A Pearl from Physician’s Practice

Here’s a snippet from the latest copy of Physicians Practice Pearls®, a free weekly newsletter from the publishers of Physicians Practice, America’s Leading Practice Management Journal. To review the current issue of the journal or to read archived articles, visit www.PhysiciansPractice.com. Enjoy!

Go ahead. Get serious about patient collections. Run a report. A greater percentage of your revenue is probably coming directly from patients — and not from payers — than it was last year. This is due to higher copays and deductibles, more health savings plans, and a growing roster of uninsured patients. It’s time for your practice to put patient collections into high gear.

Here are four keys to success:

• Arm your front desk. Much of the action in patient collections happens here. These folks need the info and know-how to do a good job, so give them access to data on past-due accounts. They should collect on such accounts when patients check in, or they should arrange for those with accounts over a certain amount to meet privately before their appointment with a biller or financial counselor to resolve the matter.

  Also, teach your front-desk staff how to access payer Web sites as part of the pre-registration process to identify accurate copay amounts, as what’s on a patient’s insurance card may not be up to date. They’ll need hardcore training on how to ask, politely but insistently, for payment now.

  One terrific practice-tested tip: Put billers at the front desk. Billers know which patients walking in the door owe money, and they are well equipped to answer tricky financial questions.

• Speed up payment. If you can’t collect at the time of service, send out the first patient statement as soon as possible. Make sure it clearly states what is owed, why, and exactly how to pay. If you don’t already offer online payment, set it up (consider PayPal for this purpose). Send a second statement in the next cycle, ideally within the same month. Then, no more statements. Your next letter to patients gives them 10 days to pay up, or the debt goes off to collections. Then follow through.
• Get the debt reassigned. If patients don’t have enough cash to pay you directly, suggest they secure some type of loan. This could simply be through regular credit card payments. If that’s not a viable option, suggest that the patient contact an agency that extends loans for healthcare debts, such as www.carecredit.com.
• Target big balances. If patient collections are out of control, work the backlog by attacking the largest accounts first, rather than working alphabetically or chronologically. The more you can get the big collections off your books, the better.

Patient accounts need as much attention as payer accounts do these days. It is well within reason for you to appropriately collect what you have earned.

(Content for this post courtesy of Physician’s Practice—Pamela Moore, CPC, PhD, is senior editor, practice management, for Physicians Practice. She can be reached at pmoore@physicianspractice.com)

AdvancedMD Medical Billing Software Surpasses 10 Million Patient Records

Salt Lake City, UT (PRWEB) July 25, 2007 — AdvancedMD, the leading provider of Web-based practice management solutions for physician offices and medical billing services, announced today that over 10 million patient records are secured within AdvancedMD’s electronic medical record (EMR) and medical billing software.

“Physicians nationwide are looking for better ways to ensure their patient records are safe, secure and accessible when they need them,” said President & CEO Jim Pack. “AdvancedMD provides a level of IT infrastructure and security that would be virtually impossible for our clients to achieve on their own.”

AdvancedMD’s Web-based medical billing software employs world-class physical and electronic data security measures to ensure their clients’ data is impervious to break-ins, natural disasters, employee mishaps, hackers, etc.

The system backs up client data every hour of every day, verifies the integrity of the backup and then stores the data in multiple off-site data centers. AdvancedMD reports over 99.99% uptime and offers secure anytime, anywhere access for providers and medical billing services utilizing the application.

About AdvancedMD Software
AdvancedMD Software, Inc., headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, is the leader in Web-based medical billing and practice management software. AdvancedMD Software brings to market AdvancedMD, a full-featured billing and scheduling solution and AdvancedEMR, a flexible electronic medical records management system. AdvancedMD solutions include free technical support, world-class security, and fully HIPAA compliant accessibility. AdvancedMD maintains a 98% customer retention rate and serves thousands of providers nationwide. For more information please visit www.advancedmd.com.

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Transcription Services? No problem.

In case you weren’t aware, AdvancedMD recently partnered with transcription provider, MxSecure, to provide our clients a seamless integration of AdvancedMD’s practice management/EMR software with MxSecure’s transcription software. What does this mean? As an AdvancedMD client you can enjoy all the benefits of your current practice management/EMR solution offers and also receive a tightly integrated quality transcription service. This seamless integration can help your group practice improve workflow, lower overall costs and allow easy access to all patient records. To learn how you can start your seamless integration today contact 888.580.1010 or visit www.MxSecure.com.

Attention Medicare Providers!

It has come to the attention of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that some Clearinghouses are stripping the National Provider Identifier (NPI) prior to submission of the claim to Medicare. This will adversely affect Eligible Professionals in that these claims will not count toward PQRI participation. CMS urges Eligible Professionals that use clearinghouses to check with their clearinghouse to assure NPIs are not being stripped from claims. If the Eligible Professional determines that their clearinghouse is stripping NPIs from the claim, the Eligible Professional may want to consider other billing options.

A recent Special Edition MLN Matters article contains important information for Medicare providers and suppliers, including how to use the NPI correctly on Part A and Part B claims. You can view this article by visiting http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/SE0725.pdf on the CMS website.

(Content for this post courtesy of the Healthcare Billing & Management Association)

AdvancedMD mentioned in Physicians Practice Magazine!

In the July/August 2007 issue of Physicians Practice AdvancedMD was mentioned in the article Billing: Coding Made Easier by Pamela L. Moore PhD. Take a look below for a snippet of the article!

The goals: Better productivity for your billing staff and fewer days in accounts receivable.
Donna Knapper, who runs DRK Billing Specialists, based in Phoenix, used AdvancedMD, another revenue-cycle management company, to fix billing problems for her client, Arizona Back Institute. When Knapper arrived, Medicare owed the practice more than $825,000. Using the revenue-cycle management program, she brought that number down to just $3,000 in 30 days with 100 percent allowable payment.
“The practice couldn’t get any claims for Medicare paid and couldn’t figure out why,” Knapper says. “I saw that claims were being resubmitted over and over. They were mostly being denied because they were missing a modifier, but when staff called Medicare, Medicare just said, ‘The claim is missing something,’ and the staff didn’t know what. They don’t know where to find answers and fix the problem.”
The revenue-cycle management tool helped them identify the problem quickly.
Knapper also likes knowing if a claim needs a correction when she submits it, rather than waiting 60 or 90 days to get a denial. She looks for alerts immediately. If a claim is just missing an ID number, she explains, you don’t want staff spinning their wheels trying to figure out what’s wrong with the coding.

For the full article Billing: Coding Made Easier pick up the latest issue of Physicians Practice or visit www.physicianspractice.com.

Decrease Costs & Increase Revenues

A recent addition to the AdvancedMD Whitepapers is a document entitled, Decrease Costs & Increase Revenues. This brilliant document shows just how much physican offices and medical billing services could be saving if they utilized a Web-based medical office solutions. Take a look.

The advent of technology in the medical industry is exposing many operational inefficiencies and redundancies that were previously unnoticed or unavoidable. Technology has improved medical office claims management, A/R balances, data storage, and coding so significantly that doctors are investing in updated computer systems in an effort to stay competitive. Market analysts estimate that the U.S. Healthcare System is so inefficient that 24 cents out of every dollar are wasted on administrative and billing expenses. Aside from these quantifiable costs, outdated office technology and software can additionally impact the bottom line with inefficient billing processes and superfluous administrative expenses.

According to a Modern Physician/Price Waterhouse Coopers survey, medical practice technology usage increases 40% every year. Reasons for adopting technology include: business performance improvements, increased clinical quality and to help manage practice growth.

Whether you are a physician practice or a third-party billing service, AdvancedMD, a practice management and EMR solution provider, utilizes progressive Web-based technology to improve operations and reduce costs to the extent that it is difficult to overlook the impact on the profitability of a medical practice.

Read the full whitepaper Decrease Costs & Increase Revenues

Getting Familiar with PQRI

The CMS Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) is a new CMS program that provides a way for physicians to report quality measures using the process that they already use to submit claims. AdvancedMD has investigated this initiative and prepared this document to help you understand what it means to you.

What is PQRI?

PQRI is a CMS initiative that establishes a financial incentive for eligible professionals to participate in a voluntary quality reporting program. Eligible professionals who successfully report a designated set of quality measures on claims for dates of service from July 1 to December 31, 2007, may earn a bonus payment, subject to a cap, of 1.5% of total allowed charges for covered Medicare physician fee schedule services. No registration is needed to participate; only an NPI and Tax ID number are required.

For more information on the specifics of PQRI, eligible professionals, and the bonus payment see http://www.cms.hhs.gov/pqri/.

The full text of Section 101 of Division B of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (TRHCA) which mandates the establishment of a physician quality reporting system by CMS is available on the CMS website at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/pqri.

Why Should I Participate?

According to CMS, PQRI is the first step toward linking Medicare health professionals’ payments to quality, which is expected to evolve over time into a value-based purchasing or pay-for-performance program. The first year provides an opportunity for physicians and other eligible professionals to gain experience with quality reporting. Participants in the PQRI will also receive confidential feedback reports about their practices and may earn incentive bonuses. (Reference CMS PQRI FAQ ID 8332)

Understanding the Program

The CMS site is loaded with information on how to handle PQRI. We recommend reviewing PQRI Educational Resource downloads and the PQRI Tool Kit to help you understand the specifics of PQRI and how to select and implement PQRI measures. Additionally, PQRI FAQs and transcripts of sponsored calls can also be very useful in answering questions you might have.

CMS PQRI Educational Resources can be found at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI/30_EducationalResources.asp.

The CMS PQRI Tool Kit can be found at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI/31_PQRIToolKit.asp.

CMS PQRI FAQs can be found in the Related Links Inside CMS section on the PQRI Overview page at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI/01_Overview.asp.

Information on CMS sponsored calls and transcripts of previous sponsored calls can be found in the Downloads section on the PQRI CMS Sponsored Calls page at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI/02_CMSSponsoredCalls.asp.

AdvancedMD is a Gold Sponsor of the Upcoming HBMA Fall Annual Show!

September 6-8 AdvancedMD will be exhibiting as a Gold Sponsor of the Healthcare Billing & Management Association’s Fall Annual Conference in Las Vegas, NV! We’re excited to support HBMA in their mission to “promote promote the professional image of the healthcare billing industry, educate members, foster cooperation and networking among HBMA members and cultivate working relationships with local Medicare, Medicaid, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and other insurance carriers, as well as state and other relevant government agencies.”

Mark your calendars and make plans to attend the show at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. You can sign up as an attendee by visiting the HBMA Web site. Once you’re there, stop by both #309 and visit with AdvancedMD to discuss your medical billing needs!

AdvancedMD is dedicated to helping you build your billing business. Our Web-native billing software, AdvancedMD, gives you seamless access to all your client databases with a single login—anytime, anywhere. We also let you easily grant data access to your clients—at no extra cost to you. This not only means you can painlessly give your clients what they want; it also means real-time access to patient data, and it can slash the time you spend manually entering charges. All this equals increased profitability and more selling points for your company.

AdvancedMD also has powerful tools for auditing your employees’ productivity and workload—whether they work onsite or elsewhere. And we work for you: we manage your relationship with the clearinghouse and provide unlimited free technical support—with a support staff that has medical billing experience.

If you’re looking for a solution that streamlines your work and helps you set yourself apart from your competition, come ask us about all the ways we can help. AdvancedMD has the features and functionality that enable you to attract new clients and delight the ones you have. Visit us at www.advancedmd.com or call 1-800-825-0224 to learn more today!

We’ll see you in Vegas!

Leading Medical Billing Software Company Launches Humorous Web Video Campaign

Salt Lake City, UT (PRWEB) July 1, 2007 — AdvancedMD, the leading provider of Web-based practice management solutions for physician offices and medical billing services, launches a Web video campaign promoting its industry leading medical billing and electronic medical record (EMR) software. The campaign features three humorous video clips depicting a few potential pitfalls related to older server-based medical billing applications.

“We’re excited to launch this new video campaign to our prospects,” said Lane Peterson, Vice President of Marketing for AdvancedMD. “These videos not only align with the personality of AdvancedMD as a company, but also AdvancedMD’s dedication to utilizing the best technologies available in our products and services as well as our promotional efforts.”

We’re excited to launch this new video campaign to our prospects
AdvancedMD offers unparalleled data security and availability through its unique Web-based medical practice management suite. Physicians and medical billing businesses using AdvancedMD enjoy free live technical support, free unlimited data backups and free software updates.

To view the videos visit www.advancedmd.com/movie/default.asp.

About AdvancedMD Software:
AdvancedMD Software, Inc., headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, is the leader in Web-based practice management and medical billing software. AdvancedMD Software brings to market AdvancedMD, a full-featured medical billing and scheduling solution and AdvancedEMR, a flexible electronic medical records management system. AdvancedMD solutions include free technical support, world-class security, and fully HIPAA compliant accessibility. AdvancedMD maintains a 98% customer retention rate and serves thousands of providers nationwide. For more information please visit www.advancedmd.com.

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Happy 4th of July from AdvancedMD!

Ok, I know that it’s only the third, but AdvancedMD offices will be closed tomorrow to observe Independence Day. We hope that you all have a fun, safe holiday! Watch some fireworks, have a barbeque, go swimming and enjoy the day with friends and family!