US will continue to be the largest market for health IT, due to incentives being given by the government for health IT purchases. According to a report from Global Industry Analysts, the global market for health IT products is forecasted to reach $66 billion by 2020. This increase will be mostly driven by the desire of providers to increase profitability. Cardiology coding differs from another specialty coding in many ways
Cardiologists in the US are also taking advantage of these incentive payments by fulfilling Meaningful Use requirements. The number of cardiologists receiving Meaningful Use incentive payments in the US increased to a total of 12,948 by March 2013. Over the preceding 12 months, this number represents an increase of 9,279 cardiologists who qualified for payment incentives. This also exceeded the American College of Cardiology’s informal goal of additional 8000 cardiologists.
- Cardiologists make up 2.5 to 3% of all physicians in the US; however, in March 2013, they represented approximately 7.5% of all providers who received incentives for meeting MU requirements
- Approximately 7.6% of $2.9 billion was awarded to Cardiologists in 2013
- As opposed to 40% of all physicians, 55% of cardiologists have incorporated eligible electronic health record systems in their practice
- Cardiologists who received incentive payments represent nearly 50% of the estimated 26,000 practicing cardiologists in the US
MU challenges being faced by cardiologists:
Cardiologists can increase their earnings by showing eligibility for these incentives; however, challenges related to selection and implementation of quality electronic health record system, lack of skilled staff, time, money, and stringent healthcare reforms are stopping many providers from meeting MU requirements.
How can streamlined cardiology billing help?
If your cardiology practice is struggling with medical billing issues, it will affect your revenue cycle and ability to implement electronic health records effectively. It is extremely important to get the financial strengthen of your practice back on track because preparation for MU incentives will require you to devote sufficient time in selecting, implementing an electronic health record system, and training your staff on how to use them. You might also have to hire experienced coders and billers who should be proficient in handling billing operations along with a health record system.
With healthcare reforms increasing pressure on providers, including cardiologists, outsourcing billing and health record need to a third party has become popular. By hiring a reputed billing company, cardiologists can be assured of timely reimbursements and expert help regarding electronic health record implementation. This will eliminate their headache of hiring, training staff, and managing HIPAA-compliant cardiology billing.
Medicalbillersandcoders.com is a reputed billing company with the largest consortium of coders and billers in the US. Our expert team has been helping practices, including cardiologists solve billing challenges for improved profitability and prepare for MU incentives. MBC offers assistance in the successful selection and implementation of an electronic health record system. Our coders and billers are certified and experienced in handling coding and billing challenges for cardiologists with the help of the latest technology. While we concentrate on strengthening your revenue cycle, you can concentrate on MU requirements and patient care.