Physicians Can Reduce Medicare Paperwork

CMS has a new Internet-based system -- the Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System, or PECOS -- that allows physicians in 15 states and the District of Columbia to spend a little less time on Medicare paperwork.

The Web-based PECOS allows registered users to electronically manage Medicare enrollment information. CMS calls the site "fast, secure and easy." In materials announcing the site, CMS notes that an online Medicare enrollment application can be processed up to 50 percent faster than a paper application.

Users in Delaware, Minnesota, New Jersey, Idaho, Missouri, North Carolina, Illinois, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Maryland, Tennessee, Kansas, Michigan, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia can use the PECOS site to

CMS plans to expand PECOS to all states within the next two months.

The system may be particularly useful for physicians who need to report practice changes, such as new ownership or a change in location. Government regulations require physicians to report such changes within a specific time frame.

CMS says PECOS meets all required government security standards in terms of data entry, data transmission and the electronic storage of Medicare enrollment information. User IDs and passwords protect access to enrollment information.