patient collections Blog posts

HIPAA AND THE TCPA Did you know that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and HIPAA go hand in hand?

It might not be easy to implement, but some physician practices are guaranteeing patients same-day appointments in order to compete with a growing number of retail clinics, urgent care clinics and telemedicine services.

  Have you Googled your practice or providers lately? Chances are your patients have, and when they did, they were likely inundated with cost and quality ratings to aid them in their decision making as healthcare consumers. Going forward, information and reputation management are an increasingly important part of the job. What’s out there? What […]

Physicians’ path to re-entry after a prolonged break from practicing hasn’t gotten much smoother amid a growing workforce shortage in primary care, according to an article from Kaiser Health News.

Medical billers must have a comprehensive knowledge of various aspects of physician practice management. They must know billing and coding as well as explain the costs of medical treatment to a patient in person. They must also know Medicare/Medicaid regulations, HIPAA, and other complex state/federal guidelines, insurance requirements, and more.

  Despite what doctors learn in medical school about patient billing practices (i.e., keep it in-house), times are changing. Billing is now as complicated as anything else about the business of running a medical practice.

Are you prepared for the value-based health care model? It’s already here but it’s still 2-3 years away from being fully implemented, so now is the time to get prepared so that your practice and your staff are ahead of the game and ready to maximize profitability and sustain growth.

Simply put, a workflow is the pattern and amount of work that comes in and goes out from your office and staff. The key to a good flow is to eliminate those tiny sources of inefficiency, such as inconsistent medical billing or collections, before they begin to inconvenience patients, disrupt your practice, and hinder profitability.

Medical billing and coding are complicated. For many medical practices, they are often overwhelming when combined with all the other responsibilities your staff has. If this process is plaguing your practice, a structured revenue cycle management (RCM) system may need to be implemented to help your practice operate more smoothly and optimize cash flow.

Obviously, collecting payments is crucial to the profitability and cash flow of your medical practice. However, due to the trend these days toward more high-deductible plans and higher co-pays, many patients are finding it difficult to pay their bills.