Archive for month: May, 2016

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eClinicalWorks® Billing Solutions For The Flu Vaccine

When we are in flu season, many healthcare professionals have questions about how to bill their patients for a flu shot. The Center for Disease Control highly recommends that anyone aged 6 months and older should have a flu shot. Every year there are different flu vaccines that protect patients from various types of fly viruses.

Will Medicare Pay For A Patient’s Flu Shot? 

Whatever the allowable is for an influenza vaccine, Medicare will pay 100% of that allowable. Medicare will also pay the administration of the vaccines without needing the patient to pay any out-of-pocket expenses. A patient is allowed one flu vaccine every flu season, but if a patient needs to have another flu shot based on a patient’s medical needs, Medicare will pay for the second flu shot. A flu shot is not given based on a doctor’s orders, and this is why so many people can get a flu shot at a drug store or pharmacy.

What About Those Who Do Not Have Medicare?

Typically, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services do not allow any provider who is not enrolled to treat Medicare patients. A Medicare beneficiary can receive a flu vaccine from any provider or physician who is licensed. However, the way the billing procedures are handled will be different.

If you are not enrolled in the Medicare program, you may ask for the payment of the flu vaccine before giving the shot. A Medicare beneficiary may ask about being reimbursed through Medicare. Are your current billing solutions able to handle billing for the flu vaccine?

eClinicalWorks® billing solutions can provide you with the tools you need to properly bill your patients for flu vaccines.

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eClinicalWorks® based Revenue Cycle Management Can Reduce Inefficiency In Your Practice

Revenue cycle management is a vital piece to your practice. However, filing a claim to a payer without seeing any denials or collecting payments and bills in an efficient and quick manner is not as easy as you would like it to be. Your medical practice’s process should be streamlined, in order to reach a greater level of success.

Unfortunately, there are several revenue cycle management problems that many medical practices face. These issues will need to be fixed if any medical practice wants to continue running a successful practice. Some of those problems that lead to disruption in the revenue cycle is communication and education.

Education and Communication

Do you know how costly it will be if any one of your employees accidentally completed a patient’s chart with the wrong code? No one ever wants to lose thousands of dollars because of an error. Your medical staff and other team members should be fully educated on what they are expected to do within the revenue cycle.

When you think about it, revenue cycle management can be compared to working on an assembly line. Every person has to do the job they have been trained to do and the other tasks will be handed over to the others.

If your medical practice heavily relies on technology or if it does not rely on technology, all of your employees should know what their responsibilities are. They should all be aware of how impactful their actions can be to your medical practice’s bottom line. Everyone in your medical practice should feel communicating with one another.

You can reduce errors and disruptions when the entire team is working together. You can separate your various departments into teams so everyone can be more productive and efficient. When your medical practice does consist of teams, there will always be someone who can step in and correct mistakes.

If you are having trouble being efficient, organized, and productive, eClinicalWorks® revenue cycle management solutions can be the answer to your problems.

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eClinicalWorks® based Medical Billing Clients Successfully Tackle IDC-10 Transition

Professionals throughout the healthcare industry have been preparing (and dreading) the ICD-10 transition. As of October 1, it’s game on! How’s it going? Well, reviews were mixed in the feedback recently gathered by Healthcare Finance. However, one comment popped out at us. One user reported, “Well ICD-10, you scared me more than Y2K in 1999, but both were much ado about nothing! Thanks, eClinicalWorks® based Medical Billing Company. Together, we got this.” While the ICD-10 transition has been challenging, the clients of eClinicalWorks® based medical billing have the benefit of a partner to guide them through it. How is your office handling the transition? Here are a couple of tips to keep in mind as you navigate this transition period.

Prepare for an Interruption in Cash Flow

Physicians may experience a decrease in productivity, which could lead to a cash flow crisis. First, as productivity slows, physicians may not be able to see as many patients in a day, causing decreased revenue. Secondly, practices should expect possible denials or delays in payments. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced in July that it will be lenient regarding minor coding errors during the first 12 months of implementation. They will not deny claims due to a lack of specificity if the claim is at least coded in the right family. For example, if you put in the right code for an ear infection, but forgot to note if it was the left or right ear, CMS will cut you some slack. However, insurers may not be so forgiving. Many insurers have said they will follow the lead of CMS, but there’s no legal basis to force them to do so. Physicians should consider having a line of credit available to cover at least three to six months of practice expenses to prevent a cash flow emergency.

Consider Hiring Help

Hiring an additional coder or two, may help prevent the dip in productivity that many practices will experience. But this might increase your expenses as coders demand handsome compensation.

eClinicalWorks® based medical billing company can be a great solution. EMR Billing Solutions has the experience and expertise required to handle this transition, yet it is not expensive. So your budget will remain under control and you will be working with professional medical billers. EMR Billing Solutions is proud to be helping clients through the biggest changes healthcare has seen in decades.

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eClinicalWorks® based Medical Billing Company Has A Commitment To Keeping Patients Engaged

Recently, there have been a significant amount of proof that shows the patients who are empowered and engaged are more likely to receive the treatment they need and they will likely to see a decrease in the medical costs. A medical practice that encourage patient empowerment and patient engagement can significantly help their patients in their medical treatments and their medical outcome.

If your medical practice is considering starting a patient engagement strategy or initiative, what steps can you take to ensure your patients will remain engaged so they can take better care of themselves and gain more control of their health?

Health Education

If the patients give you the consent to share information with them, you should use this time to give them tips and advice on their health care. When you give patients or their family member advice, you should transfer this information as carefully and thoroughly as possible. Sometimes a patient may not give you all the information you need to determine a condition, but a family member may be able to give you useful information about the patient and the patient’s medical history.

Communication

As we all know, the telephone is no longer the only option to communicate with doctors and other healthcare professionals. You can make things easier on your patients by having a patient portal that will allow them to communicate with you and your staff in more convenient ways. They can communicate via email, social media, or you can have a section with frequently asked questions so they can receive answers whenever they need to.

Appointments

When you have a patient portal, you can make it easier for your patients to schedule an appointment. They can log in to see the calendar and find out what days you are available. After they have seen your schedule, they will be able to make an appointment that is convenient for both sides.

EMR Billing Solutions which is eClinicalWorks® based medical billing company, has a commitment to making sure the patients are empowered and engaged. We want to make sure the communication between healthcare professionals and patients is constantly improving.

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eClinicalWorks® Practice Management: Have You Joined Your Patients Online?

Do you use Facebook, Twitter, or another social network to market the services of your medical practice? Many physicians do not want any part of social media because they do not want to run across any trouble in regards to legal problems or ruining a reputation. However, if you choose not to be involved in social media, your practice could be harmed.

Many patients who are constantly on social media or using apps expect to see their physician online, or they expect to see a Facebook or Twitter page for the medical practice.

Many patients want their physician and the medical practice to have an online presence so they can receive information after hours. Having an online presence will allow patients to interact with one another, leave comments and messages, and view other important information.

When you decide to sign up for a social media network, you should always have a plan. It certainly helps to know what you are getting into so you will not be blindsided with anything you are not prepared for.

Here are some things you should consider if you are thinking about becoming part of the social media world:

  • What do you hope to achieve by joining a social media network?
  • Do you know who your ideal patients will be? There are various social media networks, and a variety of people sign up for the ones that best fit what they are looking for,
  • Remember that all of your posts will not have to be serious. You can always include light-hearted and educational content in your posts.
  • Have staff members help you create your medical practice’s presence online.
  • Determine how long you plan to be active on social media during a day.

There are always new ways to improve your practice and the way you manage that practice. There are various resources, applications, and systems that you can use, including eClinicalWorks® practice management.

Your patients will value that you are going the extra mile to remain social and helpful. Since we are in a world where technology and social media are definitely common, why not join your patients online?

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eClinicalWorks® Billing Services Can Help You Improve Your Payment Collection Process

During the course of a decade or more, there has been a significant amount of changes in the healthcare field. There have been significant changes in the deductibles and this has made an impact on the collection of payments. As the changes continue, it is important that your practice have a constant stream of cash flowing in.

When we discuss generating steady revenue, your medical professionals cannot only depend on the collections from the patients’ insurance. This is why it is important to face the payment collections challenges head on because this is a huge part of your medical practice’s income.

Make Sure Your Patients Are Aware Of Your Policy

How can you make improvements to your collection strategy? One of the best ways to help your collection process is by implementing a payment policy and make sure your patients are informed about it. It will not do your medical practice any good if you have a payment policy that none of your patients will know about.

You will have to communicate your policy to all of your patients, and you will have to explain everything you expect of them, such as the responsibility they have to pay their medical bills. If any of your patients have a medical bill that is outstanding, you can develop a plan that will help them pay the bill.

When you create your payment plan, you should make sure:

  • Your patients can clearly understand all the details of the policy
  • Your policy and payment collections strategy will be easy to figure out and that everything will be organized
  • Your policy will not cause any legal consequences
  • Your policy will be used to make the relationship better between the physicians, the patients, and the entire medical practice

You need to keep a steady flow of revenue, and by implementing eClinicalWorks® works billing services you will improve your medical practice because you will no longer have to worry about payment collections taking your practice’s revenue.

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eClinicalWorks® based Medical Billing Service Can Help You Run A Successful Medical Practice

If you have a hectic medical practice, you already know how much coordination and cooperation it takes to get everything working the way it is supposed to work.

You have to ensure your culture is safe, you have to make sure your employees are always aware of the surroundings, and you always have to make sure your patients are not only happy but healthy as well. As important as having satisfied patients is, you have to focus on more than satisfying your patients and their needs.

eClinicalWorks® based medical billing service can effectively help you manage your medical facility.

Collecting Information From Patients

When you use eClinicalWorks® based medical billing service to help you manage your practice, you will be able to easily collect patients’ information, which will result in clean patient payment. Patient payment is sometimes a neglected factor in many medical practices, but yet it is a very important source of income. So, let the experts do this job.

However, you yourself can expedite this process by some unique ideas. What if your patients can print a medical form from your website and print it at home? Your patients will be able to fill out the information before their appointment; they could either send it to you in an email or they could bring it with them to their next appointment. You could also offer an online form that will save time and resources because you will not have to spend money on paper forms. Your patients could easily complete the information online and press the send button.

Are Your Employees Active And Attentive? 

With effective practice management, you need to have employees who are engaging and active, which is a hectic task considering the different HR factors involved on daily basis. eClinicalWorks® based medical billing service have full time employees who are active and excited about going to work. If you use eClinicalWorks® based medical billing service you will have a higher number of satisfied patients, because experts will be handling every medical billing activity of your practice.

If you set goals for your practice, you have to do what is necessary in order to complete those goals. You can use eClinicalWorks® based medical billing serviceto successfully run your medical practice.

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eClinicalWorks® RCM Can Help You Get On The Right Track To Collecting Payments Again

When it comes to making changes to your Revenue Cycle Managment software, you may have needed to make those changes a long time ago. Do you find yourself spending a significant amount of time on the management of your finances? Do you have to decrease the amount of time you spend with your patients because you always have problems with medical billing services?

If so, you may need to consider eClinicalWorks® RCM if you want to improve the revenue of your medical practice. It can be difficult for any medical practice to agree to outsource. However, the medical industry is very complex. You have to follow all the guidelines and reforms and you have to ensure you are receiving payments for the services you are providing.

Are You Receiving Payment

Many medical practices discover they are receiving a smaller amount of payments, and one of the reasons why is because of their billing system. If your billing system is not efficient and effective, you will be unaware of when, how, and who to collect payments from. When you want to find out why you are not getting those collections, you will have to spend a huge amount of money and time on this.

If you really want to improve your billing system and make sure your revenue cycle back on he right path, you should consider using an RCM software or system to help you find the right solutions that will fit your medical practice. When you team up with an experienced and professional RCM provider, you will be able to find the right solutions that will enable your medical practice to go into a positive direction.

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eClinicalWorks® Billing Companies: How Can You Determine If You Have The Right Billing Company?

How will your medical practice know the difference between a billing company that will only be good for a few things and one that you can give your patient’s information to without having to worry?

If you already know what criteria or standards you should judge a medical billing company, you will be able to choose the company that will allow you to focus on providing excellent care to patients, without having to worry about billing.

When you want to choose the right medical billing company, you should choose based on the following:

  • The quality of service they provide
  • Their ability to use technology to improve your medical billing system
  • Years of experience
  • The number of clients they already have
  • If they have the ability to add new clients on a consistent basis
  • The cost for their services

eClinicalWorks® billing companies are equipped with tools that will fit into your practice’s medical billing system. Your medical practice needs to work with a billing company that will perform several functions, including the following:

  • Handling claims
  • Following up with the insurance carriers
  • Posting of the payments
  • Payment processing
  • Sending invoices to the patients
  • Providing support when needed
  • Handling the transfer of unpaid bills to collection agencies

These functions are the heart and soul of your medical practice; if you hand over your medical billing services to a company that does not do at least half of those functions, your medical practice will not survive. Your medical billing company may also provide other function, such as scheduling appointments and verifying insurance eligibility.

The way your medical billing company performs these functions and others will certainly have either a positive or negative impact on your bottom line. Do you have the right medical billing company on your team?

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