We are pleased to announce that our efforts to restore full functionality following the cybersecurity event at Change Healthcare (CHC) have been successful.
Streamlining Enrollment Processes: Since the last update, we have completed key initiatives around streamlining enrollment, which has increased the number of Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA) submissions through our new partner network.
For providers who are still not receiving ERAs, please complete re-enrollment in MYUHIN. If you have any questions, please contact us at enrollment@uhin.org.
Updated Payer List: UHIN has updated its payer list. If you are getting rejections regarding a payer ID, please check https://uhin.org/resources/payer-list.
Continued Progress and Support: UHIN remains fully committed to providing a seamless claims processing experience for all our customers.
Thank you for your continued trust and partnership.
In this issue, we discuss compliance with the Information Blocking Rule (IBR), share updates on our CHIE portal and Clinical Data Repository migration, as well as our progress following the Change Healthcare cybersecurity event. Looking ahead, we’re preparing for Virtual Payer Panels, CHIE platform trainings, and in-person conferences around the country. Finally, we’re proud to share that Gartner highlighted the UHIN Clearinghouse, emphasizing our long-standing commitment to compliance, security, and privacy.
Update: CHIE Portal and Clinical Data Repository Platform Migration
We’ve been working hard with our vendor to set up the new CHIE portal and Clinical Data Repository, as well as migrating data and connections for our interfaces. We anticipate going live at the end of September. We’ll send weekly updates with more information on what to expect. Click here to learn more about the new CHIE Platform. Portal users will see a more modern experience, including an updated homepage dashboard and patient summary. Based on feedback from users, we are migrating 5 years of data. We will migrate a longer history for allergies, immunizations, colonoscopies, and opt out requests.
If you are not currently using the portal, you should not notice any changes in current functionality, and your alerts and interfaces should continue to work as they always have.
HIT News
Positive Update on Our Progress Following the Cybersecurity Event at CHC
We’re pleased to provide a positive update on our ongoing efforts to restore full functionality following the cybersecurity event at Change Healthcare (CHC). Keep reading for updates on expanded payer network coverage, increased ERA submissions, streamlining enrollment processes, re-enrollment, and support.
Bridging the Gap: Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) and Information Blocking Compliance
As healthcare continues to share data and information more frequently, the importance of adhering to information blocking regulations cannot be overstated. Particularly as disincentive regulations for healthcare providers went into effect on July 31, 2024. See how HIEs play a role in Information Blocking Rule (IBR) compliance and benefit both patients and providers.
In the months ahead, we’ll host Virtual Payer Panels and CHIE platform trainings. Sign up in the email preference center to stay informed of dates and details.
Interested in learning how to use the CHIE or MYUHIN to their fullest capabilities? Make sure to visit the UHIN Education channel to watch our how-to videos on YouTube.
Wrapping Up
Gartner Highlights the UHIN Clearinghouse
Gartner released a report to help CIOs reexamine their clearinghouse solution to solve critical business and security concerns. The authors specifically highlighted UHIN as a stand-alone clearinghouse. For decades we’ve supported our customer’s efforts to prioritize compliance, security and privacy. We appreciate the recognition after all these years!
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As the world’s greatest athletes convene and compete in Paris, we look at the ways each of us can strive for greatness in our own healthcare arenas. We all have a part to play in realizing collective success: Pursuing peak performance in electronic data interchange (EDI), building connections across organizations, and forming new bonds for lasting impact. How can you prepare and perform to claim gold in your respective field of play in healthcare?
Leaders in healthcare electronic data interchange (EDI) must pursue peak performance in claim management and data excellence, akin to athletes pushing to win at the highest levels.
Just as sprinters, gymnasts or divers prepare meticulously and train relentlessly, EDI leaders must ensure accuracy, innovate continuously, harness data effectively, surmount challenges, foster a culture of teamwork, and celebrate successes along the way.
For health plans, the results from these collective efforts include significantly reduced costs, enhanced processes, and improved member satisfaction. Learn how you can incorporate the best practices of the world’s greatest athletes to achieve data excellence and become an EDI champion.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced a reorganization aimed at enhancing its technology, cybersecurity, data, and artificial intelligence (AI) strategy and policy functions. This restructuring consolidates these responsibilities into a newly renamed office, the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ASTP/ONC), to oversee key roles, including the Chief Technology Officer, Chief Data Officer, and Chief AI Officer.
Why This Matters for Leaders in Health Information Exchange and Healthcare Data:
1. Centralized Oversight and Strategy: The reorganization centralizes technology, data, and AI oversight under the ASTP/ONC, ensuring a cohesive strategy and streamlined decision-making process.
2. Enhanced Cybersecurity Measures: By moving the “405(d) Program” to ASPR, HHS aims to enhance its cybersecurity efforts, providing a more robust, consolidated and coordinated approach to protecting health sector infrastructure.
3. Focused Leadership and Expertise: The establishment of dedicated roles, including the Chief Technology Officer, Chief Data Officer, and Chief AI Officer, highlights HHS’s commitment to drive innovation, improve data governance, and ensure the safe and ethical use of AI in healthcare, benefiting both providers and patients.
Claim managers at health plans can achieve excellence by adopting specific action items, such as refining validation processes, increasing their auto-adjudication rate, and ensuring secure transactions. Drawing inspiration from world-class athletes, they must remain focused, resilient, and committed to continuous improvement. Read this month’s blog post to see how you can incorporate the best practices of Olympic divers, gymnasts, cyclists, hurdlers, basketball teams, and sprinters to win gold and become an EDI champion.
July 30: Provider Resource Fair hosted by Aspen Grove Behavioral Hospital in Orem, UT
September 13: Utah Medical Association (UMA) annual House of Delegates in Midvale, UT
October 15-17: Civitas Annual Conference in Detroit, MI
Trainings and Webinars
Webinars and Trainings
Coming soon: Our virtual Payer Panel series and training sessions on the new CHIE platform, specifically for portal users. Subscribe for more details and notifications!
Wrapping Up
Share Your Story
Got a story or event that your peers in healthcare and tech just have to know? An innovative interoperability solution or point of view?
Please email us at communications@uhin.org and we’ll include links to our favorite community content each month.
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As the mercury soars this summer, we’re turning our attention to the burning issues in Health Information Technology (HIT). We’re delving into the latest developments in Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR), the blazing necessity of cybersecurity, updates on the Change Healthcare breach, and upcoming events and webinars.
HL7® FHIR® (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) represents a paradigm shift in healthcare data exchange. In our most recent blog post, Ryan McLelland (Chief Technology Officer at UHIN) provides a thought-provoking look at the benefits of FHIR, the myths around it, and a strategic approach to implementing this powerful catalyst for innovation in healthcare.
Maintaining a strong security posture is critical for protecting personal health information (PHI) and other data. Good practices include establishing interoperability, resiliency and redundancy across your network. As ransomware attacks continue to climb in the US, you need to cover your network to make sure you don’t get burned.
We continue to monitor and share updates about the Change Healthcare (CHC) breach on our News & Updates page. You can also sign up to receive Status updates via email, Slack, text, and other preferred methods whenever UHIN creates, updates or resolves an incident, including information about the CHC breach.
We recently shared an update on our ongoing efforts to minimize disruption caused by the cybersecurity event at Change Healthcare (CHC), with a specific focus on Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA) delivery (835 files).
July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. We’ll share info, inspiration, and resources for mental health on our social media.
We will be closed for Independence Day on Thursday, July 4, 2024.
Upcoming Conferences:September 13: Utah Medical Association (UMA) annual House of Delegates in Midvale, UT
October 15-17: Civitas Annual Conference in Detroit, MI
Trainings and Webinars
Upcoming Online Trainings and Webinars
In July, we’re starting our virtual Payer Panel series where you can ask questions and get answers from health plan representatives.
Later this year, we’ll host training sessions on the new CHIE platform, specifically for portal users.
Wrapping Up
Get Your Claims Flowing
We continue to support Providers affected by the CHC breach by working with payers to expedite Provider enrollment. Once enrolled, Providers can use our solutions to create and send professional and institutional claims via SFTP, file tool or online hand-entry, check claims status, manage denials and rejections, and search, view, and download payment information. Click below to learn more and get your claims flowing again!
For many of us, Memorial Day marks the unofficial start to summer. Hard to believe we’re heading into June! In this month’s newsletter, we look at the importance of resilient, redundant and interoperable systems, the events and webinars coming up, and we attempt to foretell everything that will happen for the rest of the year.
The first half of this year was packed with exciting news and rocked by tech incidents. While we can’t predict the future, we can plan a better path ahead.
Look into your crystal ball 🔮 What are your predictions (big or small) for things to come in healthcare this year? And, what are your goals that you hope to accomplish? We want to hear from you!
Healthcare IT Today Podcast: Will the Change Healthcare Ransomware Attack Wake Up Healthcare?
John Lynn and Colin Hung look at where the industry stands just two months following the ransomware attack. For healthcare professionals, this could be a watershed moment for information security, revenue cycle management (RCM) and back-up planning for potential, future incidents.
Our most recent blog post (authored by Brian Chin, UHIN’s CEO) addresses the importance of redundant and resilient healthcare systems, and how they support seamless interoperability in times of crisis. There are, of course, great benefits and challenges when it comes to maintaining interoperability during disaster recovery (see them below👇).
September 13: Utah Medical Association (UMA) annual House of Delegates in Midvale, UT
October 15-17: Civitas Annual Conference in Detroit, MI
More to come: Stay tuned!
Trainings and Webinars
Upcoming Online Trainings & Webinars
We’ll host training sessions on the new CHIE platform, specifically for portal users. Stay tuned for more details on our virtual Payer Panels where you can ask questions and get answers from health plan representatives.
This month we announced our affiliation with Comagine Health and added new CHIE data sources from CommonSpirit Health. We look forward to growing with our new strategic partners, customers, and you! Keep reading for what else happened in April and what’s coming up next month.
P.S. Follow our LinkedIn page for more frequent news, posts and insights
Spotlight
UHIN and Comagine Health Announce Our Affiliation
“Aligning our health care knowledge and expertise through affiliation is a profound opportunity to advance our parallel missions, while delivering greater success to our customers and partners. We have collaborated successfully for more than a decade. As affiliates, UHIN and Comagine Health can serve as a unified force for change in health care for the foreseeable future.”
- Brian Chin, UHIN’s Chief Executive Officer
Keep scrolling for more information on our affiliation.
HIT News
The Full Release on our Affiliation
We have announced our official affiliation with Comagine Health, a national nonprofit healthcare consulting firm. We have a long history of working together over the last decade on federal and state initiatives to advance electronic health record (EHR) adoption, cost transparency reporting, capacity and functionality of all-payer claims databases (APCDs) and interoperability and surveillance activities. Combining our technology solutions and Comagine Health’s analytic services will enable more actionable health insights and more sustainable, transformational improvements for communities.
The CHIE adds CommonSpirit Health as a Data Source
The CHIE continues to add important data sources, providing healthcare professionals with vital medical information when it is needed most. Recently, we’ve onboarded CommonSpirit Health as a data source.
We’re attending the WEDI Spring Conference from May 13 – 16 (virtually). We look forward to learning more from experts, like Aneesh Chopra, about solutions to improve information exchange, enhance care quality, and reduce cost and burden.
In addition to online product trainings for our customers, we’re preparing virtual payer panels for later this year. These will be similar to the payer panels you may have attended in previous years at the HIT Conference.
Wrapping Up
Report: Significant Differences in Administrative Costs
We’re reading the recent CAQH report on the wide differences in administrative transaction costs for generalists, specialists and behavioral health providers. “The medical industry spends an astonishing $83 billion annually on staff time to conduct routine administrative transactions between providers and health plans during and after a patient-provider encounter. Providers shoulder 97 percent of these costs.”
“Our life is March weather, savage and serene in one hour” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Such was life in the healthcare information technology sector this month. We collectively faced daunting cyber circumstances and peered into an optimistic future filled with the possibilities of A.I., resilient and redundant networks, and healthcare interoperability for all.
Spotlight
Our Response to the Change Cyber Incident
UHIN is dedicated to maintaining interoperability for all payers, providers and partners. When an event as large as the Change Healthcare cyber incident impacts our community, we know we need to serve as a bridge to stable ground. Read more about the actions we’re taking to support our community at this time.
We’re actively supporting Providers by expediting enrollment with Payers to get claims flowing again. Providers can leverage our solutions to create and send professional and institutional claims, submit via SFTP, file tool or online hand-entry, check claims status, manage denials and rejections, and search, view, and download payment information.
We can connect with health plans, so they may receive claims from providers through a direct connection to our clearinghouse. Empower your provider network by elevating your collaboration efforts, securely sharing information and data, and providing better affordable care for your members.
The alarming rise in cyber threats – namely ransomware – highlight the urgent need for enhanced cyber resiliency and robust security measures in healthcare. Read our recent blog post with five ways to reduce your risk and secure personal health information (PHI) from cyberattacks.
HIMSS shared their recap of the 2024 Global Health Conference & Exhibition (March 11-15 in Orlando). Cybersecurity, A.I.,and health equity and access to care delivery were big themes this year. What were you most excited to learn at HIMSS this year?
We’re preparing a series of online trainings for CHIE users this year. Explore our new platform and share feedback with our HIT experts. Stay tuned for updates on upcoming trainings.
Wrapping Up
Thriving in Complexity from the Comagine Health Blog
Comagine Health President and CEO Marc Bennett addresses how the organization has been managing competing tensions while building partnerships to serve as a prime contractor for the 13th Statement of Work in the Midwest CMS QIN-QIO Region 6.
Thanks for spending this extra day going around the sun with us. In February, we dove into the 2023 CAQH Index Report and prepared for the CHIE’s migration to a new platform.
One more thing: For our providers experiencing disruptions in their claims management due to the Change cyberattack, we’re here to help. Please contact us to fast track your enrollment with payers at customersuccess@uhin.org.
Spotlight
Black History Month and American Heart Month
In February we recognized Black History Month and American Heart Month. Here are just a couple ways to support and celebrate these causes throughout the entire year:
For health care professionals and clinicians, use the resources in the Center for Disease Control (CDC) heart toolkit to support their patients, especially women, by listening to their heart.
In Utah? Dive into Utah’s rich black history at the Utah Black History Museum! Find the mobile exhibit across Utah this year or consider donating.
HIT News
The CHIE is Moving to a New Platform!
The new platform empowers CHIE users to better understand patient populations, provide greater care, reduce waste while improving quality, and pinpoint at-risk patients to intervene before their next encounter.
After consulting with our community’s advisory committee, we will be migrating five years of data with the exception of opt out consents, immunizations, allergies, and colonoscopies for which a longer history will be migrated.
Technical implementation is currently underway and we anticipate user migrations will start in Q2 of 2024. We will keep all CHIE users informed of our progress via email.
We published two blog posts sharing our thoughts on the most recent CAQH Index released earlier this month. How did electronic transaction adoption and healthcare administration change in 2023 for both providers and payers? Keep reading to find out.
Our CEO, Brian Chin, recently attended ViVe 2024. Artificial Intelligence was a hot topic this year, as you may have expected. Check out a few photos from the conference here.
Are you going to HIMSS 2024? Let us know what you’re most excited to see while in Orlando next month at communications@uhin.org.
Trainings and Webinars
CHIE platform trainings
We have online trainings coming up for the new CHIE platform. Please sign up for CHIE updates and our Events notifications to add these to your calendar so you don’t miss a thing!
Wrapping Up
Share your story, plus looking ahead to March
Do you have something your peers in healthcare and tech just have to know about? An innovative interoperability solution or point of view? Please email us at communications@uhin.org and we’ll include links to our favorite community content each month.
Next month we’ll attend HIMSS 2024 and help to raise awareness of the risks and symptoms of diabetes on American Diabetes Alert Day (March 26).
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Question 4: How Does Your EDI Partner Reduce the Burden of Claims Submission for Providers?
Plan members want access to a range of high- quality providers. Without a robust provider network, health plans are challenged to grow membership and differentiate themselves from competitors.
The Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH) 2022 Index reported that providers spend ten minutes submitting a single electronic claim on average. For paper, it’s 22 minutes. A large part of this is repetitive data entry. These time blocks add up to significant resource drains in a typical day. Alleviating stressors will reduce payer-provider friction and promote cooperation in your common goal to improve health outcomes for members.
With the right EDI partner, you can streamline operations, reduce administrative burden, and improve your organization’s bottom line. Embracing new technologies and cooperative partnerships can help you gain a competitive advantage and, ultimately, provide better care to members.
Our fourth and final question leads you to ask yourself: “Is my EDI partner providing holistic support to my partner’s and my own organization’s operations?”
Ready to jump to all four questions? Want to see how your EDI partner stacks up? Download our white paper here.
How Does Your EDI Partner Reduce the Burden of Claims Submission for Providers?
Plan members want access to a range of high- quality providers. Without a robust provider network, health plans are challenged to grow membership and differentiate themselves from competitors.
The healthcare industry is becoming more consumer-driven and labor shortages continue to mount. Health plans need to be mindful of provider relationships and the administrative burdens your claims processing may be placing on them.
The Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH) 2022 Index reported that providers spend ten minutes submitting a single electronic claim on average. For paper, it’s 22 minutes. A large part of this is repetitive data entry. These time blocks add up to significant resource drains in a typical day. Alleviating stressors will reduce payer-provider friction and promote cooperation in your common goal to improve health outcomes for members.
Your healthcare EDI partner should help you to help providers with an affordable billing tool. Our solution, MYUHIN, reduces repetitive data-entry, and solidifies coding and submissions data to satisfy your processing requirements. Providers can use MYUHIN to submit claims, check patient eligibility, and search, view, and download payment information from any computer, any where.
UHIN is a national EDI network built in 1993 by health plans. We partner with payers and providers across the US. Our approach to EDI and customer service is different. If you’re interest in learning more, please contact us today.
Question 3: Are Providers Frequently Contacting You With Questions About Their Claims?
Health plans constantly seek to optimize their high-performing provider networks which provide value to members and patients. To grow these important networks, payers should nurture their provider relationships through personal attention and cutting edge technology.
This is particularly important at a time of mounting staffing shortages and rhetoric of economic downturns. Additionally, medical claim volume increased by 28% in 2022 as vaccines became available, medical offices reopened and pandemic regulations softened. When you add this up, the need for administrative simplification becomes more obvious for health plans and providers.
Tracking down claims, managing denials and submitting myriad claims can burden staff, compound labor costs and decrease profitability. When your provider network is stressed then your ability to grow as a carrier is impacted. Your EDI partner should automate workflows and manage your trading partner network so your support staff can focus on more strategic priorities, rather than answering phone calls and emails all day long.
Our third question addresses this concern as you ask yourself, “how does my EDI partner stack up?”
Ready to jump to all four questions? Want to see how your EDI partner stacks up? Download our white paper here.
Are Providers Frequently Contacting You With Questions About Their Claims?
When resources are tied up managing claim inquiries, you’re likely underperforming your peers and weakening your organization.
An inability to provide visibility to track and troubleshoot claims in a timely fashion can create financial implications. The increased demand on staff can decrease productivity, which could further delay payments and lead to staff burnout and turnover. Payers must respond to providers within a regulated timeframe, and providers rely on prompt payment for cashflows and their own business growth. Further dissatisfaction amongst providers and members can upend the collaborative nature of interoperability and could drive providers and members away to different plans.
The volume of inquiries to track down claims can burden staff and compound labor costs through the need to hire additional people. The situation can foster negativity between providers and operators, reducing satisfaction for both groups. Your EDI partner should work with you to increase your ability to automate claims processing. Part of this is facilitating a simple, electronic process for providers to submit their transactions and understand the status along the way.
UHIN is a national EDI network built in 1993 by health plans. We partner with payers and providers across the US. Our approach to EDI and customer service is different. If you’re interest in learning more, please contact us today.
