EMRs – What You Need to Know NOW!

Overview:
With federal money now available for EMR implementation, many practices will evaluate an EMR system for the first time. Implementing an EMR system can have a dramatic impact on the roles and responsibilities of coders in a practice.

This Workshop Will Help You:

• Understand how your role as a coder will change with an EMR system
• Learn what new skills you will need to be successful working with an EMR
• Understand how EMRs will change the relationship between physician and coder
• Discover the HIT and ARRA requirements for "meaningful use” that trigger $17 billion in Medicare and Medicaid incentives
• Learn why it’s important to have Coding and HIM professionals at the table during the selection, implementation and optimization process to get appropriate documentation, coding and charge capture built in to your EMR
• Master accurately setting up documentation and coding rules into the system, driving auto-adjudication of claims
• Understand what you can do to prepare

The workshop will review a real-life example of an EMR implementation and its impact. Dr. Taylor’s key findings include:

• The coder role changed from "rescue/recovery” coding to “educator/auditor” coding
• Coders used to spend 90% of their time on back end tasks; now they only spend 33% of their time on back end
• Increased office presence and interaction with physicians and staff
• Coders need a combination of skills – educator, auditor and coder – to thrive

As EMRs become standard in the health care system, the role of the coder will continue to evolve. This workshop will help prepare you for those changes.

Author:
Dr. James M Taylor is a Board Certified Family Medicine physician and Certified Professional Coder. He went into private practice in Xenia, Ohio and later joined Kaiser Permanente in Denver, Colorado, in 1995. He has served on the Electronic Health Record team for three years as a physician trainer and system administrator. He served as the Physician Director of Coding from 2002 to 2007 and is now the Medical Director of Revenue Cycle. He was recently elected to the Board of Directors for Kaiser’s physician group, the Colorado Permanente Medical Group.