Data Net Clinical Resources, Inc

08/15/2022

“Prevention & treatment remain the best options, of course, but this may save the life that leads someone to treatment,’’ McKinlay wrote on her page.

Recovery advocates applauded Bradshaw but wondered why it took so long.

“I am breathless,’’ Maureen Kielian of Southeast Florida Recovery Advocates, who has led a campaign to pressure Bradshaw to reverse his policy.

IN A MAJOR policy reversal, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw today announced his deputies will start carrying Narcan, the brand name of the drug naloxone that reverses the effects of opioids. “In view of the current national opioid overdose epidemic and the large importations of fentanyl, we...

11/05/2021

Opioids and Healthcare Webinar 💊💉 - https://mailchi.mp/4023f69b412d/opioids-and-healthcare-webinar

09/18/2021

Here are the top 20 healthcare organizations that lobby Congress and federal agencies, ranked in order of greatest to least in 2021 spending from January through June.

Healthcare organizations spend vast sums each year on lobbying to advocate for policies that will benefit their members or businesses. In fact, no other sector of the U.S. economy spends more on lobbying than the healthcare sector does, according to OpenSecrets. In 2020, the healthcare sector spent....

05/21/2021

Wake up Lets start making legislative decisions on evidence and not privilege and prejudice.

State Republican leaders have long rejected expanding eligibility for Medicaid, pointing in part to concerns about potential future costs.

03/17/2021

House lawmakers are restructuring their bipartisan task forces dedicated to combating the drug epidemic and expect the chamber to consider behavioral health legislation this year, members told CQ Roll Call.

The push is spearheaded by four lawmakers in an effort to broaden the scope of legislative efforts beyond opioids to include all forms of addiction and mental health.

House lawmakers are restructuring their task forces on the drug epidemic with a renewed focus on behavioral health.

01/23/2021

For Sarasota Memorial’s health information management (HIM) department, a successful go-live would achieve three primary objectives:

Decrease the HIM department’s contract staffing expenses and shorten processing—or unbilled time as measured by discharged not finally coded (DNFC) days.Improve the accuracy and thoroughness of the HIM department’s coding. By capturing more codes and increasing accuracy, the HIM team hoped to increase their case mix index and decrease payer denials.Create a more efficient workflow by bringing coders and CDI specialists onto a shared platform for streamlined communication and collaboration, as well as utilization of a robust, common reporting source.

In January of 2019, SMH embarked on a computer-assisted coding implementation to increase the productivity of coders and clinical documentation improvement specialists.

12/25/2020

So what about the prescribers? Where were and are the regulatory boards who allowed negligent for years and years?
With the hold the governor appointed medical regulatory boards accountable? What about the FL office?

Amid ongoing litigation against pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors and drug-store chains, federal officials are targeting Walmart Inc. for allegedly filling thousands of prescriptions for controlled substances...

12/12/2020

On December 10, 2020 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) both released proposed rules to better enable a patient’s ability to control access to and movement of their health data.
HIPAA Proposed Rule
The first rule, from OCR, reopens the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy and security requirements. HIPAA privacy and security policies have not changed significantly since the breach notification final rule was published in 2013. Key provisions within the proposed rule include, but are not limited to:
• Shortening the time providers have to respond to patient records requests from 30 days to 15 days;
• A proposed fee structure based on the type of access request;
• Proposals to create a set of provisions for the right to direct copies of protected health information (PHI) to a third party, better aligning the Privacy Rule with the HITECH Act;
• Easing restrictions of data sharing in times of crisis; and
• Provisions allowing patients to view and capture PHI in their record.
CMS Proposed Rule
The second rule from CMS further implements application programming interface (API) requirements for payers and providers as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to encourage interoperability and price transparency. Key provisions include:
• Requirements for CMS-regulated payers to implement the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR)-based Patient Access APIs by Jan. 1, 2023;
• Requirements for payers to build and maintain a Provider Access API for payer-to-provider data sharing of claims and encounter data, a subset of the U.S. Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI) and pending and active prior authorization decisions by Jan. 1, 2023;
• Requirements for payers to implement documentation and prior authorization APIs;
• Payer-to-payer data exchange requirements; and
• A proposal for HHS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) to adopt an API implementation specification.
The rule is 356 pages and the CMS rule is 347 pages.

11/20/2020

A University of South Florida Health-led study is one of the first to assess barriers resident physicians face in prescribing , the -approved medication for use disorder, and their attitudes toward opioid

A University of South Florida Health-led survey of resident physicians in Florida indicates they are interested in treating opioid addiction but face barriers to offering patients treatment using buprenorphine, an FDA-approved medication shown to successfully decrease opioid use, overdose events, an...

10/26/2020

REMINDER:
Starting January 1, 2020, under the Calendar Year (CY) 2020 Physician Fee Schedule final rule the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will pay Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs) through bundled payments for opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment services in an episode of care provided to people with Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance).

Under the new OTP benefit, Medicare covers:

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved opioid agonist and antagonist medication-assisted treatment (MAT) medications
Dispensing and administration of MAT medications (if applicable)
Substance use counseling
Individual and group therapy
Toxicology testing
Intake activities
Periodic assessments
We encourage OTPs to begin the enrollment process as soon as possible.

Read our Letter to OTP Program Sponsors and State Opioid Treatment Authorities (SOTAs) (PDF).
https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/Opioid-Treatment-Program

Opioid Treatment Programs (OTP) Please Note: COVID-19: CMS Allowing Audio-Only Calls for OTP Therapy, Counseling, and Periodic Assessments Overview

10/19/2020

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) added 11 new services Medicare will reimburse during the COVID-19 public health emergency, including cardiac and pulmonary rehab, the agency announced on October 14. Medicare will start paying eligible practitioners who offer these services effective immediately.

In addition, is providing extra support to state Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program ( ) agencies to expand telehealth access. " patients should not be forgotten, and today's announcement promotes telehealth for them as well," CMS Administrator Seema Verma said.

The 11 new services mean Medicare will pay for a total of 144 telehealth services during the COVID-19 public health emergency. The , which was set to expire later this month, was renewed for an additional 90 days on October 2.

List of services payable under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule when furnished via telehealth. Covered Telehealth Services for PHE for the COVID-19 pandemic, effective March 1, 2020 (ZIP) - Updated 10/14/2020

09/08/2020

Mayhew will be precluded legally from lobbying her former agency for the next two years, but she will be allowed to lobby the Legislature, which is responsible for setting aside money for hospitals in the state’s annual budget.

Mayhew is one of several officials who have announced plans recently to depart AHCA, which administers the Medicaid program but also regulates hospitals, nursing homes, and scores of other health care facilities across the state.

Stefan Grow, the agency’s former general counsel, submitted a resignation letter Aug. 20 saying he had accepted a position in the private sector. Assistant Deputy Secretary for Medicaid Operations Abbie Riddle announced in a July 17 resignation letter that she was leaving effective Aug. 14.

Florida Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Mary Mayhew, who has been one of the state’s key people handling the coronavirus pandemic, is