implement soon (recently rescheduled for February 1, 2010), many find themselves still unsure if they are ready for the “big change.” Even more may be unaware of the full scope of the changes.

It’s a change that could literally put some centers out of business. “You have centers, mere weeks before the coming changes, asking what a CDC is. Who’s going to help these centers make sure they

are completely ready when the changeover takes place?” says Wafford, president of OrionNet Systems, the makers of the popular software ThinkHealth. “That’s where we come in.”

“The key to getting ready for February is to make sure you and your employees are properly trained, and that you have the best support team to guide you through the changes,” says Wafford, adding that no other software company comes close to the service OrionNet provides, far beyond simply selling a piece of software.

Already known and praised for their a superior customer service and the detailed training they provide for their software (available in several different forms of media as well as in person), OrionNet’s ability to outshine its competitors is even more visible in light of the State’s impending new claims processing system, and all the confusion and apprehension surrounding it.

“It’s more than just a piece of software that keeps track of your patients and billing,” Wafford says. “It’s the peace of mind knowing that you have a system, and a whole team behind it, working to make sure you know what’s going on, that all your treatment plans, CDCs, notes, and claims are following every new rule and reg the State throws out, and you don’t have to worry about it. You can just go about your daily operations, and we take care of the rest.”

“I sleep much easier at night, knowing I have ThinkHealth,” says Bill Martin, IT director at Catalyst Behavioral Services. “I like knowing that when a change is coming, we are informed by your company that you are on top of the changes,” accountant Glenda Pegg from People, Inc. said, after successfully completing a recent audit. “I feel we are better prepared for what lies ahead.”

Offering the most comprehensive, efficient training and best support of any software provider in Oklahoma helps OrionNet more easily roll on new customers, as well as keep their existing members up to date on any changes in the software and well abreast of any change in procedure required by the State.

With an established network of communication ongoing between OrionNet, the State and State agencies, as well as OrionNet’s dozens of members spread across Oklahoma, every billing code change, rate change, new regulation, or simply a new idea is analyzed, discussed and then implemented, ensuring no member is left “out of the loop” or unprepared.

The result? OrionNet’s centers find themselves ready, not just for the “big February 1 change,” but ready for anything.

Using ICD-9 Codes to Describe Your Morning

PLACE OF OCCURRENCE, HOME ICD-E849.0

6:00 AM  Alarm goes off. Hit snooze button. CIRCADIAN RHYTHM SLEEP D/O IRREG SLEEPWAKE TYPE ICD-327.33

6:30  Alarm goes off for third time. Ready to hit snooze button, but knee in ribs from wife prevents more snooze button procrastination. CONTUSION OF CHEST WALL ICD-922.1, ADULT MALTREATMENT UNSPECIFIED NEC ICD-995.8

Feeling tired, go to make a pot of coffee. CAFFEINE ADDICTION ICD-304.40

Fill bowl with Lucky Charms and start eating. UNSPECIFIED NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCY ICD-269.9, HYPERGLYCEMIA ICD-790.29

6:45 Realize that coffee pot needs to be turned on for it to make coffee. ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER, ADULT ICD-314.00, LISTLESSNESS ICD-780.79

Turn coffee pot on and wander to check email, blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc. OBSESSION ICD-300.3

Daughter wanders in with dazed expression and blanket draping shoulders.  STUPOR ICD-780.09

Speaks only in soft, irritated grunts. SELECTIVE MUTISM ICD-313.23, E/M 99212 ENCOUNTER, ESTABLISHED, BRIEF

7:00  Bring cup of coffee to wife in bed.  She moans when she looks at the clock.  Another morning headache.  E/M 99215, ENCOUNTER, ESTABLISHED, HIGH COMPLEXITY; OTHER COMPLICATED HEADACHE SYNDROME ICD-339.44, OTHER SPEC MENOPAUSAL& POSTMENOPAUSAL DISORDER ICD-627.8

Wake up other children who return evil glares for gentle nudging. CHILD EMOTIONAL/PSYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE ICD-995.51                                Read more

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A local center was forced out of their software system without warning early December when their software vendor shut them down, blocking them from retrieving any of their own patient data. The center was in the process of switching to a new practice management system that better suited their needs when they suddenly found themselves locked out of their old system before they had a chance to finish retrieving all of their data. Though the center was continuing to pay for their old system while they worked on switching to the new, now they are unable to access any data that remained in the old system. As of now it remains unclear what recourse this center has to retrieve it. Data loss is especially dangerous in the case of an audit, which would require a center to produce records for the past 7 years.

To prevent this from happening to you, we recommend you follow these points to ensure the safety of your data and the survival of your center:

1. MAKE SURE YOU OWN YOUR OWN DATA

Beware of signing any contracts with any vendors that do not let your own data. If anything ever happens to break the relationship between you and your software vendor, make sure that you legally walk away with your own data—not them.

2. GIVE YOURSELF A WAY OUT

Even if you predict the relationship will continue forever, it is safest to prepare for the worst. Make sure to specify in the contract that, in the event that the relationship did ever end (whether by your request or theirs), the vendor must allot you a period of at least 30 days to retrieve all your information out of their system before they stop providing service.

The outrageous story of how one center’s software company stole their data

How to Keep Your Data Safe!

A Warning to Providers: