TSI Healthcare Employee Spotlight--Meet Shawn our Systems Engineer!

As the New Year begins—and our new blog—we’d like to start a tradition of introducing our TSI Healthcare Family to you through a monthly Spotlight series.  We love our clients, but not everyone has the privilege of putting a face to a name and voice. With our team member Spotlight series, we are bringing our team to you.

So let us introduce you to Shawn D! Shawn joined the TSI Healthcare family in March 2011. In less than a year, Shawn has already become a frequent client request for hardware support calls. Some are even lucky enough to see him face-to-face when he conducts on-site hardware surveys. In the office, we have the special privilege of seeing him daily, or at least waving to him while he is glued to his phone committed to his client support calls. Shawn has become our “go-to guy” for any computer issue within the TSI Healthcare office too! When I asked another colleague how they would describe Shawn, she replied, “Service with a smile. He rarely says no.”

On a more personal note, here are some questions you may have about Shawn but refrain from asking:

What is one thing you can’t live without?

                 “My X-box 360.”

You wouldn’t be caught dead, where?

                 “At a Carolina [UNC Chapel Hill] game, unless they are playing NC State. Go Pack!”

Do you have any hidden talents?

                 “I can eat with chopsticks.”

Meet the many faces of Shawn:

NC State Fair Shawn

Working Shawn

Meaningful Use: Paths to Payment

Considering the amount of press it’s received, I’m surprised #CMSMeaningfulUse isn’t trending on Twitter yet. TSI Healthcare’s team of Meaningful Use experts has been hard at work preparing our clients for the EHR incentives program. We’ve put together this quick overview to guide you through the complicated regulations:

 2012 is the last year in which eligible professionals (EPs) can attest a 90 day reporting period to potentially receive full incentive payments. However, there are some differences between Medicare and Medicaid incentives. The Meaningful Use standards are the same, however the payment plan and schedule differs.

If a Medicare EP begins reporting in 2012, they can receive a total of $44,000 over the next five years. Beginning in 2015, CMS will decrease reimbursements of EPs who do not meet Meaningful Use standards.

For our visual friends, see the following chart on Medicare payment:

Courtesy of tsihealthcare.com/stimulus

If a Medicaid EP begins reporting in 2012, they can receive a total of $63,750 over a period of 6 years of their choosing with 2016 as the last year to initiate the program. As of now, CMS does not predict they will penalize EPs who do not meet Meaningful Use standards in the future.

Medicare EPs are paid their first incentive payment after an initial 90 day reporting period. If this occurs in 2012, practices will receive $18,000 per EP. However, Medicaid EPs receive their first incentive payment before their attestation period begins and receive $21,250. Thus far in the practices I’ve worked with, initial Medicaid payments have taken 8 weeks from registration to receipt of payment.

Within the first year, attestation is any continuous 90 day period. So get started and register for the incentive program, especially if you’re a Medicaid EP. NextGen users: Be sure to run MU Crystal Reports early to identify areas of improvement before it is too late to increase your low percentages.

TSI Healthcare is dedicating time and support to assist with Meaningful Use attestation. We’ve begun working with our clients through TSI Healthcare hosted webinars, knowledgeable staff, and further education materials, we walk our clients through the incentive program process being sure to achieve Meaningful Use success!

If you are a TSI Healthcare client, give us a call! Our team of experts is ready to help you hit the ground running.  We’ve been reaching out to clients over the past year, and those that are eager to dive in head first can take advantage of our “TSI Healthcare Meaningful Use Analysis” to streamline your path to payment.

For some TSI Healthcare Meaningful Use Resources:

http://www.tsihealthcare.com/stimulus/default.aspx#Meaningful_What

Register for CMS Meaningful Use Incentive Program here: https://ehrincentives.cms.gov/hitech/login.action

TSI Healthcare on Blogspot

At TSI Healthcare, we are dedicated to the complete and measurable success of each physician we serve.

Software alone is not a solution. Your success can only be realized with expert, personal guidance. We help our clients surpass their own expectations by combining powerful software with a customized implementation plan, thorough and continuous training, and proactive support. Assisting you is our TSI Healthcare team of clinicians, former practice administrators, EHR and Practice Management experts, and MicrosoftTM and CiscoTM certified systems engineers providing diverse knowledge and perspectives to achieve optimum results from your technology.

In an effort to continue helping physicians and computers work together, we are officially entering the blogosphere! Educating our family of practices is a central aspect of TSI Healthcare’s approach to adoption success. Using this new blog, our goal is to engage practices, physicians, office staff, partner organizations, and anyone who’s interested in a conversation about new Healthcare IT topics, tips, tricks, and thoughts in the industry. We’ll be combining topics suggested by TSI Healthcare experts, the media, and our clients. Join the conversation!

Feel free to comment and share posts. In addition to BlogSpot, you can engage in the conversation on twitter @tsihealthcare and facebook (www.facebook.com/tsihealthcare). See our website for more information: http://tsihealthcare.com/