May 2009
Welcome to The Connection Online
We value your time and are dedicated to streamlining our printed and online communications. The printed edition of The ConnectionSM (PDF) continues to include important information for you and your office staff. The Connection Online offers additional news and articles not found in the printed issue. We hope you find The Connection Online to be a helpful, supplemental resource. Our newsletters are published quarterly in February, May, August and November. Have feedback? Contact Provider Communications.
Regence Online Services for Providers enhancements
To help save your office time, we've expanded the information available on our free, online tool. Enhancements include:
-
Basic accumulators added for members of our new products
- Payment voucher search expanded
- BlueCard® search features improved
Regence Quality Program partners to improve care
Regence Quality Program (QP) department has developed standards and performance goals to measure the care and service provided to our members.
Participation in QP activities is required as part of your agreement with Regence.
Online registration available for our provider workshops and new Educational Tools section
The 2009 list of instructor-led and online workshops is available. Register for the workshops you would like to attend.
Our Workshops section is now named Educational Tools.
myRegence.com newsletter available and member Rewards program expanded
Our printed
member newsletter (PDF) is available for
you to include in your office's waiting room.
The newsletter is published quarterly and includes health-related articles that can be enjoyed by members of any health plan.
Administrative and Billing Updates
Hearing aid claims for Boeing members
When submitting hearing aid claims for Boeing members, it is important to bill each hearing aid separately with the applicable modifier for the left and right ears.
Policies
New hospital-acquired conditions reimbursement policy
Regence has established a reimbursement policy effective August 1, 2009 and will no longer reimburse for hospital-acquired conditions (HAC) and iatrogenic complications. HACs include preventable infections and medical errors.
HACs are conditions not present when a patient arrives at the hospital or other facility, but develop during his or her stay. Iatrogenic complications are any adverse conditions which are the direct result of treatment by a physician or other health care professional.
Join our medical policy discussions
We welcome your input and feedback as we draft our medical policies. It's easy to join our email reviewer list. Simply complete our request form.
While we prefer to receive input as policies are developed, we also have a formal process that allows physicians, other health care professionals and facilities to submit additional information, such as clinical trial results, that may warrant a policy review.
Updates to medication policies and list
Medication policies
Summaries of recent changes (PDF) and detailed policies are available in our Medication Policy Manual.
Preferred Medication List/Formulary (PML)
View our Preferred
Medication List/Formulary (PML) in alphabetical
order or by therapeutic
class.