A pilot program is testing how Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) can reduce administrative costs and lengthy payment delays caused when providers send electronic attachments for Medicare claims to payers. Attachments to be tested include laboratory results and clinical reports including anesthesia, colonoscopy and radiology.

New York-based Empire Medicare Services (EMS) is managing the project, with support from the Workgroup of Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI). EMS also is the designated health plan, NextGen Healthcare Information Systems Inc. is the practice management/EMR vendor, and the providers include Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Montefiore Medical Center and Princeton Medical Group. Funded by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the pilot could make forthcoming HIPAA electronic attachment standards easier to implement. Regular updates of the project, expected to conclude in July, will appear at www.wedi.org and www.empiremedicare.com.

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