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Combat the Flu and Defend your Revenue!

No one likes the flu, especially when it strikes early in the year with a vengeance! EMR Billing Solutions is aware of the flu and its negative effects on revenue. Below are some awareness tips to combat the flu on multiple levels.

Remedy for Combating the Flu:

  • Protect yourself and your employees, prohibiting them from working with flu symptoms. A sick doctor can’t work, will feel the wrath of the flu, and cause a decrease in revenue.
  • Create and implement a concise plan for covering shortages that works for your practice. Double Check your Flu shot billing codes, and make sure they are up to date.
  • Follow the advising of the American College of Physicians, and encourage all healthcare providers to be immunized as soon as possible.
  • If you are having trouble mandating flu shots in your practice or office, consider offering the vaccinations onsite, with no cost to your employees. It will cost you much more in revenue losses when your staff is sick, and your practice is shorthanded.
  • Keeping your patients aware of vaccination locations is crucial as the shortages arise. Reach out to your patients through your Patient Portal, website, social media, and in the office. Insure that they know when and where flu shots are available.
  • Be prepared for the unexpected circumstances. Prepare procedures if you run out of vaccines, and what to do in case of an emergency.

Above all, remind your staff to stay calm, and treat each patient with a care and reassurance.

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Transition Details on ICD-10!

We all know ICD-10 is approaching. As of October 1, 2014 the ICD-9 code sets that are used to report medical diagnoses and inpatient procedures were replaced with the ICD-10 sets.

Why is this transition taking place? Because the ICD-9 procedures limited patient data, pertaining to their medical conditions and hospital inpatient procedures. ICD-9 is also 30 years old; its terms are outdated, and inconsistent with current medical practices. The overall structure of ICD-9 puts limitations on the amount of new codes that can be created, and most categories are already full.

The downside of the implementation is that many industry experts anticipate that medical practices will require at least six months of cash reserves in order to survive the cash flow crush. Due to this vital prediction, EMR Billing Solutions has created a special team of experts, including professionals in international economics, medical billing, healthcare reform and operations. These experts will analyze and identify bottlenecks that our clients may face (if any) during the rollout of ICD-10.

Our team of experts concluded that our clients should rest easy, as there is very little to worry about with this new change. The apparent issue that could hinder your organization’s ability to survive the ICD-10 rollout is your provider’s inability to process coding requests. However, EMR Billing Solutions can easily identify any errors associated in provider’s notes with ICD-10. Once implemented, the healthcare providers will have improved options that ICD-10 codes can use to insure accurate charting, coding, and prompt payments.

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Recap – 2013 eCW National User Conference!

The 2013 eClinicalWorks® National User Conference in San Antonio Texas attracted users and clients from around the globe. EMR Billing Solutions continues to attend these conferences because they are extremely helpful, hands-on, and teach us everything we need to know about eClinicalWorks®.

Highlights from the 2013 eCW National User Conference:

  • ICD 10 includes a new Assessment window screen that guides providers to the correct ICD 10 code. The screen will display both the ICD 9 and ICD 10 equivalents.
  • V10 EMR features Google search recommendations, a Simple Search Box for Providers, advancements in the Interactive Chart Wizard, and an option in Progress Note that allows you to hide selected sections depending on Visit Type.
  • V10 PM features new additions to the Clearinghouse; a new Admin Fee Rule for Injections and Immunizations, and a redesign of the Appointment Details window, including a Right Panel that displays RX Eligibility, Insurance Eligibility, Copay, and Patient Balance.
  • Update on the V10 Timeline, the Beta is scheduled for October and the General Acceptance release is projected for mid November.
  • MU Stage 2 includes a redesign of the Family History Section, new reminders to update the Problem List, and user-friendly entry for CPOE.
  • New Hardware Option for Kiosk that may reduce costs depending on configuration.
  • HEALOW now encompasses the Smartphone “Patient Portal” app, eClinicalMessenger, and the Heath Tracker applications that will be available for iPhone and Androids. These features let the user link to multiple portals with a single login, and improve communications through HEALOW Messenger.
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Revenue Issues MCR Doctors Face

EMR Billing Solutions is here to address billing issues that some MCR doctors face.

There have been numerous adjustments over the last 10 years, including the freeze on the accumulated 27% in 2013.  Despite the numerous attempts to improve revenue for MCR physicians, Medicare fees still do not cover enough of the expenses that physicians must cover.

For example, during the first quarter, and depending on the annual deductible and patient situation, physicians may face up to 60 days without payments, or the correct amount owed.  Therefore, MCR physicians are constantly trying to reduce their costs to make up for the revenue losses due to Medicare and Medicaid.

Did you know that Medicare requires physicians to comply with program requirements that may cause them to lose from .05% to .2% of their payment?  MCR Physicians also face numerous auditing programs that insure they adhere to HIPAA.  MCR Physicians continue to endure new rules, regulations, audits, and inspections.  However, why do they continue to be MCR physicians?  Because of their devotion to patient care and their responsibility as doctors, they understand the risks and revenue issues, and consequently continue to care for MCR patients.

In addition, Medicare does not pay for annual physicals, that patients may not be aware of when they go to see their doctor. Most often, MCR patient care requires more time with a physician and also negatively affects revenue overtime. However, Patient Portals have efficiently proven to save time and improve communications with patients regarding their health.

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Cash Flow Drives Success for Medical Practices!

EMR Billing Solutions understands the importance of cash flow for small medical practices. Since maintaining a positive cash flow is a challenge, we will address possible cash flow challenges, and ways to improve cash flow within your practice.

The majority of cash flow challenges revolve around Medical Reimbursement rules, and complex Coding trends. As the days pass, Accounts Receivables must wait for financial responsibility to shift from high-deductible health plans to patients. Medical Practice debt continues to rise due to uninsured patients; changing regulations and insurance consolidations may also have negative effects on revenue.

Strategies for Cash Flow Improvements:

  • Maintain a cautious oversight of your practice’s core business strategies
  • Collect all copayments and balances at the time of service, increase security through internal controls to prevent fraud and cash leakages, and improve transfer efficiency with your chosen bank -they may offer cash management tools, remote deposits, image-based lockbox services, EFTs, online bill payments, and so on
  • Analyze your cash flow and physician income distribution to double check that payroll is covered each month
  • Improve care coordination and patient access within your medical practice
  • Optimize your practice’s resources by balancing patient demand and provider supply
  • Evaluate your fee schedule maintenance, and be aware of changes in healthcare reimbursements
  • Propose revenue cycle management and establish a baseline for cash flow with insurance payers
  • Complete insurance verification before a patient’s appointment to inform them of payment requirements
  • Instill denial prevention by identifying and fixing errors before your practice submits claims to insurance payers
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Favorite features of eCW® Version 10!

EMR Billing Solutions has decided to discuss some of the perks of eClinicalWorks® Version 10. We are going to discuss some of the most talked about and favorite features.

The eCW® V10 provides users with a “Buddy List” feature that sends copies to all providers with a single click. Patient Documents include a search feature that allows side-by-side comparison. In Progress Notes, there is an option to hide Blue Hyperlinks. In addition, the Security Settings include a Search Field, a Down’s Syndrome Growth Chart, and an Immunization Enhancements to forecast upcoming immunizations. In fact, A Clinical Rules Engine allows users to create a rule for multiple users to receive lab results.

Additional V10 features include:

  • Patient Portal for facility to route messages
  • Bulk Appointments Transfers for appointments to and from numerous providers
  • Demographic Validations with real-time UPS address validation
  • Multiple Copay Abilities that define PCP Copay versus Specialist Copay
  • Easy-to-read Insurance Eligibility Reports
  • Denial Management featuring Analytics by code, and the ability to work with rejected claims
  • CDSS Numerator and Denominator procedures for the practice
  • Windows in HPI for Assessment and Treatment with an enlarge feature
  • DRTLA Tab for assistance when inserting labs into Progress Notes
  • Labs with cancel option and Drug Interaction Alerts
  • ABN ability to sign with signature pad and save to Document Tree
  • Multi-select option for visit types and statuses

Version 10 is full of numerous beneficial features and improvements from Version 9! EMR Billing Solutions finds eClinicalWorks® V10 to be the best version yet!

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