Fifth Annual National Congress on Health Care Compliance Announced

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<http://www.medicalnewswire.com/archive/> 	Monday, December 03,
2001	
Headlines	Subscribe <http://www.medicalnewswire.com/subscribe/> 	
Fifth Annual National Congress on Health Care Compliance Announced 
There’s An Overpayment At The Heart Of Every False Claim
Senate OKs Delay On HIPAA Transaction Standards 
CodoniX, Inc. Adds Anthrax to Its Coding and Charting Software System 
HHS Gathers Feedback On Older Americans Act
OPPS Rule Slashes Pass-Through Payments
	

Fifth Annual National Congress on Health Care Compliance Announced 	
WASHINGTON, DC (Medical Newswire) The National Congress on Health Care
Compliance announces its fifth annual Congress featuring the nation's
leading health care regulators and compliance professionals. The
Congress will be held February 6-8, 2002, at the Grand Hyatt in
Washington DC. 

Headlining this year's Compliance Congress are Tom Scully, CMS
Administrator of the Professor Malcolm Sparrow of Harvard University;
James Sheehan, Esq., Asst U.S. Attorney and Chief of the Civil Division,
Eastern District of Pennsylvania; and representatives of the Department
of Health and Human Services, Department of Justice, FBI, Federal Trade
Commission, IRS, Securities and Exchange Commission and the National
Healthcare Antifraud Association. The Congress will also feature a
presentation by Linda Tiano, Esq. (Senior VP and General Counsel, Empire
Blue Cross Blue Shield of New York, NY) entitled "Reflections from
Ground Zero: Disaster Planning for Compliance (or What to Do When Your
Building is Destroyed)." A networking reception and performance on the
evening of Thursday, February 7, 2002 will feature the renowned
political satire group, the Capitol Steps. 

Compliance professionals confront numerous new challenges in the new
millennium, from the implications of international terrorism, to the
integration of ethical concerns into compliance regimes, to the
challenge of compliance with new privacy and security regulations such
as GLB and HIPAA. The Congress will offer a plenary session Qui Tam
update and a variety of concurrent sessions regarding implementation
strategies for corporate integrity agreements. The Congress will feature
a plenary presentation by Dr. Bill Braithwaite, popularly known as Dr.
HIPAA, on the status of federal and state regulatory initiatives
regarding healthcare privacy and data security. A focused track of
concurrent sessions will address HIPAA compliance strategies. All
registrants will receive a HIPAA Manual and Forms. 

Among the leading compliance professionals participating as Congress
faculty are Alan Yuspeh, JD, MBA, Senior VP, Ethics, Compliance &
Corporate Responsibility, HCA, Nashville, TN; Lisa Murtha, Chief Audit &
Compliance Officer, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia,
PA; William Altman, VP of Compliance & Government Affairs, Kindred
Healthcare, Louisville KY; Judy Harris, Compliance Officer, Yale
University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT; Jane Whitney, Dir of
Compliance & Practice Support Services, Mt Sinai School of Medicine, New
York, NY; Charles Brock, Chief Compliance & Ethics Officer, Abbott Labs,
Abbott Park, IL; Brenton Saunders, LD, MBA, Partner,
PricewaterhouseCoopers, Past-President, Health Care Compliance Assn &
Founder, Privacy Officers Assn, Washington, DC; John Bentivolglio, Esq.,
Partner, Arnold & Porter; and former Special Counsel for Healthcare
Fraud and Chief Privacy Officer, US Dept of Justice, Washington, DC and
Alice Gosfield, Esq., Alice Gosfield & Assocs, PC and Chair, NCQA,
Philadelphia, PA. 

The Congress offers or facilitates the following categories of
continuing education credit: AAPC, ABA MCLE, ACHE, ACCME, ACPE, AHIMA,
CISSP/SSCP, CNA (Nursing), HCCB, NAMSS, NASBA, PACE and PATHCOM. For
registration and sponsorship information, visit the following:

*	http://www.compliancecongress.com
*	Click here to email for more information
<mailto:hccalinda@aol.com?subject=Medical Newswire Inquiry> 

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There’s An Overpayment At The Heart Of Every False Claim	
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC (Medical Newswire) The debate on overpayments
is roiling on Capitol Hill, as Congress debates new policies that could
keep CMS from demanding repayment while a provider appeal is in the
works. Some proposals would allow repayment over extended periods of
time in cases of severe financial hardship. And other changes may be on
the way…

That's why you need our experts to guide you through the minefield of
handling overpayments. Assuming that inconsistencies will always “come
clean in the wash” can be a grave mistake, says Ankur Goel, a partner
with Washington-based McDermott, Will & Emery. “At the same time, the
government is considering provisions that will spell relief for some
providers,” adds attorney Heidi Kocher with Brown & Fortunato in
Amarillo, TX.

Goel and Kocher will help you find the strongest financial ground -
while remaining compliant - at Eli Research’s audio seminar, “Medicare
Repayments: Whether, When and How to Make Them.” The conference will
take place on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2001 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. “This realistic
approach will get all your decision-makers on the same, correct page,”
comments Goel.

Program highlights include seven tough questions you must answer before
making the decision to repay; how to distinguish between situations
calling for repayments and those requiring disclosures; an in-depth
exploration of the mechanics of repayments; and practical tips for
integrating repayment and disclosure decisions into your compliance
plan. “We’ll show you how to make good decisions during the repayment
process,” promises Kocher.

Nursing home administrators will earn CEU’s at this seminar.

For more information about registration and pricing, call 1-800-874-9180
or visit: 

*	http://www.eliresearch.com/repayments.html

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Senate OKs Delay On HIPAA Transaction Standards 	
WASHINGTON, DC (Medical Newswire) The Senate passed by unanimous consent
Nov. 27 legislation (S. 1684) giving health care providers and other
covered entities a no-strings-attached extra year to comply with the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's electronic
transaction standards. The legislation is far more lenient than a House
measure (H.R. 3323), which also would grant a one-year delay - but with
conditions designed to keep the compliance process moving. 

The House bill would grant one-year extensions to covered entities that
submit compliance plans before Oct. 16, 2002. Such plans would describe
level of readiness, reasons for an entity's inability to meet the
original deadline, a "budget, schedule, work plan, and implementation
strategy," and a testing schedule, among other things.

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CodoniX, Inc. Adds Anthrax to Its Coding and Charting Software System 	

HERNDON, VA (Medical Newswire) CodoniX, Inc. has added an anthrax
component to its Coding and Charting Software in response to a request
from Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland, on October 26.

Located in the catchment area for Washington, D.C., Holy Cross was
receiving large numbers of individuals potentially exposed to anthrax
from the Brentwood postal facility and Capitol Hill office buildings
along with even more of the “worried well” from the surrounding
community.

According to Prehospital Care Director, Paul Baker, M.D., who initiated
the request, “our daily E.D. census jumped almost overnight by up to
50%. Given our long-standing problems with overcrowding, the additional
crush of patients was overwhelming.”

Holy Cross had already been using the CodoniX System for over five years
and was well aware of its potential advantages in this situation.
Recording and transcribing large amounts of repetitive patient
information manually - which is particularly the case with something as
clearly defined as anthrax - is an extremely time-consuming and
labor-intensive task. CodoniX accelerates this process by reducing data
input to a series of clinician mouse clicks that automatically produce a
complete and accurate, fully coded patient chart.

“Within 24 hours after I contacted CodoniX,” Baker states, “we had an
‘anthrax quick chart’ from them up and running that was able to generate
a thorough and legible chart complete with instructions and
prescriptions in about a third of the time. I’m afraid if we tried to
create something similar with a paper chart, we’d still be waiting,” 

CodoniX founder and Chairman, Andrew Muchmore, M.D., adds that the
CodoniX System has even broader implications for improving the overall
quality of public healthcare because it produces a record that can be
accessed, analyzed and stored electronically. “Now you can tell, for
example, how many people you saw in October who came in for anthrax
screening who did or did not show symptoms, who did or did not get
antibiotics, or who did and did not get admitted. Typically that type of
information just isn’t available or, if it is, is generated too late to
be of any immediate value. Consequently, the CodoniX System can provide
physicians with the information they need to treat patients according to
an almost daily changing protocol. And it lets us better determine the
impact of a crisis on our resources so we can better prepare for the
future.”

Until now, inhalation anthrax had not been diagnosed in the United
States since a singular case in 1976. However, while no one could have
anticipated the current crisis, it illustrates the need for emergency
departments - as well as the healthcare system as a whole - to be able
to respond rapidly to emerging situations. 

Fortunately, CodoniX allows medical facilities like Holy Cross to have a
system in place that allows them to adapt quickly to these challenges -
whether it be a bioterriorism attack, changes in Medicare or simply
patient over-crowding.

Headquartered just outside of Washington, D.C., in Herndon, Virginia,
CodoniX, Inc. (www.codonix.com) is a privately held company with a
proprietary technology that can be accessed on a local area network or
via the Internet to accurately build and code a physician’s computerized
notes without using complex menus and rigid templates. These notes
reduce errors, dramatically increase collections and cut administrative
costs associated with dictation, transcription, coding and copying.
Other medical specialty documentation applications are currently under
development for cardiology, orthopedics, obstetrics/gynecology and
family practice.

*	http://www.codonix.com/
*	Click here to email for more information
<mailto:mfs@codonix.com?subject=Medical Newswire Inquiry> 

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HHS Gathers Feedback On Older Americans Act	
WASHINGTON, DC (Medical Newswire) The Department of Health and Human
Services wants suggestions from caregivers on ways to improve the
community-based services provided through the Older Americans Act.

Assistant Secretary for Aging Josephina Carbonell will sponsor the third
in a series of national listening sessions in Washington on Dec. 4 to
receive comments from caregivers and providers on how best to implement
the act, which was reauthorized in 2000 and to identify areas that need
clarification before the next reauthorization in 2005. 

For more information on the session, go to www.aoa.gov/oaa/regs. 

*	http://www.aoa.gov/oaa/regs

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OPPS Rule Slashes Pass-Through Payments	

WASHINGTON, DC (Medical Newswire) The Center for Medicare & Medicaid
Services Nov. 30 issued the final version of its controversial
outpatient prospective payment system update for 2002 - and with a 68.9
percent pro rata reduction to transitional pass-through payments, the
rule is sure to flame the ire of hospitals across the country. 

Under the rule, 75 percent of OPPS pass-through payments for advanced
technology services will be "folded in" to the base rates for the
relevant ambulatory payment classifications. That move will raise
high-tech APC rates by more than $900 million, according to CMS - making
the pro rata reductions necessary to keep payments within statutory
limits. 

The American Hospital Association is furious over the OPPS proposal, and
has threatened to sue CMS over how it handled the regulation. 

The rule also addresses some of the implications of OPPS provisions
addressing provider-based status. However, guidance on one of the most
controversial compliance landmines in those rules - the application of
the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act to provider-based
facilities - will have to wait until later, CMS says. The agency
promises to publish clarifying rulemaking at some point in the future. 

To see the rule, go to
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a011130c.html. 

*	http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a011130c.html

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