It's here.
NueMD. The fantabulous system that will streamline our billing and do away with those "Get Off The Server!" emails we've come to know and loathe. I don't know what the actual statistics will be, but I'm guessing we've got about three weeks of minor confusion ahead of us as we accustom ourselves to the newness. Jane says:
"Our dedicated staff--Kody, Crystal, Vicky, Laura Z, Erica, Carol Messina, Kamilah, plus two non-staff members Mary Kay and Jay Trussell--came and hand entered appointments this weekend thru the end of the year. You will be happy to know that we have about 750 appointments per week being seen in our offices.
Our staff is also handing out new client information, a new health history questionnaire, a new HIPAA privacy act and consent to treat out to every person coming in. They discovered that there is much corruption of data in the old system and want to be sure that NueMD is started off right with accurate information, addresses, phone numbers and the like. We were also concerned that with so much data corruption we were not getting accurate reporting.
Because of the switch our staff will be under much stress for the next few weeks. Please find ways to go out of your way and thank them for their dedication. Crystal was up working on the switchover for about 36 hours straight (while moving). Kody has been here all night--almost--3 nights in a row. Other staff--like Vicky and Laura, among others, were here for countless hours. Thank you all--from me--for all the great work that you did. I know this change is not easy.
I hope that you all are planning to attend the coding and billing training this week and next. They will go over NueMD in that training also to do an update with you. I think it has been awhile since you even saw it. Please try and be very patient with the changes--change to new systems always cause disruption"
750 appointments a week? That's a lot. Jane asks us to be patient with the staff and system, and I ask that the staff be patient with we contractors as we figure the thing out ourselves. To minimize confusion, please, please, please attend one of the three training events...
Hendersonville: Tuesday October 2nd at 8 am
Brevard: Wednesday, October 3rd at 6:30 pm
Asheville: Tuesday, October 9th at 8:30 am
As we're struggling with growing into our new system, Raleigh is promising not to rock the boat for a little while. Carmen Hooker Odom, the uber-destabilizer whose greatest hits include Slashing CS, 10% Off Medicaid Outpatient, and Unadulterated Nonsense is gone. Her replacement, Dempsey Benton (bio here), says things are going to calm down:
"I want to collaborate with people across the state," Benton said in a telephone interview last week. "I'm going to listen to ideas."
[...]
""One of the things we've been hearing is that we need stability in the system," Benton said. "We don't want to have any more surprises than are absolutely necessary. We've had too many already."
[...]
""We have to standardize some of the functions and procedures so people don't have to fill out 25 forms with the same information," he said.
[...]
"One of the realities we're in is that it's private providers utilizing public funds," Benton said. "There has to be oversight, but we have to maximize the efficiency."
O.K., O.K., so we've got our fancy new NueMD, and we've got a sensible human being in Raleigh. Appalachian Counseling is prepared to stabilize and strenghten our foundations. We've got to provide excellence in services while remembering the bottom line. We're a for-profit company that can't exist unless folks are making money. To this end, A.C. has created a new position that will serve to enhance our operations. Rachael Smith was asked to enter this new position, and she starts today. She writes:
"Hi everyone. I'm sure you've heard that I am to leave my work as a counselor and take a position as clinical manager. I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you what my responsibilities will be, so here it goes:
- I will be coordinating with Jane and Crystal to communicate issues both up and down the organization
- I will be meeting with program directors regularly to go over a progress report, assist in troubleshooting and problem solving.
- I will be available to clinical staff to answer questions, provide training on paperwork, and protocols. I will work at streamlining systems.
- Develop/maintain system for client complaints, comments, and satisfactions surveys. I would also like to do the same for staff complaints
- spot chart audits
- assist with supervision plans
- Stay informed of changes that affect the agency (DMH) and share critical info.
- Consider implementation of care authorization team (CAT) in Brevard to address hospital discharges, incidents
- Follow up on incident reports
- Promote more awareness of people's jobs/responsibilities throughout the agency
- Assist in fostering better communication/consistency across programs and providers (ie. CS and therapist work together on client goals, Psychiatrists and clinicians share diagnosis or discuss and document if disagreement)
This is brand new for me and I want everyone to know that I am very open to feedback, suggestions, questions, and of course - support! I'm excited and feel ready to take this on. Thanks for giving me the chance.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!
In other A.C. News, Jay Joslin is offering a lot:
"In 2 weeks a parent coach with InJoy Parenting will be doing a free coaching session (she normally charges $$$$$$). And starting next Wednesday [Oct. 3], I will be teaching MAPP classes in Asheville for the next several weeks... if you know anyone who is interested in respite/foster/adoptive parenting, let me know so I can get them booked. You may also choose to attend any of the 10 classes yourself [for free] for more information on how kids can learn to cope with separation and loss, effective behavioral interventions for kids in foster care, and how to help parents create effective natural support networks. I do provide certificates for contact hours! "
Meanwhile, on the national level, mental health has been getting a lot of attention. Mental Health Parity in the form of the Paul Wellstone Act has passed the Senate and is working its way through the House. Parity would mean that health insurers have to provide mental health coverage at least as good as their base physical health coverage. The House version has been through two committees, will be heard by a third and final committee later this month, and then we'll have to see when the Speaker chooses to put it on the House Calendar. If this thing passes, a lot of people are going to able to afford to access the mental health care they need.That's it for now. As usual, please send me your newsletter items. Also, you can leave comments below this post by clicking "comments".
