ITelagen, Inc., a leading provider of healthcare IT support and system administration, has recently announced next steps for medical practices, especially their clients, as they are faced with the delay of ICD-10. Since the announcement in late March 2014, ITelagen has evaluated and summarized best practices for medical practices as…
ITelagen, Inc., a leading provider of healthcare IT support and system administration, has recently announced next steps for medical practices, especially their clients, as they are faced with the delay of ICD-10. Since the announcement in late March 2014, ITelagen has evaluated and summarized best practices for medical practices as they now have more time to prepare for the implementation of ICD-10.
ITelagen is focused now, more than ever, on the business priority of supporting and help clients through regulatory bumps in the road. Carmen Rodriguez, VP of Professional Services for ITelagen, says “We support the decision to delay ICD-10 because we understand that implementation of over 100,000 new codes is daunting, time-consuming and stressful for any size medical practice. Even with the delay of ICD-10, we encourage all organizations to not halt the process of implementing, yet continue with full force of planning and training. We want practices nationwide to know that ITelagen is available to support, train and prepare for the implementation.”
ITelagen’s best practices include:
1. Preparedness: Know what is ahead for your practice. Practices need to prepare as much as possible now for easy transition. Reviewing blogs, watching AHIMA notices, HIMSS articles and staying current with the ICD-10 Watch is going to keep everyone ahead of the curve and as knowledgeable as possible.
2. Training: Training is going to be key! Every level of staff needs to be evaluated and his/her knowledge assessed. The more training that can be conducted now to ensure the proper understanding of medical terminology, pharmacology, etc., the better prepared everyone will be for ICD-10. Medical coders, specifically, must complete the required CPU to maintain certification.
3. System Updates: You need to first understand your systems and plan to have all updated to ICD-10. Double check modules for EHR, billing and reporting to ensure these can accommodate ICD-10. Check with your IT vendor regarding potential hardware upgrades and speak with payers/clearinghouses to understand their system readiness. Be sure to document all changes especially those workflow changes in EHR.
“We want our clients and all medical practices to be readily prepared for the implementation of ICD-10 whenever given the green light. Monies spent should not be wasted or considered lost, but thought of as in investment in preparedness,” says Steven Vickner, Chief Operating Office for ITelagen.
ITelagen also provides unlimited onsite and remote technical support for businesses. Its platform monitors the activity of servers 24/7 to ensure the security of client applications. The ITelagen cloud-based system supports and manages patients’ EHRs, as well as assists with coding and billing records, medical and insurance claims, and categorizing insurance collections. ITelagen provides disaster recovery, and related services to update and back up data. A range of support services for NextGen Healthcare products including professional services, training, hosting and traditional IT support are available as well; making it a one-stop shop for electronic health record (EHR) solutions.
About ITelagen:
ITelagen® redefines Healthcare IT for medical practices by providing electronic health records (EHR) as part of an entire back-office solution that includes unlimited onsite & remote technical support for all of your staff and secure hosting of your patient data. We are more than just desktop technicians, but a complete healthcare technology team made up of CIO’s, engineers, and healthcare EHR experts. With ITelagen, you can have all the benefits of your very own fully-staffed IT Department, without the expense of an in-house staff. By combining certified EHR experts with IT and hosting, ITelagen becomes the single point of contact and “One-Stop Shop for EHR®” for IT and EHR infrastructure, all for a flat monthly subscription fee. For more information, visit ITelagen on the Web at http://www.itelagen.com. Follow ITelagen on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ITELAGEN, Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itelagen, or LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/company/itelagen.
Contact:
Emile Ondrus
ITelagen, Inc.
201-239-8405
press(at)itelagen(dot)com
