3 Benefits of Web-Based Electronic Medical Billing Software

When you decide to opt for Web-based medical billing software you will find many great benefits. These include but are not limited to, reduced install and maintenance costs, security from natural disasters, anytime access.

Anytime Access

A major benefit of a Web-based medical billing solution is that you can access the information anytime. Whether you are at home, or in the office, you only need an Internet connection and you will be able to access all the information you need. Late at night or early in the morning or during the day you will be able to access the information for your practice.

Reduced Install and Maintenance costs

Another benefit of the software being Web-based is that there are much lower installation costs. You will see this benefit right up front as it will be the first step that you go through. Another benefit is the reduced maintenance cost. Many server based technologies need to be upgraded and constantly monitored. This can sometimes lead to unexpected costs to help maintain your current system. With Web-based technologies these maintenance costs are much, much, much lower.

Accidents unfortunately happen

As much as we like to think that accidents never happen to us, there is a chance that they just may. Many people use insurance to cover them incase of these major accidents. But many people do not think about what is going to happen to their information in an accident. With Web-based electronic medical billing software there is greater satisfaction in knowing that if an accident where to go through a horrific accident, you would be not lose all of your records. If there were a fire, earthquake, flood and your servers were hit, you would lose all of your client information. But if you had a Web-based software solution, even though your office may be damaged, your records wouldn?t be. You would be able to be up and running in almost no time.

So when deciding between Web-based and server side software remember these major benefits of Web-based medical billing software.

Alex Hachtman is a Marketing Specialist for AdvancedMD Software in Draper, Utah. For more information about medical billing software, please feel free to contact an AdvancedMD representative.

Medical Billing - Software Capacity

The one thing they haven't quite figured out yet in the world of medical billing software is how to make a package big enough in terms of capacity to handle any size company. In this article, we're going to take a look at the problem and just why it's a problem, along with some possible solutions.

Years ago, many years ago, if you had a meg of memory in your computer, you could do just about anything at all. Today, half a gig can just about get your operating system started. As systems and programs get larger, the requirements for these programs grow. But this isn't so much the issue here. Certainly today's PCs have enough memory and disk space to be able to handle starting up an operating system and a piece of software. The issue has more to do with the actual software itself and the mega businesses that use it.

Today, we have corporations involved in the medical billing business that are so massive, it isn't unusual for them to be billing hundreds of thousands of patients. Suddenly, a software package that used to run on a single PC is no longer able to do the job. So networks are built with the software running on individual workstations. The servers running this software are massive. The memory and disk space used by these servers are light years ahead of what they used to be. And yet, with all of this processing power, the software itself can only handle so much. Why?

One of the reasons is the platform on which the software is built. Unfortunately, most software companies build their products on databases that have serious limitations. For example. Some of the most popular DME software packages is built on the database known as Btrieve. While a good database, it has its limitations. One of them is the size it can grow to before you start seeing corruption problems in the database itself. When companies started getting large enough to poke holes in this database, the first solution was to break the database up into multiple companies. But this quickly lead to legal problems and other issues such as being able to get meaningful reports from multiple companies.

Another problem the software packages started running into was the actual processing of the data stored in the database once a solid platform was found. Many users began to notice that running a sales report for a company with 100,000 patients was taking a day to run and tying up all the resources of the server, thus slowing down the work of everyone else. So new network architectures had to be configured to make it so that the reports being run would not have any effect on other users of the system. This was easier said than done with a shared database. So the next solution was to duplicate the database using a RAID system and run the reports off the other drive.

And these problems are only the tip of the iceberg. The unavoidable truth is, as long as companies continue to grow and more and more data is needed, these companies will continue to outgrow the software that is being used. That's why there are constant updates for all these packages.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Medical Billing

Medical Billing - Getting Your Software To You

Medical billing agencies take a lot of things for granted. They purchase a piece of DME software in order to do their daily billing and they expect everything to run perfectly. Well, in the real world, it isn't quite that simple. There is a lot of work that goes into putting out a piece of medical billing software. While we're not going to attempt to dive into this process in great detail, we're going to try to give you a decent idea of what goes into getting your DME software to you. In future installments, we'll cover this in more detail.

The first step in the process is actually deciding what is going to go into the software itself. This is usually determined by the owners of the company, but frequently, the programmers have a big say in the final product because they may know what is and what isn't possible. Just because management wants something doesn't mean it's going to be done.

The next step is to actually begin the design of the software itself. This involves specifications that are general as well as detailed. The software needs to be given an overall look to go along with the individual bells and whistles that it comes with.

After the software is designed, piece by piece, each section is given to a QA person to test. It is their job to make sure that the section of the software that they are testing works the way it is supposed to, whether it be billing, printing forms, updating prices or whatever. Because medical billing software is so complex, a team of QA people are usually assigned to test it.

If any bugs are found in the software through testing, the QA people send the software back to the programmers. This process continues until the software is found to be bug free.

The software is then given to the support people to learn. The reason for this is because they are the ones who are going to be taking calls from customers who have problems. So it is their responsibility to learn every inch of the software that they can.

Finally, after everything is completed, the manuals are written by the QA people or tech writers, depending on how the company is structured. These are the manuals that are distributed to the medical billing companies who buy the software.

When all of that is done, the software is then packaged in a nice neat and pretty box. This box is made by the graphic artists team. If you don't think presentation is important, think again. Presentation is almost everything in the business world.

After the software is packaged, it is then given to the sales people to distribute. These people usually have leads to companies looking for medical billing software. That's where they start.

It's a very long process from start to finish. So when you finally do get your DME software, try to understand that a lot of hard work went into getting it to you.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Medical Billing

 

Medical Billing Software Troubleshooting Overview

As much as billers don't want to think about it, software for medical billing is not perfect. There are going to be problems, sometimes lots of them. In the next series of articles, which will cover a number of critical areas of the DME software system, we will go over the most common problems that you will run into when operating your DME medical billing system. In this particular installment, we're going to just give a brief overview of the areas that will be covered in more detail.

The first part of the system where you are going to run into problems is the actual installation and running of the software itself. Even though manufacturers try to make software that will work on any operating system and network, this isn't always the case. Sometimes just installing the software itself can be a problem.

The second part of the system where you are going to run into problems is the entering of data, which is where you store your doctor files, patient files, inventory files and so on. These data entry problems can range from something as simple as a piece of data not saving correctly to losing whole chunks of information or even a whole database.

The third part of the system where you are going to run into problems is the actual billing of claims. This is where you run into the largest variety of problems because billing itself covers such a wide area. This installment will probably be further broken up into smaller installments in order to cover everything and not give you information overload.

The fourth part of the system where you are going to run into problems is with the printing of forms. This is another part of the medical billing system that is so complex because of the large number of forms that sometimes trying to determine the cause of the problem can be extremely difficult at best. These problems range from something simple like a form not lining up to fields not printing at all.

The fifth part of the system where you are going to run into problems is with your add ons. Because there are so many different add ons for medical billing packages, there is no one troubleshooting method that works for all of them, especially when you're dealing with something as complex as barcoding or retail sales equipment.

The sixth part of the system where you are going to run into problems is with security and administration. This is probably the last place you want to have a problem because security is so critical. These problems can run from something as simple as a person who is supposed to have access to a module not having that access to somebody literally breaking into the system.

The final part of the system where you are going to run into problems is with the communications system. This comes into play when you're doing things like electronically billing or running an online update for the system itself.

We'll be covering all of these topics in more detail in our future medical billing installments for troubleshooting your software.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Medical Billing

How to Choose the Correct Chiropractic Billing Software

One important step in finding the perfect chiropractic billing software program to fit your needs is to take a look at your existing computer equipment. With system needs changing on a virtually daily basis, it is necessary that the software program you choose be compatible with your hardware.

You also have the option of upgrading your system if it is not currently compatible with the software option you choose.

Giving a rough estimate, there are approximately 30 different vendors that deal in chiropractic billing software. Prices can range from a couple hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. While cost is certainly a consideration, assuring that you get the best quality software to meet your needs should be the primary consideration. Many new chiropractors, fresh out-of-school may decide to go with a discount software solution in order to save costs. Experts in the field suggest that skimping on costs in the beginning can cause a huge headache in the future. It is often a lot of trouble and work to change over systems; not to mention that your files will temporarily be on hold while the change occurs. A good word of advice is to thoroughly examine your needs and then choose the appropriate chiropractic billing software program for your practice base your decision on need, not cost.

Chiropractic billing software can be a godsend for many practices. Not only will you save valuable space from limiting your need for paper files, your office staff will also be able to retrieve important medical information in a virtual instant. Most offices claim that the best aspect of the electronic billing software is the ability to instantly file insurance claims. This is an excellent way to reduce the cost of office staff and postage. Many of these billing software programs also have a built-in clearinghouse feature to enable the business manager to track and locate any outstanding claims.

Those using some of the more advanced chiropractic billing software programs are able to perform a wide variety of tasks that, in the past, could have taken hours or even days. Some programs allow the administrator to submit claims on a patient to multiple insurance companies. Other programs make billing less complicated when dealing with HCFA, Workers Compensation and Medicare: these programs have the necessary forms built into the program and are easily accessed. It is obvious that there is a plethora of variances in software; the key is to know what you need in a program and search for one that closely resembles your needs.

Chiropractic Software provides detailed information on chiropractic billing and office management software, as well as detailed chiropractic software product comparisons. For more information go to http://www.e-chiropracticsoftware.com and/or visit our affiliate site at http://www.original-content.net

Outsourcing Dilemma Of Electronic Medical Billing Software And Service

Statistics show that both in-house and outsourced billing services may deliver superior or inadequate billing performance. On one hand, only 5.66% of “better-performing practices” outsource their billing. In other words, the vast majority of “better-performing practices” achieve adequate billing performance in-house. On the other hand, less than 83% of payments are paid to an average practice within the first four months since the date of service. Worse, 59% of in-house billers do not review explanations of benefits and 55% of billers have never appealed a denied claim. In other words, the average medical practice delivers almost one fifth of its services for free because in-house billing fails to provide adequate payment performance.

Can an outsourced electronic medical billing software and service improve or expedite payments and reduce costs? This article revisits key arguments for and against billing outsourcing in light of increasing complexity and regulatory scrutiny of billing processes.

 

1. Arguments FOR outsourced billing service:

    

    

   1. Improved billing performance in spite of continuously reduced fee schedules, growing billing complexity, frequent audits, and payer consolidation into larger networks
   2. Extra time and focus on patient care and/or practice development
   3. Reduced operating costs

    

   Billing performance improvement is typically measured in reduced accounts receivable, faster median payment, and reduced underpayment and denial ratios. The practice owner uses the extra time for the family, patient care, or practice development. The cost gains are typically measured in salaries and benefits of reduced billing personnel. It is important to keep in mind that a 10% improvement in overall billing quality means ten times more to the practice bottom line than a 1% reduction in billing fees. Therefore, if an outsourced billing service provider is able to significantly improve billing performance, cost reduction may be marginal in comparison to a total contribution to the practice bottom line.

    

2. Arguments AGAINST outsourced billing service:

    

    

   1. Upcoding risk
   2. Deficient follow up

    

   If the billing service charges a percentage of total collections, then, according to the upcoding argument, the service has an incentive to code a CPT code with a higher return often contradicting medical notes on hand. As the practice owner is ultimately responsible for the medical claims, such a billing service exposes the owner to upcoding felony charges. On the other hand, the practice owner with in-house billing operation pays flat salaries to the billing personnel eliminating the incentive for upcoding.

   The deficient denial followup argument is a variation of a “zero-sum argument.” It is based on an assumption that billing service provider’s capacity for a followup process is limited and clients must compete for it. A win for one client must necessarily be a loss for another. By driving such followup activity down to zero, the billing service provider wins at the expense of every one of his clients. The larger is the client base of the billing service, the more it wins, while the payments to each individual client continue to shrink because of the increasingly bad follow up.

   In the extreme case, when the electronic billing software and service provider has no ability to follow up at all (for instance, when the service is offered at excessively low prices, such as 4%), the provider ends up losing twice, first, by paying a fee for the automatically paid claims, and then, by receiving no service on underpayments and leaving major part of earned compensation to the insurer. On the other hand, the practice owner with in-house billing operation has all of its billing capacity focused on followup for a single practice and so the in-house billing service will necessarily bring better results than the outsourced service.

    

3. Counter-argument analysis

    

    

   1. Upcoding argument is irrelevant for doctors that code themselves using an electronic or even paper superbill. Next, if the biller is expected to code, then the practice owner must ensure that its compliance process protects both the practice and the billing service. The penalties for noncompliance have been steadily escalating in the recent decade and today include financial, licensure, and imprisonment aspects. A practice without a compliance process faces a higher risk of failing a random post-payment audit and paying higher penalties than a practice with a formal compliance process in place. Once a comprehensive process is implemented fully and reliably, the practice owner eliminates major risk regardless of having billing service in-house or outsourced.

       

       

   2. Measuring billing quality exposes the fallacy of zero-sum argument. If a medical practice performing in-house billing demonstrates lower percent of accounts receivable beyond 120 days than the national average (17.7%) then its billers do have better followup performance and the comparative analysis reduces to comparing total in-house costs to billing office fees. Again, since a 10% improvement in overall billing quality means ten times more to the practice bottom line than a 1% reduction in billing fees, an outsourced billing service provider charging a percentage of total collections has a larger incentive to improve overall payment performance than to sell the service to another medical practice.

 

Recent progress made by industry leaders in terms of overall billing quality and included services confirms this analysis. Aggressive upfront claim scrubbing, real-time compliance analysis, automated denial followup are just a few of activities, provided by modern Vericle-type billing software to enable continuous improvement of billing performance in step with growing scale and number of clients. Other important developments include billing workflow integration with practice management tools, including patient scheduling, electronic medical records (EMR) or SOAP notes, and real-time reporting and alert generation.

In conclusion, abstract arguments for and against outsourced electronic medical billing are pointless as both sides can be shown right or wrong depending on specific and quantitative performance measures. Practice owners must establish objective performance and compliance criteria and use them systematically and within individual practice context when addressing the question of medical billing outsourcing.

Yuval Lirov, PhD, author of "Practicing Profitability - Network Effect for Revenue Cycle Control in Healthcare Clinic and Chiropractic Office: Scheduling, SOAP Notes, Care Plans, Coding, Billing, Collections, and Audit Risk" (Affinity Billing) and "Mission Critical Systems Management" (Prentice Hall), inventor of patents in Artificial Intelligence and Computer Security, and CEO of Vericle.net - Distributed Billing and Practice Management Technologies. Yuval invites you to register to the next webinar on audit risk at BillingPrecision.com.