Out of network patients – collecting the money
Offer out-of-network patients a good prompt payment discount for payment at time of service then allow them to decide what to do. Unless they are in HMOs, these patients will... Read More >
Medicare retroactive billing period reduced to 30 days
nbsp According to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, physicians will be able to retroactively bill Medicare for services your physician rendered up to days prior to the date he or... Read More >
Empower your administrators and managers
Give your manager or administrator the authority to manage all employees. When physicians don t accord the office manger the full measure of respect for his or her skills, it... Read More >
Avoid assigning E/M codes based solely on documentation length
nbsp Coding an E M visit based on the physician s documentation is an art form but selecting a code simply based on the volume of documentation is just bad... Read More >
Transitional discounts for out-of-network patients
nbsp If you have recently terminated a contract with an insurance carrier and now have become an out of network provider, how best to deal with your affected patients? Of... Read More >
Uncomfortable collecting patient copays?
nbsp There are many front desk people who are uncomfortable asking patients for copays even though it is part of their job description. Is there any easy way to overcome... Read More >
The Checklist For Clean Claims
Clean Claim Checklist Ensure Accurate Submissions Every Time Has your office ever received a claim that was denied due to insufficient initial reporting? If not, consider yourself in the minority,... Read More >
Ensure patient documents are legible and complete
nbsp Want to help keep your medical office s documentation crisp, complete and legible? Use this checklist to make sure that your patient files pass muster if an auditor ever... Read More >
Separate reception and telephone staff (If you can)
No matter what sort of technology you use to keep communications flowing efficiently, some days it seems the phones never stop ringing in your practice. Callers require appointments the same... Read More >
Hospital-Physician relationships – the Feds want to know more about them
nbsp The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services CMS has confirmed that it plans to proceed with plans to distribute the Disclosure of Financial Relationships Report DFRR to private sector,... Read More >
Let’s get down and tweet
nbsp Okay, I ve finally succumbed to all of those pundits that say you need a twitter account to further your communications with clients, colleagues, friends, etc ..like any gives... Read More >
The dreaded favored nations clause
nbsp While you are in the process of renegotiating your contract with a managed care carrier, they want you to sign an agreement that states that the rate being offered... Read More >
HIPAA: Children in the office
Reproduced from name of publication HCPro, Inc., Hoods Lane, Marblehead, MA . - . www.hcpro.com. Used with permission. What if one of your employees on occasions have one of their... Read More >
Full Exam Rooms Could Mean Empty Promises
Warning Where people wait really doesn t matter So you ve gotten all of the patients out of the waiting room, and you re staring at a nice collection of... Read More >
Feds to Crack Down on Consulting Fee Kickbacks
An article from the New York Times on March , discusses statements by federal prosecutors that they plan to crack down on physicians who receive consulting fees from drug companies... Read More >
Stay Out of Phone Triage Crossfire
nbsp When people call their doctors, they usually know what they want an appointment, to speak with the nurse, to renew a prescription, etc. But sometimes patients aren t so... Read More >
Younger Boomers Doing Worse Job of Saving than Elders
Older Baby Boomers this includes physicians appear to be doing a better job of preparing for retirement than younger Boomers this also includes you younger physicians out there , though... Read More >
E-Mail Procedures to Protect You and Your Office
nbsp Ever sent an e-mail in the heat of anger that you would give a week s pay to retrieve, or lost an e-mail that would have proved the office... Read More >
Keep Patient Wait Times Short
nbsp According to the American Medical Association, patients spend an average of minutes waiting for their appointments. This may not be surprising to you, but it can seem like a... Read More >
Is overhead really to blame for today’s woes?
nbsp I recently saw the recent blurb in an email newsletter called Physician News Briefs Diagnostic clinic short on docs Once a vibrant and expanding practice in the medical community,... Read More >
A few ways to tackle patient tardiness head-on
How to Handle Chronically Late Patients and Keep Your Schedule Running Smoothly Every medical practice has them the chronic latecomers and the consistently inconsistent. They are the patients who try... Read More >
Use 3 Tips to Track Copay Collections
Ensuring Cash Accountability in Medical Practice Three Key Strategies The hard part is over You ve got the dough. Now you ve just got to keep track of it. Here... Read More >
The 10 Commandments of Patient Service
nbsp When a patient is sick, every slight seems like a major injury. And it s easy to offend patients when you re dealing with a torrent of them in... Read More >
2009 ASC Valuation Survey
nbsp The HealthCare Appraiser, Inc. ASC Valuation Survey results have been released and provide insight into the ASC acquisition market for and trends in . For the past six years,... Read More >
Guard Patient Privacy at the Front Desk
nbsp By now everyone should be in HIPAA compliance and know the rules. Here are three things that you may not have thought about, but could land your practice in... Read More >
Rev up referrals and increase practice revenue
nbsp Whether you work in a primary-care or a specialist s office, referrals are key to good patient care and profitability. Don t let the front desk be a weak... Read More >
Listen to patient complaints—they can lead to lawsuits
You may not think that you can do anything to help your practice avoid a malpractice claim, but you are wrong. According to a study in the Journal of the... Read More >
Improve your verification process with this checklist
Implement these insurance verification suggestions to save yourself time and headaches Be proactive. Ask about insurance when any patient, new or established, makes an appointment. Verify it. Verify coverage before... Read More >
Urgent Walk-Ins, Angry Waiting Room
Read the following question I recently received below and decide how you would handle it. Question I m a receptionist at a busy practice. We have a lot of urgent-care... Read More >
HIPAA Help: Shred It, Burn It — But Do It Right
nbsp You handle millions of scraps of paper every day, enough for a whole forest. And inevitably you have to get rid of lots of them. But there are a... Read More >
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As a top advisor to physicians, I help increase practice profits by delivering hands-on, expert medical accounting/tax support, practice counsel, and revenue-building strategies. Read More >
