In today’s economic environment, the timely collection of all earned revenue is not a luxury—it’s a necessity. That’s true for all practices – not just specialty ones. At Regional Urology Enterprise, for example, I’ve had to navigate the revenue pitfalls associated with imaging and radiation treatments. What I’ve learned, though, is practices that leverage technology to improve efficiency, streamline workflow, and proactively identify and respond to systemic issues can ensure they collect all the money they earn.

I consider my practice’s automated clearinghouse as one example of technology that kills two birds with one stone: it improves our overall performance while it also enhances the bottom line. We use it in a variety ways, but most notably to:

Read More

Thank you to everyone who joined us on December 6 for our latest webinar, 5010 and ICD-10 – What You Must Know Now. During the one-hour event, industry expert, Ken Bradley, Vice President of Strategic Planning at Navicure, discussed where the industry is and where your practice should be with regards to 5010 and ICD-10; what to do if you have not begun preparing for 5010; how to fix the biggest problems practices are having with the 5010 requirements; and what steps you can take for ICD-10 revenue management success.

To learn more about how you can prepare for these two transitions, click here  to download the webinar recording.

Read More

It’s that time of year again. Medicare fees are in danger of being slashed for 2012 and your revenue will be impacted.   Bah humbug! Since Medicare is a huge payer, almost every medical organization across the country will feel the impact of any cuts that are made. So, it is important to know how to quickly calculate the potential impact on your overall electronic payment revenue.

For this blog, I am going to use the following formula to determine the percentage impact to overall monthly electronic payment revenue:

Read More

2012 will bring many new challenges and opportunities for managing reimbursement and payment programs at medical practices. Are you prepared to help your practice avoid pitfalls and take charge in the coming year?

Join us on Thursday, January 5 at 1:00 pm EST, for a complimentary webinar, Reimbursement Reality 2012: The Challenges – and Opportunities – for Medical Practices. Register Now.

During the one-hour webinar, nationally recognized revenue cycle expert and author Elizabeth Woodcock, MBA, FACMPE, CPC, will offer advice about managing the reimbursement environment and will discuss:

Read More

Medicare has announced that it plans to delay enforcement of the 5010 electronic transaction standards—but not the compliance date. (For those of you who lived through the initial HIPAA electronic transactions and code sets implementation in 2003, the announcement may feel like déjà vu.)

On November 17, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of E-Health Standards and Services (OESS) issued a press release stating that it will not enforce compliance with the new 5010 transaction standards until March 31, 2012. However, the actual compliance date remains January 1, 2012.

Read More

Keeping on top of your revenue cycle is not a once-a-week or twice-a-week job. Every day, practices should enter charges, submit claims, and work any rejections and denials. The more attention these various efforts get, the faster your practice will get paid.

Setting expectations is the key—especially in a busy office with so many other pressing duties to attend to. The only way to ensure a constant flow of revenue is to set expectations for physicians, coders, and billing staff regarding timeliness and efficiency.

Read More

We’ve all seen—or asked—a question like this:

“I work for a provider who doesn’t submit claims electronically, and doesn’t plan to start because he’s retiring in a few years. How does 5010 affect providers who still submit claims on paper?”

Search for the answer and you’ll find a lot of confusion. Many, for example, are under the impression that after Jan. 1, 2012, all payers are obligated to ban paper claims and allow only electronic transactions. That’s not quite true.

Read More

Every practice wants to receive payment for claims in a timely manner. When payment moves past the 30 day mark, it can represent a cash flow issue at the very least—and potentially lost revenue in the worst case.

When I took over as practice administrator at Arkansas Allergy and Asthma Clinic three years ago, I inherited a lot of backlogged claims. With two dedicated billing staff to handle more than 60,000 claims each year, we all had to make a commitment to whittle away at our aging accounts receivable (A/R).

Read More

The HIPAA 5010 transition deadline is January 1, 2012. Is your practice prepared? If not, your bottom line will suffer.

Time is running out, but if you take the proper steps now, you can be ready. Since 5010 enables ICD-10, come January 1, the industry will have completed its first step towards ICD-10 compliance. However, ICD-10 will have a much bigger impact than 5010 and will require providers to re-think all processes. Practices must be preparing for ICD-10 now.

Join us on Tuesday, December 6 at 1:00 pm EST, for a free webinar: 5010 and ICD-10 – What You Must Know Now. Register Now.

During this hour, you’ll hear industry expert, Ken Bradley, Vice President of Strategic Planning at Navicure, discuss:

• Where the industry is and where your practice should be with regards to 5010 and ICD-10
• What to do if you have not begun preparing for 5010
• How to fix the biggest problems practices are having with the 5010 requirements
• What steps you can take for ICD-10 revenue management success

Make sure that your practice is prepared for these transitions.

 Participants can earn 1.0 Continuing Education Unit (CEU) from the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) by attending.

Register Now.

Thank you to everyone who joined us on November 3 for our latest webinar, Increase Revenue – Take Your Appeals to the Next Level. During the one-hour event, industry expert  Tammy Tipton, president of Appeal Solutions, the leading denial management training and resources company, discussed how to easily customize your appeal letters for Level II appeals; use carrier appeal form letters most effectively; and address poor quality appeal review.

To learn more about how your practice can improve your appeal letters process and improve your revenue cycle, click here to download the webinar recording.

This program meets AAPC guidelines for 1.0 Core A or 1.0 CPCO specialty CEUs. On Demand product requires successful completion of a Post Test for continuing education units.