Railroad Medicare Brochure (PDF,2654KB) - Palmetto GBA

Outreach &EducationListserv SubscriptionThe Railroad Medicare listserv brings information toWeb site ActivitiesThe Railroad Medicare provider community is unique because of the national scope of the contract.Palmetto GBA Railroad Medicare’s Provider51,884 subscribers. This free service sends e-mail up-Palmetto GBA uses the Web site as the primary communication source for information and education for theOutreach & Education (POE) program isdates to registered subscribers to share time-sensitiveprovider community. We actively solicit internal feedback through various workgroup and interdepartmentaldistinguished by its breadth and depth, whichinformation, changes in guidelines and processes, andmeetings, and external feedback through the ForeSee survey, outreach activities and Provider Contact Centerare largely dependent on our demonstratedinformation on documentation and claim submission.(PCC) interactions. The data is used to make Web site improvements and enhancements.ability to develop and maintain effective partnershipswith medical and professional associationsSelf Service ToolsWe have made significant enhancements to our Web site to focus on clear, comprehensive and accessibleas well as provider associations and other groups.In FY 2009, we implemented a new and improvedcontent.Through these partnerships, we are able toprovide timely, tailored education from a clinical,specialty, and broad perspective in a variety ofvenues while minimizing cost to the program. Wewill continue to devote a considerable amount ofeffort to maintaining existing partnerships anddeveloping new ones.Palmetto GBA Railroad Medicare recognizesthe need for POE to communicate directly andimmediately with providers and partnerorganizations about problems, perceivedproblems, and solutions. One such opportunitywas the SC EMS Symposium held this year inMyrtle Beach, South Carolina.SC EMS SymposiumIn April 2009, we participated in a joint venturebetween the RRB and the SC Part B Medicareoperation by operating a booth at the SC EMSSymposium. Attendees at the Symposiumincluded software billing agencies, EMS providersand other Medicare providers. The Symposiumincluded over 300 participants and afforded usthe opportunity to interact directly with ourcustomers by helping providers with generalMedicare billing, coverage and specific EMSbilling questions.interactive voice response system. This new systemprovided additional options that were previously notavailable with our prior system, enabling providers toobtain Medicare information without having to waitfor a customer service representative. The IVR was alsoupgraded to implement a new automated voice. Thechange was made to utilize a more friendly and easyto understand voice for the IVR.We put significant effort into Web site developmentwhile maintaining current outreach mechanisms suchas the ListServ. We enhanced a number of self-servicetools for providers, notably the Interactive ProviderForms, Global Surgery Denial Tool and MSP Lookuponline tools. Although we have not fully realized thepotential reduction in provider inquiries and claimdenials related to these tools, we have receivedpositive feedback from the provider community.Based on this feedback, we will continue to exploreideas for additional tools in FY2010.tttWe worked with internal departments to updateexisting content and to create new content. Thisapproach has enabled us to target specific issuesor problems identified by claims processing andcustomer service staff. In turn, this approachresulted not only in clear guidance to the providercommunity but has also been of great benefit toour internal operations by ensuring our staff is keptup to date on the communications we provideto providers. This collaboration has led to greaterconsistency for our provider education, claimsprocessing and telephone customer service areas.Ultimately, we are continually improving the servicewe provide to our customers.Large categories of content (e.g., FAQs) are nowdisplayed as categories that can be expanded toshow details. As a result, Web site users can morerapidly navigate through various topics to quicklylocate the information they need.We created quick links to CMS guidelines and otherimportant resources for each specialty and topic.These links appear at the top of various Web pagesand allow quick access to CMS-level guidance forthe more savvy users. Some Web page “headers”were also shortened to allow the content to bettttdisplayed at a glance, instead of when the userscrolls down. Additional header information wasadded to several Web pages.The search engine was refined to display the mostrelevant, recent results first. This enhancement nowproduces search results that more closely meetexpectations of website users.The self service tools and top links are regularlyupdated to reflect the most frequent searches.The Customer Feedback Form was revised to includerequired customer information and validationof customer information. New fields were added toincrease the amount of information we collect toallow us to follow up with the customer regardingfeedback they submit to us.We enhanced the Interactive CMS-1500 Claim Formto reflect current guidance for submitting claims.(This tool also provides guidance for submittingelectronic claims.)89