Coding is a very crucial step in a clinic’s revenue cycle process and coders need to keep themselves updated with changing industry regulations and norms to remain competitive. But the question is how? The latest online coding resources offered by the American Medical Association have come as a blessing for the coders by providing electronic […]
ICD-10 Implementation: An update for physicians and coders
The transition to ICD-10 is much more than a mere increase in codes and field sizes. The descriptions of diagnosis codes in ICD-10 may be very different to what coders are used to seeing and using in ICD-9. Therefore, the complexity in transition is significant and shouldn’t be avoided by medical coders. An easier and […]
Synchronizing ePrescribing, PQRS, and EHR Criteria
There can be many issues with a conventional paper prescription issued by a doctor. To begin with, most chemists find it difficult to understand illegible handwriting on the prescription, leading to disbursement of wrong drugs or dosages. Secondly, patients may need to return to the doctor for changes in the prescription, such as, extending it, […]
The Top 5 States for Physicians to Practice Medicine
The best states in the US for practicing medicine can be determined by taking a holistic view of the state of health care in that particular area and comparing it with other places. Some states are surprisingly physician-friendly while some may not be very suitable for physicians in certain specialties. The ranking can be based […]
‘Meaningful Use’ completed its one year: How far has your practice reached?
Meaningful use of EHR or Electronic Health Records is one of the most discussed and debated topics in the recent heath care reforms. The main components of ‘Meaningful Use’ include the use of certified EHR technology for meaningful use such as ePrescribing, electronic exchange of health information to enhance healthcare quality, and submit clinical quality […]
Assess the capability of your workforce: Is your clinic administration in the right hands?
The capability of your workforce as a physician is directly impacted by the number of people you hire and the efficiency of the staff. Ideally every business entity needs to find the right balance between the number of people employed and the profits or revenue that they help generate. This factor along with the efficiency […]
The Need for a Long-Term Solution to the Perennial SGR Problem
The decade old uncertainty over fixing a permanent solution to Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) is set to continue with the House deciding not to set off the accumulated deficit (25% for 2011) against primary care physicians till the end of this year. Although a temporary relief for doctors, the absence of a permanent solution will […]
Towards Realizing Medical Data Integration Nationally
The benefits of Integrating Medical Data nationally can be far-reaching. Given its multi-applicability, Macro-level Medical Integration Of Data can enable enhanced medical service and cost-efficiency, privacy compliance as per HIPAA, transparent billing and coding as per CPT, ICD-9, & HCPCS procedures, ready availability of health data for numerous references and verifications, advanced clinical research with […]
Redefining the Role of Billers and Coders in the Wake of Ensuing Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Act
Amongst the many farsighted health reforms that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) has floated is the concept of Accountable Care Organization (ACO). Believed to be a cost-controlling measure on public health expenditure, ACO is a health care model that ensures healthcare providers incentives from the savings made on a pre-assigned […]
Negotiating Payer Contracts for Physicians
The importance of negotiating or renegotiating payer contracts has drastically grown after the recent health care reforms. This is because insurance companies are being reined in by the government and may see a decline in profits. This presents a good opportunity for payer contracts to become a source of income more for the insurance companies […]