Providers across the State of Mississippi that treat a high percentage of Medicaid beneficiaries are now able to use a new digital tool free of charge to help track their Medicaid patients’ medical histories and medications.
The Mississippi Division of Medicaid (DOM) www.medicaid.ms.gov is offering “Made/Provider Access” service funded through the federal government that covers 90 percent of the cost. So far, 226 individual users representing 30 providers/facilities have signed up to use the system.
The Made/Provider Access service was created by the vendor MedeAnalytics http://medeanalytics.com to provide up-to-date patient information in an easy-to-access online application. The service differs from an EHR because it is specifically designed for Medicaid providers and contains transformed claims-based clinical information for State Medicaid beneficiaries over a seven year period regardless of where the beneficiary has received treatment during that time.
Unlike a typical EHR system, the service is a view-only service and providers can’t change or update information on a patient. “The advantage is that users can see another Medicaid provider’s treatment of that patient, so that information can be obtained on where the patient was treated, the diagnosis, and what medications have been prescribed and filled by that patient,” said Cheryl Mize, Lead Clinical Business Analyst in the Office of Information Technology at DOM.
The service also allows Medicaid providers to view all claims submission both paid and denied for the individual which can provide a more detailed picture of the individual patient’s medical history. Viewing only paid claims may not accurately reflect the patient’s actual history of clinical diagnoses, as clinical data can sometimes be modified upon denial of the claim in order to achieve payment.
The service is not limited to Mississippi providers, but is also accessible in neighboring states to enable State Medicaid beneficiaries to seek treatment in nearby cities such as Memphis, New Orleans, or Baton Rouge.
Various state and federal regulations, as well as DOM policy requires additional protections on the use and disclosure of health information without authorization of the beneficiary. For beneficiaries who choose to participate in the Made/Provider Access service, certain categories of health information have been identified as sensitive and are not available through the service.