A schedule for Medicare standards is being developed, and training for Medicare state agencies, contractors, carriers, fiscal intermediaries, and regional federal staff is being scheduled. A training syllabus has been developed, and a three-day course is planned for nine locations. The educational materials will be posted on the administrative simplification website as soon as they are available. Ms. Trudel pointed out that, at various levels, HCFA is proactively coordinating the activities with which it is involved. Ms. Trudel noted that streamlining the EDI process is secondary to having transactions in place.
Several sites are under review regarding new instructions for testing.
Dr. Cohn explained to the Subcommittee that the need has been identified to develop a greater understanding of the current state of implementation. One idea suggested was a focused set of hearings on the status of implementation. WEDI may serve as an information coordinator on the implementation issue and may be able to report to the Subcommittee about identified problems and issues with standards. Ms. Trudel pointed out that this would be a valuable discussion to conduct with industry representatives. Dr. Cohn observed that an educational campaign would be necessary to inform the public about the availability of the web site for this purpose.