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June 2010 | Issue 4

CrosswordTest your knowledge

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Just Announced: Easier Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA) and Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) Payment Management Do you groan at the thought of tedious remittance and payment reconciliation tasks? Availity will soon put a smile on your face, with a valuable solution to improve physician office cash flow management through the Availity Health Information Network.

Availity is private-labeling HERAE Technology’s leading financial ERA and EFT reconciliation technology as Availity Remit ManagerSM. Using Availity Remit Manager, you’ll have access to human readable remittance information, as well as search, view, print, and download capabilities. You can expect to see measurable savings in time and effort beginning with your first paperless transaction.

Availity and HERAE are working together to launch a branded solution among a select group of physician practices, with the intent of introducing the service more widely later this year. The solution offers a single place for providers to register for EFTs with multiple health plans, and gives you the ability to automatically re-associate electronic remittance information to corresponding electronic payments.

Log in to our web site often at www.availity.com for news on when Availity Remit Manager will be available in your area.

To learn more, click here.

Refocusing eFocusIn order to make Availity eFocus more valuable to you, we are refocusing this newsletter to be even more reader-friendly. Future editions will provide news and articles that highlight our connection with you. Look for features on the latest Availity and industry news, tips for addressing common issues, service enhancements, free training opportunities, events and more!

Have an idea for something you’d like to see featured? Drop us a note at eFocus@availity.com

EnhancementsTimely, Relevant Patient History Helps Clinicians Make More Informed Decisions

Create Recurring payments from the CareCollect payment form.

Got Twins? New Anthem Eligibility & Benefits Search Option is Twice as Valuable

Availity Receives Coveted CORE Phase II Certification

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EventsAvaility Users Connect, Learn & Have Fun

Availity® eFocus is a publication for users of the Availity® Health Information Network.

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TrainingAvaility offers a wide variety of free training

About Availity Webinars

Put the Name and Face Together: Kimberley Profetto

Log in

Availity® portal time-out has been extended to 30 minutes.

news

Availity eFocus - June Issue | ©2010 Availity, LLC2

Timely, Relevant Patient History Helps Clinicians Make More Informed DecisionsAvaility CareProfile® Now Available to Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans in Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas

Still relying on handwritten forms and phone calls to review medical history? Aside from the time it takes, this process can miss important clinical information.

Providers in Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas now have access to Availity CareProfile, an up-to-the-minute and comprehensive electronic health record populated with claim-based information collected from physicians, pharmacies, labs, and other health care providers. This fast and secure online tool was developed to support you in the delivery of quality care and promotes a collaborative approach to health management.

Using Availity CareProfile is EASY. Simply click the CareProfile button when it displays at the top of the page after running Eligibility and Benefits Inquiry transactions. You’ll easily access:

• Demographic patient information, including date of birth, address, and phone number;• Information about the patient’s current primary care physician, if applicable, and other providers visited in the past 24 months;• Diagnoses and procedures submitted and reflected in the claims records;• Professional, hospital, and emergency room services reflected in the claims records;• Filled prescriptions, including the class of the drug, total fills, and last date filled;• Radiological and laboratory services reflected in the claim records; and • Where available, clinical messages signaling

treatment opportunities and a patient’s likelihood for serious health complications.

You can access Availity CareProfile free of charge at www.availity.com. Members of Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas can also access the same valuable information under My Care Profile in their Personal Health Manager, via Blue Access® for members.

Availity EnhancementsTo view the most recent Web enhancements that may affect your office’s workflow, log on to the Availity portal and click Help at the top of any page.

Enhancements

3Visit Availity online at www.availity.com

Create Recurring Payments from the CareCollect® Payment FormTo improve your ability to collect payments, Availity has added a Create Recurring Payment link on the Collect Payment form of Availity CareCollect. This link will allow you to set up a payment schedule for your patients who cannot pay the entire amount at the time of service.

To access the Collect Payment form, click CareCollect | Collect Payment in the Availity menu. The Create Recurring Payment link displays near the bottom of the form.

Got Twins? New Anthem Eligibility & Benefits Search Option is Twice as Valuable Anthem Eligibility and Benefits now offers an advanced search option for Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin providers. Patients sharing the same member ID and birth date must now be identified by name on the Eligibility and Benefits Inquiry page.

Anthem currently allows providers to submit an Eligibility and Benefits Inquiry using only a patient’s ID and date of birth. For those instances, however, where more than one patient shares the same patient ID and date of birth, such as with twins, Anthem now requires a name to identify each patient.

To facilitate this, the Eligibility and Benefits Inquiry page now displays the Patient Name field when more than one dependent with the same date of birth is returned for the member ID.

Availity Receives Coveted CORE Phase II CertificationIn March 2010, Availity was recognized for achieving CAQH CORE Phase II certification for our health care administrative data exchange practices.

Very few companies nationwide demonstrate the rigor to achieve Phase II certification. This certification is an important testament to Availity’s commitment to invest in and enhance our health information network and to provide faster, more uniform information exchange for you and other health care stakeholders.

To learn more, click here.

Enhancements

Availity eFocus - June Issue | ©2010 Availity, LLC4

Availity Users Connect, Learn, and Have Fun 2010 Availity Customer Connection ConferencesAvaility hosts user-friendly events across the country that offer informative tutorials, discussions, and exhibits to help you understand how to spend more time focusing on Patients. Not Paperwork®. All Availity customers, and those who may be curious, are invited to attend one of our complimentary conferences to learn about Availity’s products and services and get the answers needed to make it easier to handle everyday health care administrative, financial, and clinical tasks.

Come join us at one of the upcoming Customer Connection conferences near you.

Date (2010) Location VenueJune 15 Chicago, IL Renaissance Blackstone, 636 S. Michigan Avenue

June 17 El Paso, TX Embassy Suites, 6100 Gateway Boulevard East

July 13 Houston, TX JW Marriott, 5150 Westheimer Road

July 15 Dallas, TX Intercontinental Dallas, 15201 Dallas Parkway

August 15 Fort Wayne, IN Fort Wayne Marriott, 305 E. Washington Center Road

August 19 Indianapolis, IN Indianapolis Marriott North, 3645 River Crossing Parkway

September 21 Richmond, VA The Jefferson Hotel, 101 West Franklin Street

September 23 Virginia Beach, VA Sheraton, 3501 Atlantic Avenue

October 14 St. Louis, MO Doubletree at Westport, 1973 Craig Shire Drive

November 2 Milwaukee, WI Crowne Plaza Milwaukee Airport Hotel, 6401 S. 13th Street

November 4 Madison, WI Sheraton, 706 John Nolen Drive

The agenda offers you the flexibility to attend the sessions that are most pertinent to you and allows plenty of time for questions and answers. Exhibitors are present to visit with you during breaks, and opportunities abound for networking. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m., with educational sessions from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Breakfast and lunch will be served and are completely complimentary.

For complete details and to register, please visit our Web page at www.availity.com/connection/. Simply click the location you wish to attend and fill out the brief online form. Because seating is limited, please register as soon as possible. We look forward to seeing you!

Events

5Visit Availity online at www.availity.com

Availity Offers a Wide Variety of Free TrainingAvaility offers a wide variety of training resources to help you become even more efficient and knowledgeable.

Registered users may log in to the Availity portal and visit the Availity Training and Resources section on the Home page. Availity offers free training webinars, on-demand recorded webinars, and animated “Show Me” demonstrations. We also provide a full, comprehensive context-sensitive Help system.

To view the current training webinar schedule and register, click Free Training at the top of any page in the Availity portal. Availity offers regularly scheduled webinars for many of our product solutions. Most webinars last 60 minutes, and you attend using your computer with Internet access and your telephone. All sessions are free.

About Availity Webinars

What is a webinar? A webinar is a seminar or training session that you "watch" on the Internet, while you "listen" to the presenter over a phone. Webinars can be pre-recorded so a viewer can access them on demand, or they can be conducted live, in real-time. During a live webinar, you can watch and listen as the trainer demonstrates and explains how to submit transactions in Availity. After the demonstration, the trainer offers a live question-and-answer period.

What topics are offered?Free webinars are offered on all products and services. Click the Free Training tab on the Home page of the Availity portal. Next, click Live Webinar Schedule to view all topics and register.

What do you need?You will need a computer with Internet access and a phone to dial in to the audio portion of the webinar.

Authorizations & Referrals

Training

Some of our most popular webinars include:

• Availity 101 - An Introduction to Availity for New Users

• Authorizations & Referrals• CareCalc® - Estimate Your Patients' Financial

Responsibility• CareCollect® - Payment Processing to Meet

Your Needs• Claims Management Submission

and Inquiry • Claim Research Tool• EDI Training for Availity EDI Submitters• Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA) for

Minnesota Submitters• Eligibility & Benefits Inquiry Training• Web Claim Submission & Inquiry• Primary Access Administrator (PAA)

Training

Are you still chasing a trail of forms to manage your authorizations and referrals? Do you want to learn how to save time by checking and submitting authorizations and referrals in real-time? Find out how to submit referral and authorization requests and inquiries using the Availity Health Care Services Review and Inquiry features.

This 60-minute training webinar reviews the benefits of real-time referral and authorization submissions and status inquiries and provides practical information for new Availity users.

Availity eFocus - June Issue | ©2010 Availity, LLC6

Helpful tips to participate in a webinar• The first time you participate in a webinar, you will need to set up a free account with our web conferencing vendor,

Adobe® Acrobat® Connect™ Pro. You will need to enter your e-mail address and set up a password. Note: This is not the same as your Availity login.

• If you forget your password with Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro, enter your e-mail address for the login and click Forgot your password?.

• If you are already registered with Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro, click the click here link.

• Once you are registered, you will receive a confirmation e-mail with a link and a toll-free number to call to join.

• All webinars are posted in Eastern Time (ET).

Training

Put the Name and Face Together

Kimberley ProfettoIf you’ve ever called Availity Client Services, chances are you may have spoken with Kimberley Profetto.

Kim has been a client services representative at Availity for two years. Her broad knowledge of our services along with her warm interpersonal skills allows her to focus on you and provide the answers you need to help your end-customers. Since she used to be a member representative agent at Cariten Healthcare, a health-benefits company serving commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid members, Kim is especially knowledgeable about the claims process for each of those lines of business.

Kim has a cheerful laugh and a real gift for helping others. She has been recognized on numerous occasions for her dedication to quality and her willingness to always go the extra mile. Her customer service expertise and professional attitude immediately put you at ease when she says, “Thank you for calling Availity. How may I help you today?”

You'll need a different login for webinars.

7Visit Availity online at www.availity.com

Crossword

Across 2. the medical group management association 5. group practice of several physicians 7. place where doctors work together 8. hurry10. write down11. computer operator12. a place to conduct a blood test13. invoice15. able16. small lizard18. supportive25. location26. procedure for critical evaluation29. not slow30. to proceed31. computer to computer exchange32. collection of patient information

Down 1. claim 3. standard 4. standard unique identifier for a healthcare provider 5. thin pieces of cardboard or plastic 6. center 9. the ___ race14. data17. a patient's digital history18. not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting better understanding of health care information and management systems19. journal20. places where one performs clinical testing21. the employees22 group of related things or parts that function together as a whole23. access a credit card24. insurer27. not hard28. passage of seconds

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