2009 Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program Update
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is pleased to announce that incentive payments for the 2009 Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program are being made to eligible professionals who met the criteria for successful reporting. The 2009 eRx incentive payments are currently being processed and distributed by Carriers and Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs). Distribution of the 2009 eRx incentive payments are scheduled to be completed by October 22, 2010. E-prescribing incentives earned by individual participating physicians and other eligible professionals are paid as a lump-sum to the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) under which the EP's claims were submitted. It is then up to the TIN to decide how to distribute the incentive within the practice. Effective January 2010, CMS revised the manner in which incentive payment information is communicated to eligible professionals receiving electronic remittance advices. CMS has instructed Medicare contractors to use a new indicator of LE to indicate incentive payments instead of LS. LE will appear on the electronic remittance advice. Additionally the paper remittance advice will read "This is an eRx incentive payment." It will not include the year and indicator LE in the paper remittance. In an effort to further clarify the type of incentive payment issued (either PQRI or eRx incentive), CMS created a 4-digit code to indicate the type of incentive and reporting year. For the 2009 eRx incentive payments, the 4-digit code is RX09. This code will be displayed on the electronic remittance advice along with the LE indicator. For example, eligible professionals will see LE to indicate an incentive payment, along with RX09 to identify that payment as the 2009 eRx incentive payment. 2009 Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program Feedback Reports The 2009 eRx feedback reports will be available on the Physician and Other Health Care Professionals Quality Reporting Portal at http://www.qualitynet.org/pqri on the internet, starting the second week of November. TIN-level reports on the Portal require an Individuals Authorized Access to CMS Computer Services (IACS) account. Participants may also contact their Carrier or MAC to request individual NPI-level reports via an alternate feedback report fulfillment process, please visit http://www.cms.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/SE0922.pdf on the CMS website. Who to Contact for Questions? If you have questions about the status of your eRx incentive payment (during the distribution timeframe), please contact your Provider Contact Center. The Contact Center Directory is available at http://www.cms.gov/MLNProducts/Downloads/CallCenterTollNumDirectory.zip on the CMS website. Feel free to contact the QualityNet Help Desk with any of the following: * Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) Portal password issues * PQRI/eRx feedback report availability and access * PQRI-IACS registration questions * PQRI-IACS login issues The QualityNet Help Desk is available Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. CST at 1-866-288-8912 or via [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> on the internet. The QualityNet Help Desk is also available to assist with PQRI and eRx measure-specific questions. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- September Flu Shot Reminder Vaccinate Early to Protect Against the Flu. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends a yearly flu vaccination as the first and most important step in protecting against flu viruses. Medicare pays for the flu vaccine and its administration for seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries with no co-pay or deductible. This year's vaccine will protect against three different flu viruses, including the H1N1 virus that caused so much illness last flu season. Take advantage of each office visit and start protecting your patients as soon as your 2010-2011 seasonal flu vaccine arrives. And, don't forget to immunize yourself and your staff. Get Your Flu Vaccine - Not the Flu. Remember - Influenza vaccine plus its administration are covered Part B benefits. Note that influenza vaccine is NOT a Part D covered drug. For information about Medicare's coverage of the influenza vaccine and its administration, as well as related educational resources for health care professionals and their staff, please visit http://www.cms.gov/AdultImmunizations. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: If you have problems accessing any hyperlink in this message, please copy and paste the URL into your Internet browser. Please DO NOT respond to this email. This email is a service of CMS and routed through an electronic mail server to communicate Medicare policy and operational changes and/or updates. Responses to this email are not routed to CMS personnel. Inquiries may be sent by going to (http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ContactCMS). Thank you. 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