Otolaryngology is the oldest field of medicine in US, which deals in treating the diseases of the ear, nose, and throat (ENT), sometimes also combining the illnesses related to the area constituting the head and neck. With constantly changing government regulations, and billing and coding errors, otolaryngologists began facing severe problems with decreasing revenues. Thenceforth, a new system known as ENT-Cloud was designed by ENT professionals to eliminate redundancies. This certified web based electronic health records (EHR) and Practice Management Platform aimed to provide for apt and timely reimbursements, whereby the otolaryngologist could concentrate on patient care and increase ENT practice effectiveness.
The ENT-Cloud system:
ENT-Cloud is a web-based system that offers much more than basic ENT templates. Its features lets the physician focus on patients, offers various workflow solutions for the practice, provides ENT quick charting, offers financial success with integrated billing and coding services, and also lets the patient use online interactive tools where they can book their appointments, follow-up on care, and even request for medicine refills. Specially designed for allergy, immunology, and ENT, this system investigates the gaps, as well as the probable financial gains in the revenue cycle. Following this, the software configuration and the workflow of the otolaryngologist are combined to enhance collections.
The integrated billing services in this system include:
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Streamline billing processes:
One needs efficient billing systems for the practice to thrive. In ENT-Cloud, the integrated charge capture feature makes it possible to chart for a procedure which is automatically queued for billing; ruling out the possibility of the front desk, or the billing and coding personnel to re-enter data from a paper bill or chart, thereby minimizing errors.
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Super-bill flow management:
As soon as a patient is added to the schedule, this system automatically verifies insurance and includes the details of copays, deductibles and/or other benefits. Data is captured efficiently, automatically leading to posting of payments. This system also creates alerts for surgeons on global period of visits along with alerts to the front desk on the payment (balance) status of the patient.
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Speedy payments:
As this system deals with electronic payments, the practice's cash flow improves as it happens two weeks sooner than paper bills. Funds get deposited and payments are entered automatically in the system. Electronic EOBs are available with claims for better visibility.
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Reports:
ENT-Cloud runs reports automatically, presenting all the required information for the billing and coding team, so that they may accelerate the speed of payments from insurance agencies and patients. These reports can also be filtered by location, revenues, or aging claims. A graph facility is available to view the trends.
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Billing errors:
Billing is infused with patient registration, charting, scheduling, patient portal etc. Hence, automatic alerts also detail the process which is creating a negative impact on billing, thereby discovering and removing errors before they can actually occur.
Other useful billing features:
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Appointments:
Through ENT-Cloud, one can create specific types of appointments. The system then sends automatic reminders of the patients' visits, so that the physician is aware of the visit. This decreases the number of no-shows thereby optimizing time and workflow. If all visits and procedures are logged, it aids in apt payments.
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Charting:
This system allows charting and provides pre-loaded templates for increasing workflow efficiencies. Using a digital pen, a patient can enter all his data which then synchronizes with the note (system). Physicians can also draw or use the templates given to check the intensity of the pain, add videos and images to the patient chart, or import videos from other in-office procedures.
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Management of a surgical process:
This queue includes all the workflows such as preoperative, peri-operative, post-operated and completed. The consent form is filled and documented in the patient's electronic record which is then uploaded to EHR (automatically via a digital pen). Further, the ENT-Cloud makes ready each step from scheduling to claim submission. In the process, it suggests CPT and modifier codes for apt billing and reimbursements.
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Risk mitigation:
The 4 step ENT workflow combines administrative, front desk, clinical and revenue cycle management functions for a seamless system. Risks are mitigated when all the patient data is entered appropriately the first time. Diagnosis codes are linked to encounter codes for greater and timely reimbursements.
Inference:
The ENT-Cloud system is essential to the growth of the otolaryngology practice. Solo physicians and healthcare centers can use this system to customize the products and services as per their needs for a healthier workflow and revenues.
Published By - Medical Billers and Coders
Published Date - Sep-13-2016
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