Dear Colleagues:
In advance of our Nov. 1 implementation of the new electronic signature policy for imaging and Radiology, I want to thank our members in ambulatory practices, our many practice managers and support staff and the teams in Radiology and IS who have worked hard to make this happen. We successfully transitioned to a similar hard-stop system for Clinical Laboratory orders in August and September, and I am confident we can make a similarly successful transition for imaging and non-invasive cardiology.
Our internal audit process uncovered this issue, as a number of unsigned orders for both Clinical Laboratory and Radiology exams were discovered recently. We realize the changes to reduce and eliminate unsigned orders impose an additional burden on the daily work flow for physicians and other ordering clinicians. However, ensuring all our orders are signed will bring us into compliance with new requirements from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (See page 11).
In addition to the hard stop element of the system enhancements, our IS team has been very accommodating in providing users with system features that will make it easier to use while making sure orders are signed. For ordering clinicians, Percipio will default to the user’s unsigned orders page. Additionally, an e-mail alert will be sent once a day to physicians with a direct link to their unsigned orders.
Thank you once again for being flexible and understanding. While this new policy is necessary to comply with CMS regulations, physicians’ signing of orders for either Radiology or Clinical Laboratory exams is necessary to ensure the appropriate exam has been ordered, that results are interpreted quickly and accurately and reported to the appropriate physician for incorporation in the plan of care.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Steven Seltzer, MD
Chairman, BWPO