Is using Stamps.com a good deal?

My initial impression is positive but the real question is whether I am going to be able to use it enough to reach the $15. per month requirement for the pro account. If I use this for the office I will save a lot of time and effort by using this program. The software is fairly flexible and will allow you to quickly address and create the required postage stamp to mail the packages and large envelopes of data that I send out all week long.

The package came by US Postal service and came in a small box containing a scale with a USB cable to connect to your computer, a program cd, some sample stamp and label sheets, $5 worth of postage, and instructions on how to setup and use the product.

How does Stamps.com make money? By selling you the supplies of course. You can get anything from the labels in different sizes and formats, envelopes in different styles and formats and USPS shipping boxes. The prices for these products aren’t exorbitant but they are not the cheapest products that you can find either. The big thing to remember here is how much more convenient this is compared to having to hoof it to the post office to basically due this same thing. If you have been using one of the many other choices out there that rents you the certified postage meters you will see that this is another area that you will save a lot of money on the monthly fees associated with this service.

The big questions I am going to have to answer for myself is whether I am going to take this into the office to keep at my desk or if I will hoard it at home to be used from there instead. It may even become part of my traveling bag. We’ll just have to see who will win out!

HHS Announces Proposed Delay of ICD-10 until October 1, 2014

On Monday April 9, 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a proposed rule that would delay, from October 1, 2013 to October 1, 2014, the compliance date for the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition diagnosis and procedure codes (ICD-10).

The ICD-10 compliance date change is part of a proposed rule that would adopt a standard for a unique health plan identifier (HPID), adopt a data element that would serve as an “other entity” identifier (OEID), and add a National Provider Identifier (NPI) requirement. The proposed rule was developed by the Office of E-Health Standards and Services (OESS) as part of its ongoing role, delegated by HHS, to establish and adopt standards for electronic health care transactions under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). OESS is part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). As with other proposed rules, this will entertain a 30 day comment period after the publication of the Federal Register (expected to be April 17). See page 2 of the rule to learn how you can provide commentary.

HHS notes how important it is for all covered entities to transition to ICD-10 at the same time, as failure for any one industry segment to comply would negatively impact all other industry segments, resulting in rejected claims and provider payment delays. “Provider groups have expressed strong concern about their ability to meet the October 1, 2013 compliance date and the serious claims payment issues that might then ensue” HHS notes in the proposed rule. “We believe the change in the compliance date for ICD-10, as proposed in this rule, would give providers and other covered entities more time to prepare and fully test their systems to ensure a smooth and coordinated transition by all industry segments.”

Top 10 Things to Know about Meaningful Use Stage 2

1. The basic framework of the program has not changed. The dollars available through incentive programs remain unchanged for both Eligible Providers (EP) and Eligible Hospitals (EH). The eligibility parameters are (with very minor exceptions) unchanged as well, including which non-physician providers are able to participate in the EP program.
2. Eligible Providers will be required to report on 17 Core measures and 3 of 5 Menu measures; Eligible Hospitals will be required to report on 16 Core measures and 2 of 4 Menu measures. This is comparable to Stage 1 in the total number required, though the measures are not the same -- some have been consolidated and new options have been added.
3. The number of proposed Clinical Quality Measures (CQM) that providers will be able to choose from in reporting has increased dramatically. The number has moved from 44 to 125 for Eligible Providers and from 15 to 49 for Eligible Hospitals. Additionally, batch reporting – or reporting on the CQM as a group within the ambulatory environment – is proposed in an effort to simplify the process. The total number of available clinical quality measures will likely be decreased by the time of the Final Rule, but the current list significantly improves reporting options for specialists who felt that the Stage 1 CQM were too focused on primary care.
4. Allowances for exclusions in reporting the information included in the requirements will change. There really will be allowances only for providers who cannot meet a requirement because of the scope of their practice or issues specific to their geography that will have to be corroborated by the state or the FCC.
5. CMS has made changes in order to make broaden participation in the Medicaid side of the program. The means of counting patients towards the 30% threshold is now broader in allowing the inclusion of some CHIP patients, as well as all patients with Medicaid coverage, regardless of whether Medicaid is used to pay for the encounter. There are also now some children’s hospitals that are able to participate despite not having a CMS Certification Number.
6. Eligible providers will no longer be able to include in their attestation reports patient care provided in a location without an EHR by then recording it at another location that uses a certified EHR. The requirement to use a certified EHR for at least 50% of patient encounters in order to qualify for the program still stands, however.
7. Payment adjustments (otherwise known as penalties) will begin in 2015, as required by the statute. CMS will look at the providers’ behavior in 2013 to determine whether the 2015 fee schedule adjustments should occur. Program participants can attest to beginning their participation in 2014 through a 90-day EHR reporting period, but that must be completed and attestation finished at least 90 days prior to the end of the year for it be considered.
8. Interoperability is moving from the theoretical to the real. The exchange of information in the transmission of a care summary will no longer be just a test but rather require both making electronic information available to patients and the successful exchange of information between providers using different certified Electronic Health Records.
9. Patient engagement is an area of increasing focus. The goal is to help patients and their families feel that they are active participants in providing and accessing information related to their health so that they, in turn, increase the levels of successful self-management. CMS aims to get providers talking about health information technology and the patients’ ability to view, download and/or share that information by holding providers accountable for how many of their patients access their data and email their providers. Providing patients with access to their information by providing a patient portal or connecting to a Personal Health Record such as HealthVault will become a necessity.
10. The requirement to report to Public Health entities is expanding, with the addition of specialty registries and cancer registries. Syndromic surveillance reporting remains a Menu option, however, reflecting the ongoing challenges the states have in implementing their ability to accept the reported information.

ONC Proposed Rule:

• Read the ONC Proposed Rule [PDF - 2.3 M] [Word* - 807 K] >
• ONC fact sheet [PDF - 99 K] >

Ultrabooks–are they worth waiting for?

I just got my hands on the Toshiba Z820  Ultrabook that is just an amazing piece of technology. The WOW is in the the design and feel of the unit with the laptop. It is sleek and light and feels like a piece of tech art. When someone hands over the unit with the screen closed and you how thin and light it is and you still have the specs this system sports you can’t help but feel a little flush. I know, I am showing my geek side but I love where this technology is heading towards and I can’t wait until we see where it eventually settles into. Look below for specs and be sure to come and ask us what we thing about this wonderful product.

It’s Official! 3 Versions of Windows 8…

Surprise, Surprise… Microsoft makes Windows name OFFICIAL and there will only be three versions.

So what did we expect. Window 8 will be the consumer/home version, Windows 8 Pro is the business/enterprise version and what is the third version? WOA! WOA is the ARM version of the Windows 8 and that is all we get. That’s okay. What else do we need. This is of course overly simplified.

Take a look at the “Announcing the Windows 8 Editions” blog post to get more information. There is some detail here that will highlight the differences between the versions and you can determine what you will want from there.

http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2012/04/16/announcing-the-windows-8-editions.aspx

Cheat Sheet: 100 Windows 8 Keyboard Shortcuts

TechRepublic has put together a handy cheat sheet of 100 keyboard shortcuts. If you are just getting into Windows 8 you will want to take the time to download this document. It will help you get started rather quickly. If you want to take the Windows 8 Tour and looking for help use the short cut key choice of [WINDOWS] + [F1].

Here is the link to TechRepublic’s article and the free PDF you can download can be found here.

Windows XP only has two years support left

So, we are seeing the information coming to us from many sources but what does this deadline in 2014 really mean? So what is Microsoft saying to us? There are just two years to go. Two years to migrate your Windows XP-based PCs to a more modern operating system, such as Windows 7. Two years to enter the 21st century. Two years until XP support is over.

This week Microsoft began its two year countdown to the end of Windows XP support. The magic date is April 8, 2014. This is also true for Microsoft Office 2003. “If you still have some PCs running Windows XP and Office 2003 in your organization,” Microsoft director Stella Chernyak wrote in a post to the Windows For Your Business Blog, “now would be a good time to start migrating them to Windows 7 and Office 2010.”

The number of systems this will affect is huge. About 50% of Windows based systems (approximately 900 million) are still running Windows XP with that percentage probably much higher for enterprises. Microsoft downplays the benefits of continuing to use XP by stating that XP was “a great software release for its time”  but that the market and user’s expectations have grown with time. Most people would agree though, that Windows XP is no less usable today it just not able to take full advantage of today’s technology advances.

The number one reason most people tell me that they are hesitant in moving to Windows 7 is application compatibility. Either with actual programs or web applications. In most cases I haven’t seen this as a problem unless you are still running forms of DOS applications. Even then there are workarounds though not very elegant. Web apps are another concern though where in some cases older browsers are need to be used to function correctly. This has been a big problem especially since support for IE 6 has been dropped and the reported security problems with this browser version are well documented. This tie down of the infrastructure growth is something that needs to be addressed but in many cases is time consuming and could be quite expensive.

The number two and three blockers of Windows 7 migration have nothing to do with technology. Money and inertia are telling because in large institutions are like an ocean liner and you can move them easily from their current course quickly. In today’s tight economy everyone is looking at cutting costs not incurring new costs. We are all trying to learn to do with what we have for longer.

Paul Thurrott wrote:

XP, in some ways, is the best investment the enterprise ever made, the Windows version that refuses to die. Ironically, it came of age at a time when Microsoft was trying to grow beyond its roots as a maker of systems for smaller companies; in courting enterprises and big business, Microsoft had to extend the lifecycle for its platform offerings far beyond that of older products. And XP’s lifecycle was positively affected by the lateness of Windows Vista, which caused Microsoft to push things even further out.

So let’s go back to my initial question, what does it mean to you when Microsoft stops supporting Windows XP? Microsoft states: “An unsupported version of Windows will no longer receive software updates from Windows Update. These include security updates that can help protect your PC from harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software, which can steal your personal information. Windows Update also installs the latest software updates to improve the reliability of Windows—new drivers for your hardware and more.” In other words, your system could become open to attack with Microsoft no longer plugging the holes like they currently do with their patch updates. In a locked down environment this may  not mean anything but very few of us live in that kind of world. The internet has become a large part of our computer experience and a necessary evil. We need to look forward starting now to work our way into migrating our systems to Window 7 so that we are not caught up in the problems that could occur down the road by not taking the necessary steps and upgrading your equipment/software.

Windows lifecycle fact sheet

More Information from Microsoft:

Windows XP Support and End of Sales

Even though we ended the sale of Windows XP on October 22, 2010, we still plan to provide support for individual users and businesses until April 2014. For more information, see the Windows XP Help & How-to page. As Windows XP sales come to an end, it's also a good time to think about upgrading to Windows 7, which is designed to be compatible with many of the Windows XP programs you're accustomed to using.

My business relies on Windows XP. What'll happen if I have technical problems?

We understand some of our customers aren't ready to upgrade their PCs to Windows 7. Although Windows XP will soon disappear from stores, we'll continue to offer Extended Support for the operating system until April 2014. For more details, see the Microsoft Support Lifecycle.

Can I run my earlier Windows XP programs on Windows 7?

Windows 7 is designed to be compatible with the most popular hardware and software products you use every day. Thousands of these will work just fine. The Windows 7 Compatibility Center makes it easy for you to find out if particular programs or hardware work with Windows 7.

What if my business software only runs on Windows XP?

Some editions of Windows 7 support Windows XP Mode, which enables you to run older Windows XP business software right on your Windows 7 desktop. Designed primarily with small- and medium-sized businesses in mind, Windows XP Mode comes as a separate download and works only with Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise. Windows XP Mode also requires virtualization software such as Windows Virtual PC. Both are available free on the Microsoft website. 

Can I downgrade my OEM version of Windows 7 Professional to Windows XP Professional?

Evernote for Android get some great updates

Press Release March 27th: Today, we have an exciting update to Evernote for Android (3.6). We’ve added a great speech-to-text capability that makes dictating notes in Evernote really easy, plus we have a bunch of new features for the Evernote Widget app.  Get Evernote for Android and get the Evernote Widget App for Android

Speech-to-text feature:

While all of the Evernote apps have the ability to capture audio, the Android version will now provide speech recognition. Tap the new speech bubble icon in the tool bar above the keyboard to launch the feature. As you talk, the app instantly places your spoken words into the body of the note as text.

When you are done recording both the original audio as well as the converted text will be attached to you note. This allows you to easily search you audio notes. If you don’t want the speech-to-text conversion then tap and hold the speech bubble and it will switch to just a microphone. Tap the microphone to begin recording you message.

The speech-to-text conversion uses Google Android’s text transcription service you must be on line for it to work. This capability is also available on version 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and some versions of 2.2. If you see the speech-to-text option appear when you update then you will know that your phone or tablet supports this function.

New Widget Features:

Press Release: In this update we’ve added a bunch of great new capabilities to our widget app, available as a separate download from the Google Play Store.

Here is what TechSmith had to say about this update:

Customize your widget
We’ve added a new gear icon to the widget that lets you customize a number of features:

• Widget Color: Choose between original green or a new dark theme
• Custom buttons Choose which Evernote functions appear in the widget
• Large widget notes Choose what notes appears in the large widget—last viewed; last updates; specific notebooks, tags, or Saved Searches

New tiny widget
When you long press on the phone’s home screen and go to the Widget menu, you’ll now see a tiny 1×1 single function Evernote widget, which takes up the same screen real estate as an app icon. This widget is great for placing a single Evernote function anywhere you like.

Quick snapshot
The newest widget function is the Quick Snapshot. This feature truly lives up to its name. Tap on the Quick Snapshot icon, camera with lightning bolt, to launch the camera. Snap your photo and tap save. That’s it. A new snapshot note will be added to your Evernote account with an auto-generated title.