Want to know more about Standards? Looking for tips about using Direct? Interested in the newest product offering from UHIN? It’s all here in the latest edition of UHIN’s bi-monthly newsletter! If you have a comment or if there is a topic you would like to see us cover in an upcoming issue, please email us at communications@uhin.org.
The Training Tip
Sometimes, the best workflows come from a little trial-and-error. However, that experimenting can take some time to deliver results. To help expedite those results, over the next few issues of this newsletter, UHIN’s Corporate Trainer will pull from over 9 years of trial-and-error experience to provide a variety of workflow tips.
Here are some of the best ways to improve your workflow when it comes to new payers:
- -Adding a new payer, new connection, or new software is the time in your workflow that you are most likely to see problems. When any one of these changes occurs, keep an extra close eye on your transactions until you have received your first payment. Some specific suggestions for this include:
- -Keep your first submissions to a handful of claims (or fewer). That way, if something goes wrong, it will be easier to track, fix, and resubmit a smaller number of claims.
- -Note down the patient name, account number, and submission date for those first submissions. If you need to contact anyone to troubleshoot these claims, having this information will expedite the process.
- -Remember, you should receive an initial payer response within a matter of minutes (although in some cases it may take up to 24 hours) and a detailed report, called a 277CA, within 2 days of submission. If you have not received these acknowledgements within the expected timeframe, contact your clearinghouse.
- -Many payers require enrollment for some or all of their electronic transactions. Before you send to a new payer for the first time, check with your clearinghouse to see if you need to enroll. UHIN is happy to help our members with the enrollment process should it become necessary.
- -After you have submitted your request to your clearinghouse, make sure to read any confirmation emails carefully. They may contain confirmation numbers you can use to track your request, and/or they may contain instructions for additional steps.
- -If you have requested electronic remittances (835s) or if you are enrolling for a government payer, it’s more likely that you will need to take some sort of additional action. UHIN members in this situation will receive an email from our Enrollment Specialist with a copy of any required forms as well as submission instructions. Following those instructions will set you up for a smooth and timely transition.
For providers submitting to Utah Medicaid:
The window for claims processing at Medicaid closes every Thursday evening; therefore, if possible, aim to submit your claims on a Monday or Tuesday. Submitting early in the week will allow you to see the initial acknowledgements from Medicaid, fix and resubmit any claims with errors, and see the initial acknowledgements for the new submissions, all before that Thursday cutoff.
UHIN Continues EHNAC Accreditation
UHIN recently completed a thorough audit by the Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC) to continue its accreditation with this federally-recognized standards development and accrediting organization. This third-party review provides the assurance that UHIN is keeping your data safe through our systems, processes and procedures. EHNAC is just one of several accreditations UHIN maintains in our ongoing pursuit of adhering to the best industry practices and offering the highest levels of security. You can learn more about EHNAC at the organization’s website.
Webinars and Training Information Now Online
Looking for a great resource to help you learn about UHIN’s Dashboards, CHIE Alerts or any number of other topics? Did you miss one of our free webinars? Good news! You can now access these great training videos and the recorded webinars online. They’re all available on the UHIN website or on the UHIN Education YouTube channel.
Speaking of webinars, UHIN has a year-long series of free webinars on a wide-range of topics from EDI to LACE scores, from electronic eligibility to decreasing workplace drama. You can register for these webinars on the events page of our website.
Security Tip
HeathIT Security, an online publication, recently highlighted a survey conducted by Kickstand Communications, which showed an astonishing 87% of healthcare workers admitted they send personal health information (PHI) and other confidential information through non-secure email. When asked why, nearly three quarters of respondents said they believed regular email was a secure way to send PHI and other confidential information. But regular email and text messages aren’t HIPAA compliant – leaving practices violating the law, and putting their patients’ PHI at risk.
There are, however, alternatives to unsecure email, such as Direct, which offer the convenience of regular email while providing HIPAA-compliant security. Secure Exchange Solutions (SES), which provides secure communications to a wide-range of healthcare stakeholders, cites several advantages to using options like Direct.
- -Most EHRs have Direct built into their systems, so doctors and staff can use Direct to communicate within their already-existing workflows
- -It is just as intuitive and easy to use as non-secure email
- -It facilitates paperless communication, lowering the chances of an unintentional disclosure of PHI
- -It is a particularly good choice for behavioral health organizations since it is person-to-person communication, eliminating the need to revert to paper, and thus keeping the patient’s information private
Security Tip: In order to prevent unintentional exposure of PHI, any device using Direct should be treated in the same manner as other devices handling PHI – don’t share log in information, and always remember to log out.
If you’re interested in learning more about Direct, please contact sales@uhin.org.
You can read the full HealthIT Security story here.
What’s New at UHIN? Easy-to-use new features in MYUHIN!
Self-service password reset
At UHIN, security is always top of mind. That’s why we introduced a new feature that allows members to reset their own passwords for UHINt and UTRANSEND! The new feature is found in MYUHIN and it is easy-to-use, self-explanatory, and gives you peace of mind. For more information see our MYUHIN User Guide.
Environment Toggle
Need to switch between the UAT and Production environments in the MYUHIN Dashboard? We’ve added a simple environment toggle in the lower left corner of the screen!
For more information about resetting passwords or using the environment toggle, please contact Customer Service at customerservice@uhin.org.
What’s MYUHIN?
MYUHIN is a single-sign on portal for multiple UHIN products and services, including:
· File tool – Easily upload and download ANSI X12 transactions
· Eligibility Tool – Electronically check benefits and coverage
· Password Reset – Reset passwords for UHINt and UTRANSEND
UHIN Adds Blue Mountain Hospital as Data Source
UHIN is closer than ever to being connected to 100% of Utah’s hospitals! Blue Mountain Hospital serving the 15,000 residents and thousands of visitors of San Juan County, is now sending ADT notifications and lab reports to the CHIE. If you’re subscribing to notifications of hospital admissions, you will now receive them on any of your patients receiving care at Blue Mountain Hospital. If you are not yet taking advantage of this CHIE Alerts service, contact sales@uhin.orgtoday!
Located in Blanding, Blue Mountain Hospital offers a wide variety of services, including emergency care, surgical services, obstetrics, radiology, inpatient care, and many others. It is the latest independent hospital to connect with UHIN. All the hospitals in the four largest health systems are connected to UHIN, as are most independent hospitals – the last handful of which are scheduled to come on line within the year.
As the newest data source, Blue Mountain joins over 500 clinics and hospitals in Utah, as well as health information exchanges and hospital systems in several additional states, contributing data to the CHIE! For a full list of facilities sharing data through the CHIE, visit https://uhin.org/the-chies-data-sources/.
VA Moving to “Opt-Out” on Consent
President Trump recently signed the VA MISSION Act of 2018, which includes language removing the requirement that the VA be required to obtain written consent from veterans before sharing health records. Implementation of the new procedure is still being determined; more information will follow as soon as it is available.
Currently, veterans are required to provide signed consent through the VLER Health Authorization Form if they wish to have their records electronically exchanged between the VA and other providers with whom they have a treatment relationship. The Form requires re-authorization every ten years. The new law eliminates the need for providers to encourage veterans to sign the authorization form and keep it updated, increases interoperability, and allows providers the opportunity to better serve the brave men and women who have so selflessly served our country. You can read more about the new law in EHR Intelligence.
In the News
As you may remember from our last newsletter, Gold Cross Ambulance is using the CHIE to help its EMTs understand the final diagnosis and outcome of the patients they transport. You can read more about this unique usage of the CHIE in The Journal of Emergency Services.
Standards – UHIN is Your Voice
What are EDI Standards, and why do you need to know about them? Simply put, standards are a baseline set of expectations for how people perform certain tasks. Standards improve efficiency by allowing us to use the same process and format for multiple uses; saving everyone time and money. When it comes to healthcare, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Standards bring consistency in how organizations create, submit, process, and pay claims. For providers, these standards allow you to use the same software to create, send, and receive transactions to and from multiple payers.
Standards are always evolving. Accredited Standards Organizations, like UHIN, convene groups of stakeholders from the healthcare community to discuss where the remaining problems, inconsistencies, and inefficiencies lie. These groups then work together to find a way to standardize solutions to these issues. Some issues are addressed with local standards, while others may get escalated to the appropriate national committee.
Community members play a vital role in developing local and national standards. When a provider’s workflow requires customization at any point in the process in order to accommodate different receivers, there may be an opportunity to improve the situation through a standard. If you’re experiencing these types of issues, please reach out to education@uhin.org to get the discussion started – who knows, it could result in a new standard! Remember, you’re always welcome to participate in the process to create a new solution.
UHIN Now Working with Minnesota Department of Health
We are excited to announce that UHIN was recently selected by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to help transmit claims and remits for providers working on the MDH’s Cancer Control Safe Programs. These Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded programs aim to strengthen efforts around cancer prevention, detection, treatment, survivorship and health equity. UHIN is honored to be a part of these efforts.
CHIE Data Keeps on Growing
Did you know that the CHIE now has over 59 million health records for over 5 million unique patients? Along with over 90% of all the hospitals in Utah, many clinics, labs, pharmacies, emergency services, and long-term care facilities, UHIN is also connected to seven other HIEs outside of Utah, and hospital systems located in Wyoming and Montana.
When a Utah patient has a medical encounter in one of the other participating HIEs or hospital systems, primary care providers who subscribe to CHIE Alerts receive an ADT notification. UHIN is connected to HIEs in Arizona, California (San Diego and Santa Cruz), Colorado, Idaho, Nebraska and Nevada. Over 3000,000 ADT notifications have been exchanged between UHIN and the other participants since 2014.
What’s on Your Correspondent’s Mind? Telemedicine.
Having had his own recent experience with telemedicine thanks to an itchy brush with poison sumac, your intrepid correspondent noticed that he received at least one email referencing telehealth medicine every day this week. It’s clearly a hot topic. A recent poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research indicated a whopping 90% of Americans over the age of 40 are willing to use telemedicine, providing the quality is equal to what they receive at an in-person visit, and that their PHI is kept confidential. Your correspondent’s experience was overall positive, his PHI was kept private, but he refuses to admit he is among those Americans over the age of 40. You can reach him at communications@uhin.org.
