MacPractice (http://www.macpractice.com) — an Apple developer of practice management and clinical software for physicians, dentists, chiropractors, and eye care professionals for Macs, iPhones, and iPads — says all MacPractice users are successfully submitting medical eclaims through Capario to carriers that require the ANSI 5010 EDI (Electronic Data Interchange).
On Nov. 17, CMS extended the deadline by which all carriers and providers must use 5010 from Jan. 1, 2012 to March 31, 2012. MacPractice worked on behalf of doctors with its medical clearinghouse partner Capario since the end of last year to avoid potential interruption or delay of insurance payments and other EDI transactions such as eligibility verification and Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA), says President Mark Hollis.
Contrary to what heath care providers were told, MacPractice users who submit eclaims through Capario did nothing to prepare for 5010, and they weren’t required to test, he says. MacPractice 4.1 makes it possible for clients who use a lock box or P.O. Box to receive insurance payments to submit successfully. A new requirement of 5010 is that if a P.O. Box is supplied for payments, a physical address for the delivery of services must be provided as well.
MacPractice’s partner clearinghouses will convert 5010 to 40101A as needed during the transition for carriers who cannot send or receive the new format before March 31, 2012. The major impetus for the required transition to ANSI 5010 is to provide a foundation for a future change to ICD-10, now scheduled for October 1, 2013. Dates for ICD-10 implementation have changed several times over the last several years. Also on Nov. 17, the AMA announced its intent to fight the migration to ICD-10 in the US.