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Bypassing the standard notice of proposed rulemaking and public comment period, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued, July 28, a final notice of 2017 Medicare payment and policy changes for inpatient psychiatric facilities. CMS can waive notice and comment if they have good reason. “We find it unnecessary to undertake notice and […]
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Using standing order protocols for flu vaccination in your medical practice allows trained healthcare professionals – who are permitted to do so under state law – to assess a patient’s need for vaccination, determine if there are contraindications or precautions, and then to administer influenza vaccine without obtaining a physician’s written or verbal order for an individual patient.
Studies have shown that standing orders, carried out by nurses or other qualified healthcare professionals, are one of the most consistently effective means for increasing vaccination rates and reducing missed opportunities for vaccination, thereby improving quality of care. (1)
The goal of standing orders? Increase vaccination coverage in a practice by:
CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has recommended the use of standing orders to increase adult vaccination rates since 2000. (2)
The Community Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) recommends standing orders for vaccinations based on strong evidence of effectiveness in improving vaccination rates among adults and children, when used alone or with additional interventions, and across a range of settings and populations. (3)
Who is authorized to administer vaccines under standing orders? It varies by state law. To find out which medical personnel are permitted to administer vaccines under standing orders in your state, contact your state immunization program manager.
The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) has materials available that help make standing orders easy to implement. “Using Standing Orders for Administering Vaccines: What You Should Know” is a one-page article describing the basics of standing orders.
IAC has created free standing order templates for all routinely recommended vaccines for administration to children, teens, and adults. They are all available online and are modifiable in any way you choose to suit your practice’s needs.
These standing order templates are based on ACIP vaccine recommendations and are reviewed for technical accuracy by CDC staff. IAC updates its standing orders protocols whenever ACIP makes changes in vaccine recommendations.
These standing order templates are based on ACIP vaccine recommendations and are reviewed for technical accuracy by CDC staff. IAC updates its standing orders protocols whenever ACIP makes changes in vaccine recommendations.
You can access all of IAC’s vaccination standing order templates HERE.
Here are four to get you started:
What strategies have you employed to improve your practice workflow this flu season?
References:
— This post Increase Vaccination Rates This Flu Season with Standing Orders! was written by Carol Bush and first appeared on Capture Billing. Capture Billing is a medical billing company helping medical practices get their insurance claims paid faster, easier and with less stress allowing doctors to focus on their patients.
On June 17, CMS released a final rule implementing Section 216(a) of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA), requiring laboratories performing clinical diagnostic laboratory tests to report the amounts paid by private insurers for laboratory tests. Medicare will use these private insurer rates to calculate Medicare payment rates for laboratory tests paid under the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS) beginning January 1, 2018.
The final rule includes provisions to ease administrative burdens for physician office laboratories and smaller independent laboratories. The final rule will generally require reporting entities to report private payor rates and test volumes for laboratory tests if an applicable laboratory receives at least $ 12,500 in Medicare revenues from laboratory services paid under the CLFS and more than 50 percent of its Medicare revenues from laboratory and/or physician services.
For the system’s first year, laboratories will collect private payor data from January 1, 2016, through June 30, 2016, and report it to CMS between January 1, 2017, and March 31, 2017. CMS will calculate and post the new Medicare rates by early November 2017. These rates will take effect on January 1, 2018.
For More Information:
See the full text of this excerpted CMS press release (issued June 17).
The Medical Management Institute – MMI – Medical Coding News & MMI Updates