Northwest NPI Service Makes Sharing Demographic Information with Health Plans, Health Systems and Referring Providers Easy A new community-wide directory—the Northwest NPI Service— now makes it easy for physicians and healthcare organizations in the Northwest to share their NPI (National Provider Identifier) information and other important demographic information with health plans, health systems and other providers who need the information for referrals. There is no cost to contribute data or access individual accounts. Why participate in the Northwest NPI Service? Instead of continually providing the same information to each organization with which you do business, the Northwest NPI Service allows you enter your NPI once and then direct all inquirers to look up your information with the NPI Service. Easily store your numbers in one place to share them with health plans, health systems and other provider organizations Participating health organizations in the Northwest can access your NPI information without taking your time Print or download a report of your information for your own use or to share with billing companies, outside health plans or others asking for your practice demographic information As soon as the directory is populated with NPI information from provider organizations in the region, you will also be able to use the service to search for NPIs for other provider groups. Individual look-ups are free of charge. It's easy to input your NPI and demographic information into the Northwest NPI Service with these options, including: Direct data entry using a Web browser-based application. Uploading a file using standardized data specification for larger organizations with too many records to enter manually. Find out more at www.onehealthport.com/services/administrative_npi.php or print off a one-page information sheet at www.onehealthport.com/pdf/npi_collateral_tearsht.pdf. If you have questions about how individual health plans or health systems are managing the collection of NPI numbers, please visit their Web sites for information. Annual subscriptions for bulk data retrieval: There is no charge for OneHealthPort subscribers to search the directory for individual records. However, for organizations that wish to retrieve information for a large number of organizations and individuals at one time, you may purchase an annual subscription to download a standard output file that contains all records in the Northwest NPI Service. The file is updated weekly and can be downloaded as often as desired during the year. For more information about the annual subscription download our informational sheet at www.onehealthport.com/pdf/npisubscription_tearsht.pdf or email us at npi@onehealthport.com.

Submit Your NPI Information Today! Win an iPod Shuffle or an Amazon Gift Card Weekly Drawings! The sooner you submit, the more chances you have to win! Submit information to the Northwest NPI Service to win prizes, including an iPod shuffle and two $25 Amazon gift certificates. You will have three chances to win a prize each week from now until March 31. If your organization submits data files to the NPI Service, all active OneHealthPort users for your organization will automatically be entered in the weekly drawings.

Have you applied for your NPI yet? If you need information about NPI or haven't yet applied for your number, you can review the information published by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) at www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalProvIdentStand/. Your National Provider Identifier (NPI) will replace proprietary identifiers that are currently assigned by commercial health plans and health systems.

OneHealthPort Offers Free Educational Webcasts
Are you new to OneHealthPort? Do you want to learn tips and shortcuts to get more from using OneHealthPort? Maybe it's time to attend one of our free, hour-long webcasts.

"How to Navigate Online Claims and Eligibility Applications for Participating Healthcare Sites" - Staff from Regence BlueShield, GroupHealth Cooperative, Premera Blue Cross, First Choice Health and Uniform Medical Plan will show you how to easily navigate their site's online claim status and eligibility applications. You'll also receive shortcuts to eliminate duplications and speed up payment.
Wednesday, February 21 Noon - 1 p.m.
Wednesday, April 18 Noon - 1 p.m.

"Introduction to Office Ally and Electronic Claims Submission" - Are you currently submitting paper claims? Find out how Office Ally lets you electronically submit claims to over 500 participating health plans, including many of OneHealthPort's participating sites. Learn how this free browser-based service can simplify claims editing, routing and tracking to many payers.
Tuesday, February 13 Noon - 1 p.m.
Tuesday, April 24 Noon - 1 p.m.

It's easy to participate: all you need is a computer with an Internet browser and a telephone line (click here for specific system requirements). You can even invite a group of people from your office to watch together at one computer with a speakerphone.

To register for any of these webcasts, click here. You will receive a confirmation and then an e-mail reminder the day before the webcast.

News From Group Health: Order DME Online
Clinical providers can now order durable medical equipment (DME) for Group Health members online via MyGroupHealth for Contracted Providers at www.ghc.org. This new functionality allows immediate authorization for most DME, prosthetic, and orthotic appliances while the patient is still in your office.

Making requests online can:

• Dramatically decrease fax and phone calls
• Expedite delivery to patients
• Eliminate the need for a Certificate of Medical Necessity; instead you can document clinical criteria by answering a few simple yes/no/don’t know questions
• Provide access to member status with the auto-authorization process

Simply click on Referrals and Utilization, then Referrals to find an online DME Referral tutorial. If you have questions about the new process, contact Claudia Petrovich at petrovich.c@ghc.org, or call the DME Referral Unit toll-free at 1-877-834-4935 (Eastern Washington) or 1-800-289-1363 (Western Washington).

Asuris Northwest Health Gives Consumers Access to Health Care Information
Higher deductibles and rising rates are motivating health care consumers to think differently about their coverage and how to take more control over their health care dollars. Asuris is helping their members make better choices by offering an array of tools online through the Asuris Engine.

When members access the secure online tool, the Asuris Engine, they can instantly see the status of their claims, quickly locate nearby physicians and compare basic information about local hospitals. It also lists upcoming activities, including fund-raising walks and marathons, as well as educational features on topics on a range of health care topics. Through the Asuris Engine, members can enroll in programs about how to lose weight manage stress, quit smoking and fight cancer.

Asuris invites you to see what is available to your patients by visiting www.asuris.com/provider and clicking on the myasuris.com button.

News from Uniform Medical Plan (UMP)
Sign up to receive electronic remittance advice from UMP

Save time by using UMP's electronic remittance advice, referred to as an "835." Unless the claim requires special review, you will receive electronic notification of how a claim was processed five to seven days after it is received. By contrast, it can take up to 15 days to receive details of remittance (DOR) using the current ­paper process.

If you use electronic funds transfer (EFT), you will get paid at about the same time you receive the 835 (no more than two days lag time). However, you can receive 835s electronically, even if you don’t choose to sign up for EFT. To sign up to receive electronic 835s, call UMP Provider Services at 1-800-464-0967 or send a secure email through your OneHealthPort account.

UMP Accepts New version of CMS-1500
Providers may now use either the current (12/90) version or the revised (08/05) version of the CMS-1500 claim form when billing UMP for professional services. After April 1, 2007, providers must use the 08/05 version because the 12/90 version will no longer be accepted. For details about the new CMS-1500 (08/05) claim form, please see the National Uniform Claim Committee Web site at www.nucc.org/content/view/12/35/.

Premera Portal Offers New Information
New information can now be viewed on Premera's secure provider portal. The updated portal features: member's out-of-pocket maximum, lifetime maximum, and the deductible used and yet to be satisfied. This information is displayed with a new, improved layout, bigger typeface and more spacing, making it very user-friendly and easy to read. Check it out at www.premera.com.

Coming next month-- look for redesigned Web screens with improved display of eligibility dates, provide more detailed claims information, improved seamless navigation.

LifeWise Health Plan of Oregon Portal Offers New Information
New information can now be viewed on LifeWise Health Plan of Oregon's secure provider portal. The updated portal features: member's out-of-pocket maximum, lifetime maximum, and the deductible used and yet to be satisfied. This information is displayed with a new, improved layout, bigger typeface and more spacing, making it very user-friendly and easy to read. Check it out at www.lifewiseor.com.

Coming next month-- look for redesigned Web screens with improved display of eligibility dates, provide more detailed claims information, improved seamless navigation.

LifeWise Health Plan of Arizona Portal Offers New Information
New information can now be viewed on LifeWiseHealth Plan of Arizona's secure provider portal. The updated portal features: member's out-of-pocket maximum, lifetime maximum, and the deductible used and yet to be satisfied. This information is displayed with a new, improved layout, bigger typeface and more spacing, making it very user-friendly and easy to read. Check it out at www.lifewiseaz.com.

Coming next month-- look for redesigned Web screens with improved display of eligibility dates, provide more detailed claims information, improved seamless navigation.