Getting MACRA and other CMS programs right is very important

The CMS has various programs, such as Quality Payment Program, MACRA, MIPS and APM incentive implementation. Healthcare professionals need to give close attention to the proper implementation of these programs. They have to be very thorough in paying full attention to the structure and program-specific details.

Effective from January 1, 2017, CMS has started using one of these two pathways for rewarding clinicians for their delivery of high-quality patient care:

1. Payment of incentives given for participating in Advanced Alternative Payment Models, or what are called Advanced APMs;
2. Making either a positive or a negative adjustment pursuant to the clinician’s performance under the new Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).

This is the time of the year during which the CMS is expecting clinicians to accelerate the speed of their participation for the 2017 performance year. There is no better time for these entities to make preparations, in view of the fact that the payment adjustments for the first performance year for these programs, which has begun on January 1, 2017, will follow in 2019 (i.e., the 2019 bonus/penalty adjustments will be based on the 2017 performance metrics).

Clinicians and healthcare professionals will have the option of using either of three flexible options to submit data under MIPS. They can also use a fourth option to join an Advanced APMs if they have to ensure that they will not trigger a negative payment adjustment in 2019. All this means that clinicians and health care leaders need to be on their toes in developing strategies which will help them position their organizations for financial success under the new Quality Payment Program.

Getting trained to get an understanding of the program is necessary

Given the situation that clinicians and healthcare professionals are in in view of this kind of huge preparation they need to be making, it is important for them to get trained from a professional to overcome the challenges associated with the implementation part of these CMS provisions.

It is to help professionals in the healthcare industry who are required to deal with the CMS provisions, such as in-house counsel, healthcare compliance officers, healthcare human resources and healthcare CFO’s that MentorHealth, a highly regarded provider of professional trainings in the areas of healthcare, will be organizing a webinar.

This webinar will seek to put to rest all the doubts and misunderstandings in the minds of healthcare professionals as regards the implementation of these programs.

The speaker at this webinar is Joseph Wolfe, who is an attorney with Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman, P.C., the largest healthcare focused law firm in the country. To gain proper and thorough understanding of the whole aspects of the Quality Payment Program and what it means to implement them; please enroll for this webinar by visiting

http://www.mentorhealth.com/control/w_product/~product_id=800955/?Wordpress-SEO

Joseph will focus on an overview of the Quality Payment Program, including its MIPS and Advanced APM pathways. He will provide clarity with his straightforward and uncluttered explanation of key provisions and options for clinicians and healthcare professionals who need to keep the CMS requirements for 2017 transition year and beyond in mind.  He will explain the Quality Payment Program and its pathways.

In all, this webinar will be a thorough heads-up on how to get the provisions of the CMS programs such as Quality Payment Program, MACRA, MIPS and APM incentive implementation.

A complete discussion on the 2017 requirements and more

In offering a full and clear explanation of the CMS’ requirements for 2017 and beyond, Joseph will cover the following areas:

• Provide a general overview of MACRA and the CMS Quality Payment Program
• Explain the consolidation of historic incentive programs into MIPS and provide an overview of the underlying MIPS scoring methodologies
• Discuss qualifying Advanced APMs and the process for earning program incentives for APM participation
• Describe strategies for engaging key stakeholders, and for picking your pace in the transition year
• Discuss potential strategies for incentivizing physicians in connection with the rollout of the new Quality Payment Program.

OSHA’s New Silica Rule

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which is the federal agency entrusted with promulgating and enforcing legislation pertaining to safety and health at the workplace; has regulations to this effect for the various areas in which it works.

OSHA’s new Silica Rule is part of its efforts at preventing the many diseases to which workers whose workplaces expose them to respirable crystalline silica for long durations. Some of the common health issues to which workers in industries that use respirable crystalline silica include lung cancer, silicosis, kidney disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Aimed at strengthening preventive measures

OSHA’s new Silica Rule is a detailed standard that lists out elaborate safety standards that need to be implemented in order to limit the damage caused by exposure to these materials for those working in this industry. The new Silica Rule has regulations that are divided into two standards, namely one for the construction industry and the other for maritime and general industry. This new Silica Rule is applicable to well over two million workers who are exposed to respirable crystalline silica in the course of their work life.

 

OSHA’s new Silica Rule is aimed at the nearly two million workers in the construction industry who are involved in work such as drilling, cutting, crushing or grinding materials such as concrete and stone, which contain silica, and nearly 300,000 workers who are involved in general industry work, such as foundries, brick manufacturing and fracking.

New regulations impact the industries that expose employees to respire crystalline silica

For years, the standard step taken for protection of these employees has been the use of equipment such as a vacuum system or using water to control dust. This industry will be under a new set of regulations that have come into effect from March 2016. Employers in industries that use respire crystalline silica in their work will have be thorough with the regulations set out in this new standard.

How do employers understand the ways in which the new OSHA Silica Rule differs from the one in the past? How do they understand how to implement the new changes suggested in this regulation? These and other related areas will be discussed at a webinar that is being organized by MentorHealth, a leading provider of professional trainings for the healthcare industry.

At this webinar, which is focused on the new OSHA Silica Rule, Michael J. Aust, Senior Safety Specialist at 1030 Communications, LLC and has a Master of Science in Occupational Safety, Health and Environmental Management and is a Certified Environmental Compliance Manager #5678, will be the speaker.

In order to understand the way in which the new OSHA Silica Rule works and to get a grasp of how to implement the new changes into the relevant workplace, please register for this webinar by logging on to

http://www.mentorhealth.com/control/w_product/~product_id=800951?/Wordpress

All areas of the new OSHA Silica Rule

At this webinar, Michael will explain the impact of the new OSHA Silica Rule on employers in sectors that are affected by it. He will discuss the standard and will explain how workplaces get affected by the elements of this new OSHA Silica Rule. An area of relevance and importance is the set of requirements of the new rule. These include:

• Permissible Exposure Limit
• Medical surveillance
• Engineering controls
• Administrative procedures that are required for these sections.

Michael will also explain the deadlines for compliance of each of these. He will cover the following areas at this session:

• Key Provisions of the new OSHA Silica Rule
• Sampling methods required by the new law
• Medical surveillance required by the new OSHA Silica Rule
• Elements of an Exposure Control Plan (ECP)
• Regulatory compliance dates for specific industries.