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Hello, world! First, some insurance facts. Did you know that alien abduction insurance in the USA exists since 1987, Gene Simmons from the Kiss band has insured his tongue for $1,000,000 (quite reasonable!), and Starbucks pays for their employees’ insurance more than for their coffee? As for EMSOW’s insurance and billing sections, this week we have completed a new feature to improve your claims management, as well as another useful option. Both upgrades were suggested by our customers!

EMSOW Release

[#18071] Void claims resubmission

Claims management is gradually becoming more complex, and EMSOW team is keeping up with the ever-changing business environment. Now, you can resubmit claims not only as original or replacement claims, but also as void claims. To use this option, double-click on the needed service, hover the mouse pointer over the electronic claim that you need to resubmit, click on the Resubmit icon, and select the claim type in the Resubmission code field. The void claims contain 8 in Box 22 of the 1500 form.

[#18495] Disable auto-assign and auto-send upon the completion of a preliminary report

We have increased the versatility of EMSOW’s workflow for imaging technologists. Previously, the system would always assign a reading provider and send studies for reading automatically, immediately upon the technologist’s completion of a preliminary report. We have added an option to disable the automatic reading assignment, which allows you to have more control over your workflow. If you want to modify your setup, please contact EMSOW support: support@emsow.com.

Tech News Digest

What’s up, Doc?

A week ago a Charity group called University of the Underground launched a series of audio releases recorded on X-ray film. The project attracted the iconic artists and lecturers: Massive Attack, Sigur Rós, Noam Chomsky and many more.

Great way of X-ray film utilization (although not quite new).

However, if you are going to send your x-rays for reading and billing, instead of engraving your new album on them, the latest EMSOW upgrade is just what you need.

EMSOW Release

[#18400] Auto-assign reading doctors to externally read exams

We have increased the versatility and automation of EMSOW billing features. If you send exams to an external reading facility, you may not always know which doctor will interpret them. This poses a problem for billers if they need to use a specific doctor’s NPI to bill for the externally read exams. Now EMSOW can assign certain doctors to such exams based on the reports received from external systems. EMSOW analyzes the report, automatically retrieves the reading doctor’s name and assigns the doctor to the corresponding study. With this upgrade, your billers will not have to open each received report and check which doctor provided it—they can proceed straight to claim generation!

For this functionality to work, the external reading doctors have to be added to the Reading Doctors module beforehand. Please contact EMSOW Support if you wish to set it up.

[#18425] PDF images and report template on the same screen

The reporting module in EMSOW has become more user-friendly! Previously, medical images in PDF format (such as EKG sheets) could be viewed in a separate browser tab only, so reading doctors had to switch between the tabs over and over again while working on their reports. With this upgrade, you can work with the PDF images and report template on the same screen, which saves your time and streamlines image interpretation:

Here’s a quick tip on how to enable this functionality: click Preferences in Physician Portal and select Show study documents. By the way, this EMSOW improvement was suggested by one of our customers!

With the availability of tablets and smartphones, your employees can transmit various types of data to your company’s information system instantly and wirelessly from any distance. The most common example is emailing healthcare-related images, documents, and notes to the office, which you most likely have had to do.

However, there are privacy and usability concerns associated with commonly available email and instant messaging apps. At first sight, it may seem suitable to use off-the-shelf apps, but the app of your choice may lack the necessary tools for your medical business’s specific needs. This software may have a wide range of settings, but as an end user, you are likely to adjust your business needs to the available software features rather than to configure the application according to your demands. Moreover, off-the-shelf programs do not offer any tools to help you with medical-related routine tasks, such as receiving information directly from diagnostic equipment or checking insurance eligibility.

Therefore, it makes sense to look for specialized mobile software, but if you are running a medical business, you are also aware of possible privacy-related issues. Before purchasing an application which seems to meet your requirements, it is necessary to check it for compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPAA includes a set of federal standards that ensure the security of your patients’ electronic protected health information (ePHI). Keep in mind that the matter of HIPAA compliance may be disregarded by mobile app developers, even if the intended purpose of the app is healthcare automation. Always make sure the developer guarantees the HIPAA compliance in the end-user agreement.

Another critical issue is the compatibility of the mobile app with the desktop software you use at the office. You could purchase mobile and desktop applications from different vendors and use them separately, but the most efficient strategy would be to get a bundled software package that is available on both desktop and mobile devices and provides a consistent user interface. It is also worth noting that trying to integrate different software systems may cause reliability and security problems as well as data conflicts and errors, which often results in costly troubleshooting or even data loss.

The most advanced solutions on the market have their own mobile apps that seamlessly integrate into your IT infrastructure. Unlike many off-the-shelf apps, such mobile applications can offer exactly what you need at a reasonable price:

• Ultrasound technologists can fill out exam worksheets on the go and save them as electronic documents. This feature is especially convenient for mobile diagnostic companies that have their technologists travel from one facility to another throughout the day.
• Doctors can manage diagnostic studies and report clinical findings straight from their handheld devices, which is vitally important for STAT cases. When timing is critical, you can combine the versatility and speed of a mobile device with the app’s specialized features for the fastest communication possible. For example, you can capture an image using the built-in camera and send it along with the general report via an encrypted connection.
• Managers can supervise the workflow even when they are traveling. For example, they can track their technologists’ location in real time.
• Accounting staff can check eligibility instantly and remotely, without time-consuming phone calls to providers or visiting their websites.

These are only a few examples of mobile app functionality that a healthcare business may benefit from. In practice, your software vendor should work with you before developing the app in order to perform requirements analysis and ensure the final product can help you with every facet of your business.

With an application tailored to your specific needs, you can turn your mobile device into a powerful and reliable tool which enables you to complete multiple routine tasks from anywhere easily and thus streamline your medical business.

Hi folks!

This week Apple has announced that the new AirPods will look the same as the previous model. Meanwhile, our team has added a couple of updates to EMSOW.

[#18203] Detailed error descriptions in the Reports Delivery Tracking module

Many doctors prefer receiving their reports by fax. Fax delivery may fail for multiple reasons, e.g. the fax machine did not respond, the line is busy, a voice answer was detected.

Previously, EMSOW informed about the failure, but did not inform about the failure reason, which hampered troubleshooting. With this update, you can hover your mouse pointer over the “failure” label in the Reports Delivery Tracking module to see a detailed message about what happened.

[#18260] Purchased service charge excluded from account balance

Due to a bug, EMSOW used to add purchased service charges to the balance of procedures. We have fixed the bug, and now these charges are only added to claims as an informational field (Box 20 of the HCFA form) and do not affect the balance. You can still see the purchased service charges as transactions in the Billing information window.

EMSOW appreciates your feedback. Found a bug? Contact EMSOW Support and help us improve! You are welcome to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn!

Dear customers!

We are glad to inform you that a new version of EMSOW has been released this week.

[#18351] Print the assigned billing company information on account statements

Previously, the system always printed the default billing company information in the upper-left corner of an account statement. With this update, we made it possible to print the information of the company that is assigned to the study. If you wish to enable this functionality, please contact EMSOW Support, and we will check your settings.

[#18352] Print the rendering provider name on account statements

One more update to the account statement form: it is now possible to include the rendering provider name.

EMSOW appreciates your feedback. Found a bug? Contact EMSOW Support and help us improve! You are welcome to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn!

Dear customers!

We are glad to inform you that a new version of EMSOW has been released this week.

[#18252] Post recoupments without forwarding balance

We have created a new option for manual recoupment posting. If an insurance company has overpaid for your services and wants to draw some money back (instead of the total payment amount), you can manually post a negative amount, different from the previous payment. Your posting team will love this new feature, that’s for sure!

EMSOW appreciates your feedback. Found a bug? Contact EMSOW Support and help us improve! You are welcome to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn!

Dear customers!

We are glad to inform you that a new version of EMSOW has been released this week.

[#18328] Ordering facility as a condition in billing rules

Now you can select an ordering facility while configuring a billing rule — the new condition “Ordering facility” has been added.

EMSOW appreciates your feedback. Found a bug? Contact EMSOW Support and help us improve! You are welcome to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn!

Dear customers!

We are glad to inform you that a new version of EMSOW has been released this week.

[#18309] NPPES integration

EMSOW is now integrated with the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES). This means that whenever you add or edit a doctor or organization, EMSOW can automatically look up the NPI, address, and taxonomy codes in the NPPES and fill out the corresponding fields. This applies to referring facilities, referring doctors, reading facilities, reading doctors, rendering providers, and billing companies. In order to perform a lookup, click the NPPES lookup button in the editing window. If the button is not yet available to you, please contact EMSOW Support to request access.

EMSOW appreciates your feedback. Found a bug? Contact EMSOW Support and help us improve! You are welcome to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn!

Dear customers!

We are glad to inform you that a new version of EMSOW has been released this week.

[#18297] New data entry statistics feature

If you have a dedicated data entry team and wish to track their work progress, there’s good news. We have added a new menu command to the Processing module: “Mark as” → “Processed study.” By clicking this command, a user indicates that he or she has processed selected services. Managers can see which services have been processed by a specific user by using the “Processing” filter group in the Billing module.

[#18266] Patient lookup dropdown fix

We have applied a small layout fix to the patient lookup dropdown menu in the “Edit service” window to make sure the patient’s date of birth fits in the menu.

[#18307] Export Data From Clearing

We have fixed a bug that prevented users from exporting data from the Clearing module.

EMSOW appreciates your feedback. Found a bug? Contact EMSOW Support and help us improve! You are welcome to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn!

Dear customers!

We are glad to inform you that a new version of EMSOW has been released this week.

[#18253] Taxonomy Codes Reference

Previously, taxonomy codes for reading facilities and other entities were entered as free text, which might cause human errors. In this update, we added a reference table for taxonomy codes and replaced the free-text fields with drop-downs.

[#18287] Ability to send images from a specific AET

We have added a new option for external reading facilities. Now you can specify which AE the system should use when communicating with an external DICOM server. Go to the “Send options” tab of the reading facility properties and set the “Send from AET” option. The list of available AE titles is configured under Setup → PACS → PACS Clients. If you leave the “Send from AET” selection blank, the default PACS server will be used.

[#18148] Facility Billing Improvements and Fixes

We have improved several EMSOW features for facility billing.

We have added the “Auto fill” button to the Payer Assignment module, which allows you to auto-fill billing information for selected exams, based on billing rules. On the left sidebar of the module, you now have a checkbox that allows you to show only those exams that do not have billing information filled. Another new checkbox allows you to show only those exams that have not yet been invoiced.

Besides, we have added a clickable service ID link to every exam, which opens the Processing module. This link is available both in the Payer Assignment module and the “Edit invoice” window.

Also, the system will not anymore print “$0.00” in the “Savings” column of an invoice if the savings amount to zero – the space will be left blank.

[#18258] Increased Speed of Statistics Module

Before this update EMSOW might take some time to count and display studies in the Statistics module. We have optimized the module so that it displays data quicker.

[#18223] Jump to the Wholesale tab in Processing from other modules

Previously, the “Wholesale” tab of the Processing module did not open when you jumped to Processing from another module, such as Billing or PACS Storage, by clicking a service ID or A/N link (the system would always open the “Retail” tab, regardless of which tab the service was under). We have fixed this annoying bug.

EMSOW appreciates your feedback. Found a bug? Contact EMSOW Support and help us improve! You are welcome to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn!

Dear customers!

We are glad to inform you that a new version of EMSOW has been released this week.

[#17784] Monthly Reconciliation Report Improvements

We have improved our Monthly Reconciliation Report by adding the following new columns:

• The count of studies flagged as “no read”
• The percentage of studies for which payments have been collected
• “Open studies” (the difference between the count of billed studies and the count of written off and collected studies)

With the extended EMSOW report, you have better control of your financial inflows.

[#18235] Replicating Checks with the Same Number

Payment checks that have the same control number can now be replicated between EMSOW domains. This new feature eliminates replication errors associated with checks for our customers who use multidomain configurations.

[#18245] Aliases for Study Groups

It is now possible to add aliases to study groups. Go to the Tests section of the Setup menu and select Study Groups. Here you can edit the needed study groups and add aliases to them. This feature may come useful for customers who use 3rd party integrations with EMSOW and receive data from external systems, such as EHRs.

[#18144] Extended Default Settings in the Standard Domain Configuration

From now on, the standard domain configuration includes the “performed,” “scheduled” and “canceled” service statuses. Thus, we have streamlined the process of creating new domains for our clients who deal with multiple domains.

EMSOW appreciates your feedback. Found a bug? Contact EMSOW Support and help us improve! You are welcome to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn!

Medical specialists who deal with diagnostic imaging, regularly have to communicate examination queries and patients’ demographics to various diagnostic facilities and equipment. At first glance, it is quite simple, because data transmission is a regular part of our everyday life. But if you are a doctor or a medical business supervisor, you are aware of several industry-specific issues.

Quite often medical businesses work with multiple facilities and various equipment. Imagine that you need to consistently inform each technologist which study needs to be done for each of your patients or regularly receive orders from multiple hospitals. Just to perform this single task promptly, you’ll need to hire a dispatcher.

Without an adequate automated task manager, each patient’s data has to be double-entered manually. Several issues are arising out of double manual data-entry. First of all, this process is usually time-consuming, but that is not all. Probably, one of the most pressing problems is high error rate, which means that some of your patients’ information would likely be confused, incomplete or even missing. In such cases, you would have to cover not only the query costs but also correcting expenditures (not to mention that double-entry increases the error incidence twice).

So, the way out of this tricky situation is getting a dispatching service that would automatically send information on required studies to multiple diagnostic providers and equipment.

Some medical businesses hire consultants and managers, or even software developers to create a specific application for transmitting study queries. Of course, such solution is acceptable, but it cuts both ways. The main advantage is that you’ll get a tool designed to satisfy your needs. However, in this case, you likely have to bear huge expenses, mainly because such software would be built from scratch and so you are expected to cover all the development costs. However, that does not mean that the result would meet all your requirements. Besides, you stay vendor- and support-dependent all the time. Another issue is integration into your IT infrastructure.

The Modality Worklist (or MWL) is a feature of the DICOM protocol that allows you to transfer procedure lists to be performed from a PACS server to your diagnostic equipment. This service is often available in advanced specific-purpose software for healthcare businesses. It works with DICOM-friendly equipment, which means compliance with the vast majority of modern machines. Still, before considering this tool, it makes sense to check if your equipment is DICOM-friendly.

How does it work? Each medical equipment unit sends a query to the application (depending on your network configuration, it can be done either directly or via a DICOM gateway). After that, the server replies with a worklist which usually includes patients’ demographics (name, age, gender, etc.) and types of required examinations. This workflow is rather simple and efficient in solving multiple dispatching problems and thus reduces your expenses. Probably you will not get rid of all the processing mistakes arising out of manual data-entry, but you will at least cut them by half because MWL eliminates double-entry.

Needless to say that MWL meets the DICOM standards https://www.dicomstandard.org/current/, which also eliminates concerns related to using various imaging systems (RIS, PACS, etc.).

Modality worklist is a ready-made solution for both clinics and imaging providers. It simplifies the study dispatching process and makes things go much more smoothly. –

Links:

DICOM standards: https://www.dicomstandard.org/current/

An article on MWL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3452969/pdf/10278_2009_Article_BF03168381.pdf

Dear customers!

We are glad to inform you that a new version of EMSOW has been released this week.

[#18160] Improved performance of the Clearing Module

Previously, queries in the Clearing module did not run fast enough to process large amounts of data. This was especially critical for large medical businesses that deal with huge financial flows daily. In this update, we have increased the speed of the queries and improved the stability of the module.

[#18183] Option to reduce CLM01 length for certain payers

The default length of the CLM01 segment (Patient Control Number) in electronic claims has been recently reduced to 20 symbols [#18023]. We have found that certain payers require this segment’s value to be even shorter and made it possible to change the length of the segment for them. Go to Setup → Insurances → double-click the needed payer → open the Billing tab, and change the “CLM01 length” option as required.

EMSOW appreciates your feedback. Found a bug? Contact EMSOW Support and help us improve! You are welcome to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn!

Dear customers!

We are glad to inform you that a new version of EMSOW has been released this week.

[#18174] Make any file types available in Physician Portal

Good news for providers who pay attention to each and every small detail. We have made it possible to make any file type available to Physician Portal users. Go to Setup → Processing → File types and select the “Show in physician portal” checkbox for the required file types. Now your providers can get as much information from your paperwork as they need.

[#18186] Send claims without Rendering Provider IDs to certain insurances

Billing connectors have the “Include rendering provider” option, which enables the adding of rendering providers’ NPIs to box 24J of the 1500 form. We have made it possible to turn this option off for particular insurances by adding the “Include rendering provider“ checkbox to the “Billing” tab of the “Edit insurance” window. The new checkbox is selected by default.

[#18153] Print requisition forms from Billing

We have developed a printer-friendly requisition form. To use this feature, go to the “Print” menu in the Billing module and select “Requisition form.” If you need to customize the content of the form, please contact EMSOW Support and provide a template.

[#18152] Medical Necessity drop-down list

We have added a new drop-down list to the “Edit service” window in the Dispatch module, “Medical Necessity.” Mobile X-ray and ultrasound providers can use this drop-down to indicate the reason why an exam has to be performed portably. Possible reasons are set up under Setup → Processing → Medical necessity. The selected reason can be printed on the requisition form [#18153].

[#18167] Apply report design rules to template-generated pages only

EMSOW allows reading doctors to create reports for PDF-based studies, such as ANS and NCV, by using a template as the beginning of the report and attaching the original PDF to the end of it. Thus the final report contains both the doctor’s conclusion and the technical report generated by the diagnostic machine.

From now on, you can use report design rules to apply a custom letterhead to such reports by using the “Apply only to reports” checkbox in the “Edit report design rule” window. If this checkbox is selected, EMSOW will apply the letterhead only to the doctor’s conclusion generated from the template and leave the technical part of the report untouched.

EMSOW appreciates your feedback. Found a bug? Contact EMSOW Support and help us improve! You are welcome to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn!

Dear customers!

We are glad to inform you that a new version of EMSOW has been released this week.

[#18107] Add notes to referring facilities

We have added a new field to the referring facility edit window (Setup → Referring → Referring Facilities), in which users can leave text notes. You will find this feature useful if you deal with many referring facilities and need to add comments to their records.

[#17878] Improved preliminary reporting

We have improved the stability of the preliminary report feature and fixed some bugs in it. Now the preliminary report tab closes immediately after a technologist clicks the “Complete preliminary report” button (formerly “Save preliminary report”). This ensures that the report is properly saved and no duplicate files are created.

[#17930] Removed date of service restriction from Physician Portal

Previously, the default “Date of service” range in the Physician Portal was set to three months. Some of our clients found it inconvenient, especially when they had to deal with older cases that were sent for comparison. We removed this restriction for the “Pending” queues.

EMSOW appreciates your feedback. Found a bug? Contact EMSOW Support and help us improve! You are welcome to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn!

Dear customers!

We are glad to inform you that a new version of EMSOW has been released this week.

[#18031] Improved Messaging in the Report Tracking Module

Previously, when a user sent an inquiry regarding a report delay from the Reports Tracking module, the system needed the reading doctor’s email, otherwise, it returned an error. From now on, if the reading doctor’s email is missing, EMSOW will use the email of the reading facility, thus increasing the chance of receiving feedback from the responsible party.

[#18079] Notifications in mobile app

From now on, when the status of an exam is changed, mobile app users will receive a push notification. We believe mobile technologists will take advantage of this feature to efficiently manage their schedule on the go.

EMSOW appreciates your feedback. Found a bug? Contact EMSOW Support and help us improve! You are welcome to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn!

Dear customers!

This week EMSOW has received a stability update to improve overall service performance.

Among other things, we have improved our phone-based clock-in system and its voice messaging functionality [#18092].

EMSOW can serve as a convenient clock-in system for your employees: all they need to do to check-in is dial a dedicated phone number and record a short message. You can listen to the recorded messages and track your employees’ hours using the Employees Time Tracking module.

EMSOW appreciates your feedback. Found a bug? Contact EMSOW Support and help us improve!

Dear customers!

We are glad to inform you that a new version of EMSOW has been released this week.

[#18053] Post payments as received via a collection agency
We have extended the range of options for payment posting. Now, when you are posting a payment, you can mark it as received via a collection agency. In order to do so, select the “Via collection agency” checkbox in the “Post payment“ window after selecting “Patient“ in the “From“ drop-down list. You can also mark a payment as received from the patient by selecting the “Via pt. payment” checkbox.

[#18034] Confirm a dispatched exam from the mobile app
Previously, to confirm an exam, technologists had to use a confirmation link received by email. From now on, they can confirm the exams sent from the Dispatch module by using our mobile app. Tap and hold on the exam in the Resident Visit List (RVL), and then tap the “Confirm” button at the bottom of the screen.

[#18062] Fixed a bug with denied in-patient claims
We have fixed a bug associated with in-patient claim denials. The REF*D9 segment is now reported in the 2300 loop after the DTP*435 segment in electronic claims.

EMSOW appreciates your feedback. Found a bug? Contact EMSOW Support and help us improve!

Dear customers!

We are glad to inform you that a new version of EMSOW has been released this week.

[#17896] Increased number of diagnosis codes

Now you can add up to 12 diagnosis codes to a study (previously, the system did not allow to enter more than four). This can help you improve the quality of your billing documentation, such as superbills.

[#18018] Updated billing autofill feature

We have updated the billing autofill feature to better handle studies that do not fall under any billing rules. Previously, the system would add a “NO BILL” flag to those studies thus preventing the user from autofilling them again.

From now on, EMSOW will keep the “NOT ASSIGNED” billing status in this situation so that you can add an appropriate rule and autofill the study again.

[#18027] Ability to mark insurance as eligible manually

From now on, you can manually mark a patient’s insurance as eligible in the Processing module. Sometimes you may need to inform other users that the insurance is eligible without sending a query to your clearing house. For this purpose, we have added a new option to the “Eligibility” menu, “Mark as eligible.”

Note that this option works not only for patients with available insurance IDs, but also for patients entered as “self-pay”.

Bugs & Stability

We have improved the stability and performance of EMSOW and fixed a few bugs.

Dear customers!

We are glad to inform you that a new version of EMSOW has been released this week.

[#17642] Notifications about failed report delivery

Sometimes the system fails to send a report to a referring doctor by fax. This may occur for various reasons, but whatever they are, from now on you will be immediately informed about the failed delivery. If the report has not been delivered, EMSOW automatically sends you an email notification, recommends to resend the report manually, and provides the necessary instructions.

[#17923] Report design based on study type and insurance

We have updated the Report Design Rules module. Now EMSOW can add different letterheads to image interpretation reports for different study types and insurances. Other conditions that you can use in the rules include reading doctors, referring doctors, and branches.

[#18023] Corrected CLM01 field length 

We have reduced the length of the CLM01 field in X12 files to 20 characters. The standard length can be up to 38 characters, but claims with this field longer than 20 characters are frequently rejected. Now, this typical issue is eliminated with our latest update.

[#16480] Received date correction in the PACS storage

Before this update, sending a study for reading might cause a change of the received date in the PACS storage, due to the conversion of attached paperwork into the DICOM format. From now on, the system disregards the creation date of the automatically generated DICOM files and keeps the original date of image upload for easier search.

[#17998] Deleted studies in Statistics

The updated Statistics module keeps track of deleted studies in the Details window. The deleted studies have a warning sign, indicating the name of the user who deleted the study and the removal date. This will help you track the deleted studies for accounting purposes.

Bugs & Stability

We have improved the stability and performance of EMSOW and fixed a few bugs.

Dear customers!

We are glad to inform you that a new version of EMSOW has been released this week.

[#17990] “Documents” button and context menu item are back in the Technologist Portal

We have returned the “Documents” button and context menu item to the PACS section of the Technologist Portal. Just a reminder: in the previous release, we made it possible to create non-DICOM studies (such as EEG, EKG, NCV and SSR) from the Technologist Portal, without giving technologists access to Processing. Please keep the feedback coming!

[#17944] Time tracking for night shifters

The EMSOW clock-in system does not automatically reset an employee’s session at midnight anymore. We believe night shift workers are going to love this—now they won’t have to check out before midnight and check back in to keep their work hours counted.

[#17968] Print CMS-1500 forms without red lines from the Billing Information window

From now on, our users can print CMS-1500 claim forms without red lines from the Processing module. Double-click a service to open the “Billing Information” window and click the “Print form only” button in the row of the required claim.

[#17976] Prefix for Claim Submitter’s Identifier

We have added a new option to the settings of billing companies, which allows to add a prefix to the CLM-01 segment of electronic claims (which corresponds to Box 26 of the 1500 form).

If you are using more than one billing system, you can use this feature if you want your clearing house to identify your EMSOW site as the claim origin, in order to sort or split remits. If the clearing house supports it, you will receive only those ERA files that are intended to be posted in EMSOW.

By default, EMSOW uses Service IDs as Claim Submitter’s Identifiers.

[#17922] Statement of account reason

Now you can add a “Statement of account reason” line to account statements, in order to explain the reason for receiving the account statement to the client, e.g. “We have not been paid on this claim because your insurance company sent payment to you.”

To take advantage of this feature, please send us the list of possible reasons that you want to use, and we will add it to your configuration. Then, the system will prompt you to select a reason when you click “Print” → “Account statements” in the Billing module.

[#17928] Use user links to assign technologists to studies

From now on the system will automatically assign technologist records to studies by using the “Technologist” link of the user who has uploaded images. This will allow to print the technologist’s name on reports and preliminary reports without having to edit services in Processing.

[#17463] Phoned/faxed icon and filter in Dispatch

Dispatchers are now able to indicate if someone has phoned or faxed regarding an ordered case. The corresponding icons are displayed in the grid of the Dispatch module. Also, users can apply a filter to see those cases that have not been marked as “faxed” or “phoned”.

[#15944] Replication for studies with multiple identical CPT codes and modifiers

We have made it possible to replicate studies that include more than one identical CPT code. This should fix certain billing errors in replicated EMSOW domains.

Bugs & Stability

We have improved the stability and performance of EMSOW and fixed a few bugs.

Dear customers!

We are glad to inform you that a new version of EMSOW has been released this week.

[#17905] Transportation and setup codes in Billing

We have added an ability to bill for the transportation and setup of diagnostic equipment by adding HCPCS codes R0070/R0075 and Q0092 to claims.

[#17244] Create document-based studies from Technologist Portal

Now our users can enter patient information, create studies and attach files in the Technologist portal. This will allow technologists to create EEG, EKG, NCV, SSR and other types of studies that do not contain DICOM images right from their individual accounts, without asking administrators to upload paperwork from the Processing module.

If you would like to schedule training on the new functionality for your technologists, you are welcome to contact our support.

Bugs & Stability

We have improved the stability and performance of EMSOW and fixed a few bugs.

Dear customers!

We are glad to inform you that a new version of EMSOW has been released this week.

[#17465] Patient address autopopulation

We have upgraded the autopopulation algorithm for patient addresses in the Processing module. When you are adding a new service, EMSOW automatically fills patient address fields in the following ways:

1. If the referring facility is a nursing home, the fields are populated with the facility’s address.
2. If the referring facility is not a nursing home, EMSOW uses the address from the patient’s record, if available (see Setup → Patients).

You can also populate the patient address for existing studies by clicking the ‘Facility’ and ‘Patient’ buttons under the address fields.

[#17911] Provider access to the Billing module

From now on, your doctors and providers can review billing information for their patients by logging into your EMSOW domain. They can get limited, read-only access to the Billing module to view the billing information only for their services.

To provide access to the Billing module, create a new user account for a doctor or provider and link it to the corresponding reading or referring doctor (or facility) or rendering provider. If you need help setting up user permissions, please contact our support.

Bugs & Stability

We have improved the stability and performance of EMSOW and fixed a few bugs.

An introduction to cloud-based PACS for mobile diagnostic operators

Mobile diagnostic imaging is in high demand by many practices and doctors who are looking to expand their services to new locations and avoid the cost of maintaining an in-house diagnostic lab. Portable diagnostic equipment makes it possible for X-ray technicians and sonographers to travel between facilities. At the same time, it delivers image quality comparable to that of stationary equipment. However, today’s technology has a lot more to offer to mobile diagnostic operators than just portable ultrasound machines and X-ray appliances. In this article, we’ll take a look at one useful tool that can help your mobile imaging business work more efficiently – web-based PACS.

Picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) have become a vital part of the IT infrastructure of many healthcare organizations. PACS software allows to capture, store, view and share all types of medical images within local networks. This provides a great number of advantages, including long-term storage, easy search, and image transfer via the network (which is much faster and cheaper than burning CDs).

However, if you are considering getting your own PACS server as a mobile imaging operator, you may face at least the following difficulties:

Maintenance is expensive. Even if you’re a small business, medical images are a heavy kind of data: one echocardiogram, for instance, may take up to 1 GB of storage space depending on the compression level. Moreover, you are legally obliged to keep the images for a long time in most cases. Add to this the need for a trained IT specialist to manage, service, and backup the image storage server.

External sharing issues. A local PACS server may work for you if your images are supposed to remain in your local network without any external access. However, if you use remote reading radiologists like most mobile operators, you will not be able to easily send the images to their remote computers, because a) the images are large, and b) it may violate the privacy of your patients. To include a remote site in your network you might choose to use the Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology, but then the cost of the above-mentioned IT guy may reach a six number figure.

Fortunately, in the age of internet services, both of the problems are easily solved with web-based PACS solutions that allow you to:
– Upload images from any location via the internet, with HIPAA-compliant encryption
– View the images in a web browser from any internet-enabled device. To invite a radiologist to read an imaging study, all you need to do is send them a link
– Forget about the long-term storage problem, since now the images are in the cloud (though you should make sure to carefully read the terms and conditions of your contract; for example, you may want to check their policy on data migration in case you decide to move your data to another provider in the future)

If you and your reading doctor are using different PACS systems, advanced web-based solutions should allow you to connect your system to theirs. Thanks to the interoperability of the DICOM protocol, the core of any modern PACS, your web-based solution can be joined with any other system. Security can be provided by the same VPN technology we mentioned, except for it will not be at your own expense anymore – the web service provider should take care of all the technicalities as part of the package.

Therefore, the web-based PACS services allow you to create a secure distributed clinical environment that is available 24/7 from any location. They can reliably connect technicians and reading doctors as well as your office personnel and thus help you manage your workflow completely. There is a couple more things you might look into to get the most out of your web-based PACS experience:
– Manage the schedule of your technicians and transfer it straight to their equipment with Modality Worklist.
– Transfer patient information from the EHRs of your customers to your worklist
– Integrate the billing part of your business with your PACS.

Dear customers!

We are glad to inform you that a new version of EMSOW has been released this week.

[#17850] Ability to email invoices to referring facilities

It is now possible to send invoices to billing email addresses of referring facilities.

[#17851] Payer assignment module update

The Payer Assignment module now allows to select which referring facility should receive a report.

[#17859] TriZetto real-time eligibility check

We have added support for eligibility checks for TriZetto customers.

Bugs & Stability

We have improved the stability and performance of EMSOW and fixed a few bugs.

Dear customers!

We are glad to inform you that a new version of EMSOW has been released this week.

[#17483] A new diagnosis edit option

We have made it easier for users to edit study diagnoses. Instead of opening the “Edit service” window to add, correct or delete an ICD code, you can just click on the link next to “Diag:” below the study name in the Processing or Billing module and make changes. If you want to take advantage of this feature, please send a message to our support at support@emsow.com and we will enable it for you.

[#17484] “Reason for the exam” field

We have added the “Reason for the exam” field to the Dispatch and Physician Portal modules.

[#17462] Stages in Dispatch

The Dispatch module now displays stages of exams in the Procedure column. The stages are changed as described below:

1. A dispatcher enters new studies. For every new study, the stage is set to Undispatched.
2. Next, the dispatcher clicks the “Dispatch” button – the stage is changed to Scheduled or In progress. A technologist receives an email with study information.
3. The technologist reads the email and confirms the study list – the stage is changed to Confirmed. If the technologist has not confirmed the study list, the stage remains the same.
4. After the studies are sent for reading, their status is changed to Transcriptions.
5. If a study is read and has an attached report, the stage of this study is changed to Completed.

[#17798] Storage for sent invoices

We have created a sent invoices storage, which facilitates invoice tracking. Now users can find and check previously sent invoices in the archive at any time. The archived invoices are available in the Invoice Delivery Log module under the Billing menu.

[#17847] Study discount rules

A new feature that allows to set discounts for certain study types based on a set of conditions, including referring facilities, insurances, and early payments.

Bugs & Stability

We have improved the stability and performance of EMSOW and fixed a few bugs.

Dear customers!

We are glad to inform you that a new version of EMSOW has been released this week.

[#17690] Hospitalization dates

We implemented support for hospitalization dates in the system. You can specify admission and discharge dates in the properties of a service, and they will be included in claims that you submit electronically or on paper. If you want to use this feature in your workflow, please contact our support to get a short training session.

[#17820] Double check of patient height in DICOM files

It has been brought to our attention that certain ultrasound machines send patient height in centimeters as the value of DICOM tag (0010,1020), instead of meters. From now on, EMSOW will automatically correct the height value in those cases.

[#17461] Study priority levels in the Dispatch module

With this version, our users will be able to set one of the three priority levels for a case in the Dispatch module:

• “Routine” (default) – highlighted as green
• “ASAP” – highlighted as yellow
• “STAT” – highlighted as red

The users can also quickly filter the cases in the Dispatch module by priority.

[#17811] Referring doctor suffixes on reports

From now on, the suffixes of referring doctors’ names (such as “MD” or “DO”) will be printed on image interpretation reports.

Bugs & Stability

We have improved the stability and performance of EMSOW and fixed a few bugs.