HIPAA Secure Now! Joins Forces with MyMipsScore to Aid Physicians in Raising MIPS Scores and Medicare Reimbursements
Morristown, NJ (PRWEB) November 27, 2017 -- HIPAA Secure Now! (HSN) and MyMipsScore™ (MMS) are joining forces in a new partnership designed to give healthcare providers a competitive advantage as they adapt to the requirements of MIPS – the Merit-based Incentive Payment System – which determines Medicare reimbursements using value-based care criteria rather than the traditional fee-for-service model.
“Higher scores equal higher reimbursements,” said Art Gross, CEO of HIPAA Secure Now! “Our partnership with MyMipsScore gives healthcare providers and medical practices a streamlined path through the maze of requirements they must fulfill in order to earn the best MIPS score possible, while also complying with HIPAA regulations and avoiding penalties.”
With the aim of linking reimbursements to the ability of physicians to provide higher quality care at lower costs, MIPS assigns points in various performance categories to establish a base score. The partnership between HSN and MMS enables doctors to maximize those scores and avoid penalties, particularly in the Advancing Care Information (ACI) category of the MIPS assessment.
For medical practices, HSN simplifies the process of conducting a Security Risk Analysis (SRA), a key requirement for earning points in the ACI category (which replaced the older Meaningful Use guidelines) – as well as complying with HIPAA regulations. And the MyMipsScore app eases the task of compiling, calculating, and analyzing data across all 271 quality measures that comprise the MIPS scores.
Pawan Jindal, founder of MyMipsScore, emphasizes the importance of earning points – and potential bonuses – in the ACI category. “If physicians are trying to get the maximum score with the minimum effort and earn bonuses it definitely helps to meet the criteria in the ACI category – especially for the many providers who have already been following the Meaningful Use guidelines,” he said. “But it’s important to remember that medical practices must complete the Security Risk Analysis in order to earn those ACI points and show that they are serious about protecting patients’ health information.”
Not only do MIPS scores serve as incentives for improving the delivery of medical care, they have a direct impact on the bottom line. Based upon their MIPS performance scores in 2017, physicians can expect to see their Medicare reimbursement payments vary by +/- four percent beginning in 2019. By 2022, payments will vary by +/- nine percent.
“MIPS scores affect the reimbursement percentage, and most importantly, patients will know which providers earned high or low scores,” HSN’s Gross said. “When healthcare providers fail to perform a Security Risk Analysis it results in an ACI base score of zero, an automatic loss of 25 points from the MIPS score, lower reimbursements, and a lower ranking – all made visible to the public. When patients see these scores, it affects the reputation of the medical practice.”
Essentially, the Security Risk Analysis process enables medical practices to identify areas where patient health information may be vulnerable to hackers and ransomware demands – and to take steps to protect that data through training employees to avoid phishing scams, establishing encryption procedures, developing breach response plans, and implementing other security measures.
“We believe this partnership with MyMipsScore gives medical practices the best tools possible for achieving the best possible scores,” Gross said.
About HIPAA Secure Now!
HIPAA Secure Now! has been helping clients comply with the HIPAA Security Rule since 2009. The company’s all-in-one solution provides Security Risk Assessment, which also satisfies MIPS Advancing Care Information (ACI), as well as privacy and security policies and procedures, and training. HIPAA Secure Now! moves customers toward HIPAA compliance quickly and easily, and protects them in the event of an audit. Customers can complete the entire process in less than three hours, and regularly comment that it is painless and has made their lives easier. For more information visit http://www.HIPAASecureNow.com.
About MyMipsScore LLC
MyMipsScore is a healthcare technology company focused on helping clients achieve their goals through highly customized, end-to-end People Compatible software solutions. More information is available at http://www.mymipsscore.com.
Shelly Gordon, HIPAA Secure Now!, http://www.hipaasecurenow.com, +1 (480) 685-3252, [email protected]
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