Össur has updated its Empower practice management software to help CPOs, ASCs, physician practices and DMEPOS organizations comply with new, CMS-mandated Competitive Bidding requirements for knee and back braces that went into effect on January 1, the bracing and prosthetics provider reports.
Empower by Össur is a fully automated, fully customizable web-based DMEPOS Practice and Workflow Management Solution that combines reimbursement, real-time inventory management and consulting services within a single paperless platform.
“From the start, Empower by Össur has been helping medical professionals keep their practices running efficiently so they can focus on what matters most: their patients.
“CMS’ new competitive bidding practice mandates for spine and knee bracing adds yet another level of complexity and demands on clinicians’ time, and simple errors can have serious consequences on a practice’s bottom line. This is why we prioritized upgrading Empower, to help our customers minimize the challenges of meeting these new requirements.”
— — Mark Tymchenko, Össur’s Vice President, Americas Bracing & Supports
Enhancements to Aid Competitive Bidding
In October 2020, the U. S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that for the first time, the 2021 DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program would include off-the-shelf back and knee braces. CMS then released single payment amounts for these products and designated 127 geographic Competitive Bidding Areas (CBA), which can increase complexity whenever practitioners prescribe and dispense knee or back braces for their patients.
According to Tymchenko, Össur implemented enhancements to Empower software including built-in prompts for new reimbursement coding and document capture requirements, as well as automatic mapping to designated CBA Medicare payors based on a patient’s address. Össur’s bracing and support technologies, from off-the-shelf to custom-fit options in the company’s flagship Rebound, Unloader, Formfit and Miami lines, remain compliant within the new Competitive Bidding guidelines, the company continues in a media release.
Additional Resources
Össur offers various resources to help medical practices address the challenges of new competitive bidding standards, including online reimbursement and regulatory (R&R) newsletters and bulletins, key terminology and HCPCS L-Code guidance documents, as well as hands-on benchmarking with dedicated Business Solutions Managers. Medical practices enrolled in Empower are also entitled to unlimited consulting, auditing and compliance reviews for competitive bidding as well as for all aspects of DMEPOS business practices and procedures.
Empower by Össur is fully HIPAA compliant and compatible with HL-7 data sharing standards. It has also earned HITRUST-CSF certification for its secure cloud-based file storage system.
Össur is currently offering Empower by Össur on a 90-day trial basis, with up to five users/locations per account and all resources and services provided at no cost. For more information, visit Empower by Össur.
[Source: Össur]
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