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November, 2003
Volume I, Issue 13
News
Was the October 16 HIPAA deadline another Y2K - a nonevent?
Or is the worse yet to come?
The healthcare media have so far reported only a few scattered
problems with the HIPAA electronic transaction requirements.
However, the November 17 issue of the AMA
News noted that "because it takes about three weeks
for insurers to process claims, any problems from claims
that met the deadline will start surfacing in mid to late
November."
Most private insurers and the CMS are still accepting noncompliant
electronic claims during a limited, but undefined, "transition
period." While the CMS hasn't said when its transition
period will end, a couple of private insurers have set deadlines.
Highmark BlueCross BlueShield of Pennsylvania has said it
will require that claims be filed according the new standards
after March 1, 2004.
Several major health plans have said less than 15% of the
claims they are receiving now are in compliance. Many analysts
say a significant percentage of small physician practices
have failed to take adequate steps to be in compliance and
are just hoping the deadline will never be enforced. And
when plans do start rejecting noncompliant claims it may
be several months before these small practices realize the
problem because they have such inefficient billing systems.
The November 19 Wall Street Journal,
reported on WebMD's efforts to capitalize on the growth in
electronic transactions with its purchase of Medifax-EDI,
a claims clearinghouse. WebMD CEO Roger Holstein described
the world of medical processing as a "tower of Babel
where formats between payers and providers are fragmented
into thousands of styles."
PR Workshop
More print publications are expanding their online editions,
opening up new opportunities for media coverage.
While most magazines and newspapers simply place their print
content online, a number are developing unique content for
their Web sites. For example, the Wall
Street Journal, already the largest paid subscription
news site on the Web with more than 600,000 subscribers,
has expanded its online features, adding new content and
data to the Your Money and Personal Journal sections.
In January Health Management Technology will
launch an monthly online newsletter with unique content including
original feature articles and links to key resources. To
subscribe visit the HMT
web site.
Media Map's Expert PR newsletter
has a good article in its October
edition discussing "Print vs. Web." The newsletter
notes that some larger online publications have their own
editors and reporters contributing exclusively to the Web.
The leading online consumer health site is HealthDay.
This site's primary product is a daily news feed of consumer
health news stories available to media companies such as
Yahoo!, ABCNews.com and Forbes.com. In addition to hosting
an archive of 4,500 medical/health stories it publishes 8-10
original stories a day. Recent stories included "Is
It a Cold or Sinusitis?" and "Holiday Cooking that's
Good for Your Heart."
Industry Insight
"The American College of Radiology has set up a task
force to look at the offshore transfer of radiology services.
And the online discussion groups of radiologists have been
buzzing with debate about the prospects for competition from
'radiology sweatshops' abroad.
"Radiology is not the only medical service that may
someday be performed for Americans by people in other countries.
Other candidates are the analysis of tissue samples, the
reading of electrocardiograms, the monitoring of intensive
care units and even robotic surgery.
"Coding ...is also heading offshore. The American Academy
of Professional Coders now has chapters in India. Some insurance-claims
processing is moving, too: Aetna, has 400 (workers) in that
country.
"Still, what goes one way could also flow the other.
Dr. Ronald Weinstein said telemedicine might provide a net
gain to the United States because of the expertise here to
provide diagnoses for patients in other countries.
"'I think the opportunities for U.S. health care internationally
probably are very large,' Dr. Weinstein said. The University
of Arizona (his employer) plans to market its pathology services
around the world..."
from "Who's Reading Your X-Ray?," The
New York Times, Nov. 16, 2003.
Resources
Interested in what is being covered in high tech publications?
Sam Whitmore's Media Survey (SWMS)
helps PR directors and marketing executives of technology
companies by providing regular reports on who and what is
being covered in business and tech publications. For example,
one recent SWMS report analyzed a year's worth of coverage
by the Wall Street Journal.
The report broke out percentage of stories by size (large
companies got more coverage) and gave eight tips on how small
companies could position themselves for positive coverage
in the newspaper.
Subscribers also get access to weekly conference calls with
key technology editors. Sam has recently had on the technology
editors from The New York Times and USA
Today.
SWMS charges a sliding scale for subscriptions. It can cost
$1,200 or more a year for large companies, but reduced prices
are available for smaller companies (less than 50 employees)
and nonprofit agencies.
To see a sample report or sign-up for a free 30-day trial,
go to the SWMS
site.
You are welcome to forward this publication
to other public relations professionals for noncommercial
use.
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