Strategies to improve your patients’ wait time experience
The golden rule of customer service is to be on time. However, sometimes your doctor may get backed up, leaving you with some restless and annoyed patients. Here are five... Read More >
Juggling Multiple Phone Lines
Effective Phone Management Keeping Patients Happy Believe it or not, patients will happily wait if handled properly. It would be nice if telephone callers lined up in a row like... Read More >
Take the initiative to prevent no-shows
Preventing patient no-shows has challenged medical offices since the invention of the appointment book. Some practices have gone so far as to charge patients a cancellation fee. Though that clearly... Read More >
Checklist to file clean claims the first time
Have you made sure the policy number and ID number are accurate? obtained insurance eligibility verification? verified other patient information proper name, birth date, address, etc. ? confirmed the information... Read More >
Keeping in mind disaster planning
nbsp This weekend I received the following email from a fellow consultant and friend, Owen Dahl odahl comcast.net who reminds all of us about the importance of disaster planning With... Read More >
A positive attitude improves productivity
You don t have to re-invent the wheel when it comes to practice development. Rather, make it a goal to imitate identified management patterns in top-producing practices, like those tracked... Read More >
Measure charges and take action
nbsp I was recently quoted in the Part B Insider newsletter and here is the article for a free sample of this and other publications, go to http codinginstitute.com request... Read More >
Watch out for HIPAA’s ‘Incidental Uses and Disclosures’
You ve heard all about HIPAA by now, but did you know that you at the front desk could easily be the first line of defense in your office against... Read More >
HHS Publishes First HITECH HIPAA Guidance
On April , , the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services HHS published its first guidance under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health HITECH provisions of... Read More >
Physician Self-Referrals for Imaging Services May Increase Medicare Spending
From Fulbright Jaworski s Washington Update www.fullbright.com In a public meeting on April , , the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission MedPAC discussed the impact of physician self-referrals for imaging services... Read More >
Doctor Liable for Sleeping With Patient, but Fault Shared
nbsp It s not funny but sometimes a good reminder of stupid things that can you one in trouble ..A New York judge has upheld a , jury award in... Read More >
Addressing Decline Payer Reimbursement
Here is a recent email exchange between practice administrators First administrator I was in the dumps already since Aetna and BC BS of Texas alerted us least week of fee... Read More >
Hospital Gainsharing Programs—Ten Years of Guidance
nbsp Over the last ten years, measuring from the date the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General OIG first addressed the issue of gainsharing arrangements in... Read More >
29 down and counting
nbsp Today ends my th consecutive tax season where has time gone by? It s wasn t too bad as compared to years past, mainly because I try to keep... Read More >
Make your help-wanted ads stand out
When it comes to filling open positions with capable staff, writing attractive and competitive classifieds ads remains a must. Here are some things to keep in mind when composing your... Read More >
Red Flags Rule guidance published
The Federal Trade Commission FTC published guidance to help organizations comply with the May enforcement deadline on the Red Flags Rule, which forces hospitals to implement a documented identity theft... Read More >
HIPAA pitfalls at physician practices
Reproduced from name of publication HCPro, Inc., Hoods Lane, Marblehead, MA . - . www.hcpro.com. Used with permission. The following lists the following common HIPAA violations seen regularly in physician... Read More >
Gainsharing starting to get traction
Extending its string of positive advisory opinions involving gainsharing arrangements, over the past few months the OIG has issued three new, favorable gainsharing opinions. While the three gainsharing arrangements reviewed... Read More >
Collecting in challenging times
nbsp It s obvious that with the economy, accounts receivable management is more challenging. The Credit Research Foundation reports among companies an increase in average days delinquent of . in... Read More >
6 strategies to create a meaningful financial performance report
Contracting and financial managers must communicate their practice s performance by presenting data to a variety of audiences, including administrators, governing boards, and physicians. Following are some strategies for examining... Read More >
How to deal with unprepared patients
Dealing with patients who come in without the things they need is tough. So how should you handle it when patients come in without their referrals and such? The best... Read More >
Create an independent business advisory board
Consider creating an independent business advisory board for your practice. To help you cope with the business of leading your medical practice, do like many companies and hospitals do Create... Read More >
Using modifier 22
Generally modifier is used sparingly but that doesn t mean you should never use this modifier at all. When a procedure may require significant additional time or effort that falls... Read More >
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 >
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Accounting and Tax Services Litigation Support Managed Care Consulting Managed Care Contract Negotiations Medical Practice and Healthcare Entity Valuation Medical Practice Assessment Medical Practice Brokerage Medical Practice Embezzlement Consulting Medical Practice Management Medical Practice Merger Advice Medical Strategic Planning Newsletter Personal Financial Planning Oversight Physician Compensation Models Physician Compliance Physician Financial Management Services Retirement UncategorizedAbout Reed Tinsley, CPA
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 >
