Top 5 Reasons to Use Integrated EHR and Medical Billing Software
The process of medical billing and practice management has always been a time-consuming task in the field of clinical practice. Undoubtedly, the EHR systems have reduced and simplified healthcare providers’ human efforts while streamlining their working processes effectively. This is why the healthcare industry is changing, and so are the health providers’ services. They have now started to look for better systems to manage their practice. A recent report says that 89% of providers have agreed that the EHR forms the core of their practice and dominates their decision-making process for selecting a management system.
And this is not all! With simpler EHR, the search and need for intelligent medical billing solutions has also become challenging which has been made easier with its integration with EHR. This integration is a boon with numerous advantages.
Let us delve into the obvious but unsaid benefits of integrated EHR with medical billing software. But before starting, let us also understand what an integrated EHR and medical billing system are.
An Integrated EHR and Medical Billing System
The Electronic Health Records (EHR) integration is defined as the process of accessing medical records seamlessly across all the electronic software solutions. For medical billing systems, this process might look a little complex and requires the HL7 interfaces to exchange the parameters like demographics, patient chart details, charge codes, encounter sheets, patient notes, billing cycle, and more. This would ensure that no data is duplicated and is seamlessly merged with the existing EHR system.
Over the years, integrated EHR and medical billing system received immense popularity. In fact, according to a recent report produced by Fact.MR, the EHR market is expected to rise up to US $23.78 billion in 2022 and anticipate a positive CAGR of 4.5% and attain a value of US$41.8 billion by 2032
The US healthcare providers lose $262 billion annually due to claim denials. The primary reasons for such claim rejections and denials are claim form errors, code mismatch, and missed claim submission due dates but are limited to these. The claim form errors constitute around 40% and 80% of medical bill errors and are the most common reason for claim denials.
These issues have majorly surfaced due to manual data input, improper software settings, and untrained staff, which is common in otherwise healthcare billing software. With the help of electronic medical billing software with EHR, the providers can:
Maintain patient data at one location.
Set notifications for claim submission as per the deadlines.
Set the coding and clinical documentation in one place.
Integrating healthcare medical billing systems into your EHR system would avoid the bulk of manual work like entering the exact details into two different programs and task redundancies, further preventing manual errors, coding errors, and more.
With a comprehensive EHR solution combined with medical billing and coding software, it’s time to improve reimbursement rates.
Improved Interoperability
To avail of the federal incentive programs, the providers and hospitals must prove the meaningful use of certified EHR technology across the market. By integrating the EHR with practice management billing software, the providers are improving patient care and data security while maintaining data centralization.
The term interoperability is not only about seamless communication between external systems; it can also be used to maintain data in one centralized system and seamlessly enable the claim filing process. With the EHR billing integrations being highly interoperable, this allows data sharing with providers and practitioners with access rights. This enables the sensitive information to stay confidential while the data and its analysis allow the third parties for patient care and improvement purposes.
This interoperability reduces the data entry check-points and human errors at the most. A robust and flexible centralized system prevents security breaches while allowing providers to handle sensitive patient information without hiccups.
Reduced Billing Workloads
With an integrated EHR and medical billing software, the medical billing specialists would spend less time filing claims. With an integrated system, the coding and documentation are directly fetched from EHR, which saves the time of copying the data. The system will also prompt the physicians to complete these activities even during patient visits. This would reduce the after-visit work for the providers and billing staff.
There are many small-level hospitals and providers wherein the costs are only increasing due to these billing complications. This is why many medical billing software companies have switched to medical billing software for small businesses while easing the process of coding and documentation with claims submissions on a timely basis.
Reduce Coding Errors and Paperwork
With human comes human errors!
With the integrated EHR software with billing, the patient data will be transmitted to the billing system automatically, which will let the EMR Medical Specialists generate cleaner claims. This removes the human error chances while developing billing sheets and entering codes, enhancing the turnaround time.
The integrated EHR with billing software will also provide rest to the clinical and healthcare staff who are more or less dedicated to filling the forms and performing the claims process. This reduced workload will enable them to focus on providing better healthcare services which was otherwise not happening.
Patient Satisfaction
Patient satisfaction is one of the primary aims of any healthcare provider. Billing process automation and claim error elimination will improve the patient satisfaction rates for the existing patients. With the help of the insurance eligibility verification feature in billing software, the practitioner will have a clear idea of the covered services in the patients’ insurance plans at the scheduling stage.
This will be an essential step to avoid to and fros while the billing process starts. The EHR integrated billing system will help clinics inform the patients about the incurring expenses in insurance coverage which will further increase their satisfaction levels.
Parting Words
More time is spent on inefficient medical billing processes and systems; less time is left to devote themselves to patients. This is why an EHR integration becomes an essential component for deciding which practice management solution to choose. These solutions will allow the providers with unparalleled partner solutions, which will further modernize the existing practice and offer your patients world-class healthcare service with no hiccups in other benefits.
Practice Management Vs. Medical Billing Software – What is Right for You?
As every healthcare practice has its own needs and goals, so is its requirement. Some want efficiency to improve; some want to streamline their claims processing to be hassle-free. At the same time, others might be more interested in notifying their patients of upcoming appointments and bill the same timely. Some might want a combination of these, and some might look for all of them.
It is fine to approach your life in whatever way you want to, but when it comes to purchasing Medical Billing System orPractice Management Software, remember that you are responsible for others’ lives and health simultaneously. This is why understanding the significant disparities between the nuances of medical billing software and medical practice management software is very important.
But the one major area that is confusing for all is the debate on medical billing softwarevs practice management software. These two might look similar to a layman, but they are way apart regarding workflow. So, this article will focus on the significant disparities in the working of the Medical billing system and the processes involved in Practice Management Applications.
But before stating the differences, let us understand the basic functionalities of both and then we will see the advantages of Practice management billing software.
What is Practise Management Software?
The Practise Management Software is the application so designed to assist the medical offices in the running effectively and efficiently. In general, the small and medium-sized provider system can manage daily operations like financial processes and administrative functions, while some organizations can utilize it for electronic medical records.
The standard capabilities of any practice management software can include the following but are not limited to:
Patient registration
Patient tracking
Patient appointment and its scheduling
Tracking charge capture
Performing the billing procedures and claim processing
Payment processing from patients, insurance providers and third-party providers
Generating staff reports
As PMS simplifies patient data management, the adoption of these systems has grown drastically over the last few years. According to Grand View Research, the US$12.9 billion market size value of PMS in 2019 is expected to witness an annual growth of 8.8% by 2022 to 2030.
There are three different ways to install the software: desktop-only, client-server, and Internet-based.
Desktop-only software: This can be used on a single computer by the few who can access the system.
Client-server software: This can be accessed by multiple users with data sharing and on-site server access that the practice has to purchase or lease.
Internet-based software: The user can access the internet and eliminate the server purchase pre-requisite, but this can hamper the security as patient data is accessible externally.
The Practice Management Applicationsalso manages big data like ICD codes and procedures, third-party insurance providers, medical procedures, and providers.
Pros of Practice Management Software
The software is responsible for helping various departments in any practice as mentioned under:
Front Desk Staff
The Front Desk Staff will not duplicate the insurance card. Instead, the staff will scan the card to capture the relevant information. This will save time and human efforts at the same time.
Billing Department
The billing staff can submit and re-submit the insurance claims quickly as that software automates the tasks. This would save time and boost cash flow efficiently.
Physicians
The physicians can validate the ICD codes for the patient diagnosis and with the insurance company before ordering the same. Additionally, this software can ease the other administrative functions required while running a practice. This will allow the practitioners to continue their practice at ease without bothering about their different roles.
What is Medical Billing Software?
The Medical Billing Software will handle all the tasks from where the patient appointment is scheduled until the time the patient finishes the telehealth session with the practitioner. Medical billing services are an essential feature in medical practices, which is vital to obtain when the patient appointment is set up, insurance is claimed, claims need to be re-submitted, and more.
This is why the practices with in-house medical billing specialists also prefer to use their medical billing services.
Ever been caught in a situation like when to send the bill, when the second or third notices are sent for missed payment reminders, or view the generated billing reports all at once? The medical billing services will come to your aid.
Major Disparities in the PMS and Billing Software
The primary difference between practice management software and billing software is that the PMS is responsible for managing the administrative side of the practice, and the billing software takes care of the clinical element of the practice. The PMS maintains the facility management records in digital format and is not shared externally. On the contrary, the medical billing specialists need to share the individual patient data and records with other medical professionals and practitioners.
So which are the tasks that you need to handle with software? Most providers and practitioners use the software for administrative and clinical uses. This is why the decision to use the software must be decided based on compatibility. This will help the software end-users ensure that the departments are working in sync and data consistency is maintained.
Numerous vendors in the market offer Practice management billing software: an easy and seamless integrated software. Try one of these software as per administrative or clinical requirements. At times, these integrations reduce the human efforts, which in turn enhances the provider’s performance and management at par with the competition.
In Other Words
It is not uncommon to summarize the medical billing software with practice management software. The billing software and system handle the creation and maintenance of the healthcare services provider. The PMS focuses on the revenue flow and patient support features like scheduling, patient charting, medical records, and more.
Medical practices of all sizes find it appropriate to use practice management software that helps billing specialists manage and maintain their growing and ongoing practice. Additionally, this software is ICD-10 compliant, which is why they are more reliable and secure.
Still, confused about the software to choose for your practice? Schedule an appointment with us, and we will assist you hereon!
Benefits of Medical Billing Services for Small Businesses
Health care providers today often struggle with the administrative side of things. After all, health care providers are trained to help people overcome illness and get back to being healthy — not for dealing with accountancy issues and chasing money.
Whether you’re running a small practice between 1-5 physicians or are a bigger practice capable of treating a large number of patients, medical billing outsourcing services are probably of interest for your practice.
Patients don’t always have the resources to pay for their consultations and treatments upfront and often require billing at a later stage. 73% of health care providers report that it takes longer than one month to collect payment from their insurance and even more from the patients.
The growing need for external medical billing services is reflected by the pace at which the market has grown over the last several years. Statistics show that the worldwide medical billing outsourcing market was worth USD 10.2 billion in 2020. The market is predicted to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.66% between 2021 and 2028.
What are Medical Billing Services?
Medical billing services are outsourced third party companies that take care of accountancy and debt collection requirements for health care providers. Typically, they work alongside practices to implement a system to track and chase payments from insurance and patients. The process often involves the use of medical billing software which streamlines the operation.
How Does it Work?
Most medical billing services these days operate on cloud-based platforms or medical billing software. This digital advancement diminishes the need to install or set up any complicated system. It’s designed to streamline your working process and to help your practice save the time and energy spent on chasing up bills.
Benefits of Outsourced Medical Billing Services for Small Practices
Outsourcing medical billing services for small practices are less of a “good idea” and more of an immediate necessity. Without them, your practice’s working process can experience heavy disruptions.
Not having a medical billing service set up can also lead to significant cash flow problems which threaten the good standing of your practice. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of outsourced medical billing services.
Less Stress
When your patients don’t pay their bills, it results in cashflow mishaps, making it more difficult for your practice to pay the bills and operating costs. Having this constant threat looming in the background causes stress to everyone involved in making sure the practice is running smoothly.
Choosing outsourced medical billing services and getting started with medical billing software can eliminate this issue.
Improved Workflow
When you opt to outsource your medical billing services to a trusted third party, you immediately relieve a practical and psychological load. Without having to worry about chasing up unpaid bills, your practice will notice an improvement in workflow and productivity and obviously focus better on treating patients.
Saving Time
Typically, individuals who get into healthcare don’t do it because they love administration and chasing patients for money. They do it because they like to help other people manage their health.
However, unless your bill collection requirements are being met by someone else, you’ll end up spending more time chasing down bills than actually practicing.
If your practice caters to several hundred patients in a month and each of them needs to be contacted and chased for payment, it’s easy to see how that could become extraordinarily time-consuming. It would almost be worth hiring another full-time employee to take care of it. But is that really the best option?
Saving Money
While hiring another employee solely for the purpose of collecting payment may sound like a good idea at first. However, you should also consider the extra cost in terms of paying for paid holidays, employee healthcare, training costs to keep up with ever-changing guidelines, and employee benefits.
Choosing outsourced medical billing services allows you to bypass all of these extra costs while also catering to possible variability. For example, it might not take always take full-time hours to get the job done, and it may vary from week to week. Medical billing and coding services from a third party are a great solution for getting the job done in the most efficient manner possible.
Bill Compliance
Non-compliance to bill payments is one of the largest threats to small medical practices. Choosing to delegate your bill collection to a trusted partner is a strategic and highly recommended move. It eliminates the threat of patient non-compliance to bills and helps practices get paid on time.
Patient Satisfaction
Not only do outsourced medical billing services help you and your practice run smoothly, but they also improved patient experience and satisfaction. Medical billing and coding services offer more streamlined ways to pay bills which contributes to the overall patient experience.
Increased Revenue
Having debt collection taken care of by a third party will increase your work productivity and improve your practice’s cash flow. All of the benefits mentioned above result in an overall increase in company revenue.
Streamlined System
You shouldn’t have to go through a demanding training session to understand the system and maximize your medical billing services. Instead, you can expect your system to be up and running in less than a day, and your personnel to be completely comfortable using it after only a few hours of training.
The Bottom Line
Poorly organized bill collection systems are one of the greatest threats to small medical practices. Luckily, you can outsource your medical billing needs to a third party who will take care of everything so you can do the work you love.
Choosing outsourced medical billing services has many advantages, including saving on time and costs, increasing revenue by increasing bill compliance and improving efficiency, and reducing workplace stress.
Author : OmniMD Post Date : September 16, 2021 Total Views: 1324
Increasing the number of new patients while retaining current patients is vital to the success of any physician’s practice. But, unless that practice receives steady, profitable cash flows throughout most revenue cycles, they may be unable to stay operational.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the dilemma of whether to do in-house medical billing or outsource medical billing beleaguered many physician-owned practices. Now that the healthcare industry is inundated with COVID patients and people suffering long-COVID symptoms, physicians are discovering the numerous benefits of relying on billing partners. According to Grand View Research, the medical billing partner market is expected to exceed $19 billion by 2026. That’s a nearly 12 percent annual growth rate!
How Can a Billing Partner Improve Medical Revenue?
Ensures Accurately Coded Claims
What is fueling this rush by physicians to find the best medical billing partner they can depend on for superior service? One of the leading reasons behind the skyrocketing billing partner market involves the necessity for filing claims correctly. Unless claims are coded accurately and error-free, they will be returned and the physician will suffer an interruption in cash flow.
An estimated 80 percent of medical claims and billing documents contain at least one error that prevents physicians, clinics and hospitals from getting paid. With over 80,000 diagnostic and procedure codes to comb through, medical assistants and physician staff simply don’t have the time to consistently submit 100 percent accurate claims. Unfortunately, the cycle of submitting claims, getting back rejected claims, finding and fixing errors and resubmitting them can force providers to wait for months before receiving payment.
A professional medical billing partner provides trained, knowledgeable billing and coding specialists who’s job is to do one thing: submit correct claims the first time. This allows physicians and their staff to focus solely on patients and running the office as efficiently as possible.
Handles the Collections Process
One of the most time-consuming tasks of a physician’s practice is collecting past due payments. Doctors can tell you from experience that simply sending past due notices is ineffective for settling a past due bill. Moreover, when doctors decide to sell a debt to a collection agency, they lose most of that revenue.
Billing partners take care of collecting past due payments. They employ individuals who specialize in collecting debts by working one-on-one with patients, verifying addresses of patients who have moved and informing patients of payment options available, such as credit cards, other types of insurance or local social agencies.
Increases Revenue by Adhering to Insurance Regulations
Major insurance companies, including Medicaid and Medicare, are constantly changing guidelines regarding what treatments they cover, patient eligibility and how much they will pay for certain procedures. Trying to keep up with the constant deluge of modifications to insurance rules is literally a full-time job that a busy physician’s office finds difficult to manage properly.
A medical billing partner stays up-to-date in real time to changes made by health insurance companies. This means claims won’t be rejected for including obsolete or incorrect data. In addition, many updated insurance guidelines for Medicaid or Medicare come from changes made by the federal government. Continuous noncompliance with federally mandated adjustments may result in losing compensation provided by Medicaid and Medicare.
Is Outsourcing Medical Billing Right for Your Practice?
Consider the following summary of the benefits of hiring a medical billing partner:
Significantly improves cash flow and revenue by eliminating costly errors and claim returns
Reduces overhead expenses
Less expensive than purchasing and constantly upgrading medical billing software (software cannot manage debt collections nor handle problems best suited for human-to-human contact)
Professional medical billing partners provide detailed monthly reports regarding claims sent, collections, payments and other important items
Allows physicians and staff to spend more quality time with patients
Ensures physician practices comply with ever-changing federal insurance regulations
Call today to learn more about how a medical billing partner can give the advantages you need to make your practice a long-term success.
Author : OmniMD Post Date : September 8, 2021 Total Views: 1870
Many small medical practices still do their billing in-house. The success or failure of your billing team can make or break your practice as a business. However, it can be one of the most difficult functions your staff performs. You might have a crack team of billing analysts who are also great at collections. Chances are, though, that you will get better results with a company that specializes in billing and collecting millions of dollars a month for various clients.
In this article, we talk about the difference between in-house and outsourced billing, discuss the pros and cons of each and give you a look at the cost and savings associated with an outsourced solution. If you aren’t ready to hand over 100% of your billing operations, you can start with a hybrid approach, such as seeking assistance with collections and simplifying your billing system.
Whatever you decide, OmniMD has solutions that can help your front desk and back-office crew minimize mistakes, improve efficiency and increase patient satisfaction.
In-House Vs Outsourced Billing Comparison
In-house medical billing typically consists of billing clerks entering medical codes into billing software that interfaces with insurance companies and other payers. It also involves handling various aspects, such as reporting, required to close the revenue cycle.
When you outsource your medical billing, you or your business manager engages with a third-party company that specializes in billing, collections and other aspects of the revenue cycle. Ideally, this gives physicians and staff members more time to focus on patients and day-to-day operations.
Let’s take a deeper dive into the pros and cons of both options to give you a clearer picture of which one would work for you.
In-House Medical Billing
Many physicians or other practitioners decide to keep their billing in the hands of their staff. You may feel more comfortable having oversight over revenue and collections, and that’s understandable.
You may not want to trust a third party with your patient information or the part of your business responsible for bringing in the money. However, there are pros and cons of using EHR billing software versus customized billing solutions from a third party. You might be surprised what you would find if you crunched the numbers, taking into account the total cost and savings of each option. Additionally, you should consider factors such as accurate billing and timely entry of payment requests.
You may feel you have effective billers who enter data and collect payments efficiently. Therefore, switching to an outsourced solution may seem counterintuitive. With in-house personnel, you can walk down the hallway to check on a billing issue. When you outsource this function, you have to contact the billing company,
However, there’s a price for this convenience. When you pay billing analysts and billing clerks directly, you also have numerous administrative costs that are lower or nonexistent when you go with an outsourced billing provider.
Many practices are still feeling the crunch of government regulations that resulted in lower reimbursements. If you want to save money, you can’t just cut salaries or hire less qualified people. However, if you transition to an outsourced billing company, you may realize significant cost savings.
In-house billers often lack the necessary support to perform at their highest level on every task. Additionally, small offices may only have one or two people doing the billing. If someone quits or gets sick, you’re going to see a major reduction in revenue until you are once again fully staffed.
Pros and Cons of In-house Billing
Pros
Maintain control
Proximity
No need to invest in a new system
Cons
Administrative burden
Higher staffing and support costs
Subject to turnover and other employee challenges
Outsourced Medical Billing
By outsourcing your medical billing, you access the bench strength of a large billing department. So, if you are a small practice, you don’t have to worry about decreased revenue due to an employee falling ill, going on vacation or seeking other employment. Instead, there’s always someone to fill in the gap to keep your revenue stream steady.
When you hand your billing over to a third party, you pay a small percentage of your collections. Therefore, the company only gets paid if they bring in revenue. This motivates outsourced billing providers to work with maximum efficiency. An outsourced billing team, such as that available at OmniMD, is also going to work harder to recover aged collections.
Many physicians spend as much as an entire day on paperwork. That’s a lose-lose situation. Every minute a health care provider isn’t with a patient costs your practice money. Additionally, most doctors aren’t trained in billing and administrative tasks nor do they find the work satisfying. This may put your office at further risk of missing payments or letting a superbill fall through the cracks.
On the downside, patients and staff members may find using a third-party billing company inconvenient. Since outsourced billing takes place off premises, it requires extra effort to monitor and provide the necessary information needed to establish effective billing practices. Therefore, it’s important to choose a vendor with great collaboration and communication skills.
Choose a company with proactive business practices and automated reporting and other functions. Choosing a company such as OmniMD gives you virtually endless opportunities to customize your billing software and enjoy a transparent relationship that improves your revenue collections, billing efficiency and staff and patient satisfaction.
When considering both options, outsource billing appears to have fewer shortcomings than hiring billing clerks and analysts on premises. Plus, having less oversight can be both a pro and a con for physicians who want to concentrate on the practice, not paperwork.
Outsourcing Pros and Con
Pros
Reduces billing errors and denied claims
Improves cash flow
Ensures billing compliance
Maximizes use of office space for medical business
Puts physician focus back on patient care
Reduces employee count and administrative responsibilities
Improves revenue cycle management
No-cost regulatory-compliance
Update your billing technology and simplify data entry
Cons
Give up some control
Not located on premises
Cost Savings Example With Outsourced Billing
Billing specialists can make six-figure salaries, while it costs around $4,000 or less for billing services. There are many other costs that you can reduce or eliminate by outsourcing the billing for your practice, including the following:
Billing Staff Salaries
Billing Software Cost
Hardware costs
Continued Education Training Cost (will be less when you outsource)
Carrying collections in the form of bad debt is a reality for many practices. When you outsource your billing, you gain access to persistent collections specialists. While in-house collection efforts typically yield a 60% collection rate, that figure jumps to 68% when you partner with an effective medical billing provider.
Let’s say you have $2.5 million in uncollected debt. Your in-house collections team may recover $1.5 million, or 60% of the debt. Meanwhile, focused specialists at a third-party provider might collect $1.7 million, or 68% of bad debt that otherwise becomes a write-off.
Taking a Hybrid Approach
There may be sensitive accounts or services that you want to bill for directly. It’s perfectly acceptable and you can achieve the same boost in collections and savings while keeping a portion of the billing in-house. Find a company that will work with you to meet the needs of your practice.
Are You Shopping for Billing Solutions for a Billing Company?
OmniMD also provides billing solutions for billing companies. If you want to implement intuitive, consistent forms for all of your medical billing clients, partner with our team for end-to-end medical billing services that allow your staff to manage all your customers with a single sign-on. OmniMD has your solution. We will integrate data from all of your legacy systems, including EHR, Practice Management, and Patient Portals.
Author : OmniMD Post Date : September 1, 2021 Total Views: 3020
In this guide to patient satisfaction, we’ll take a look at some of the most common pain points for patients and how you can address them. Clients are more demanding than ever as their financial burden increases, and concerns over the spread of diseases such as COVID-19 make patients reluctant to go to a medical provider, even for urgent care. So, the more your practice can do to ease the minds of patients and keep interactions positive, the better patient satisfaction and outcomes will be.
You can prevent your loyal patients from changing service providers by eliminating common pain points. By addressing the following issues, you can provide convenient, seamless, and quality medical care that delights your clients:
Billing concerns
Inefficient appointment setting
Lack of automation for new patient registration
Poor communications of diagnostic, treatment, and medication information
Let’s start with some high-level goals.
High-Level Goals to Improve Patient Satisfaction
As you formulate a plan to tackle each of the challenges below, keep the following high-level goals in mind:
Strive to improve access to care and meet patients online for critical communication.
Listen to what your patients tell you when diagnosing problems with satisfaction at your practice, and conduct regular customer satisfaction surveys to keep on top of your client’s changing needs.
Talk to your healthcare professionals to find out what they need to access information and streamline the treatment process.
Adopt technology, such as OmniMD, that allows your team to create an effective virtual experience during treatment, appointment setting, follow-up care, and other touchpoints.
Offer training for medical professionals new to virtual communication.
Place your patient at the center of your business and work everything us around them.
Billing Concerns and Solutions
Efficient billing practices help you enter claims to payers quickly for a faster revenue turnaround. They also make life easier for patients, who ultimately want to know how much the service will cost. Too often, patients are unable to get a straight answer regarding billing prior to a visit. In many ways, this is driven by unknown factors that come up during an examination. However, there are still several things you can do to address billing concerns.
To improve patient satisfaction when it comes to billing, consider the following suggestions:
Adopt technology that includes a patient portal. This technology gives patients access to their information, sends appointment reminders, and allows you to communicate with clients efficiently. By including an FAQ section and glossary describing billing codes, you can help them understand the billing without calling your office.
Add a chat feature to make it easy for patients to ask questions about their procedures. Patients often have questions about their financial responsibility since bills typically contain multiple payment amounts. Giving them a lifeline as they examine the bill can help your patients remain calm and cool while working to understand the billing process.
Train your billing team to promptly answer customer questions and politely address complaints.
When it comes right down to it, patients tend to be more trusting of medical procedures than the billing process. You can maintain consistent pricing and educate each patient on the cost of service while they’re still in the office. This approach avoids misunderstandings and hard feelings.
OmniMD Medical Billing Software and Medical Billing Services offer a comprehensive solution that makes it easy to verify insurance eligibility, simplify your billing template, send bills and accept payments electronically, and improve your patient satisfaction rates through an effective billing process.
Patients also need understanding and better communication when it comes to appointment scheduling, discussed in the next section.
Appointment Scheduling Pain Points and Solutions
Taking an appointment may seem simple. However, there are several factors that make the process complicated. It only takes one emergency visit to derail appointments for the rest of the day for one or more providers. With the right scheduling software, you can set better expectations for wait times and move things around more easily when necessary.
If your front desk still uses an appointment book to manage appointments, you’re missing out on the functionality of automated appointment setting software.
Here are a few questions to help you determine whether your appointment setting technology meets the needs of your front desk team and patients:
Does your system allow patients to schedule their own appointments online?
Does your appointment software automatically schedule reminders that reach clients via text, email, or their preferred communication channel?
Can your staff see appointments for each provider at a glance?
How easy is it to create an appointment in your current appointment scheduling system?
Automation does more than make it easier to set appointments and check patients in. Patients can choose the right professional to help them with their particular condition. Combined with a call center that can manage appointments after hours, appointment setting software can streamline the front desk experience.
Best of all, you can customize your settings to allow for same-day appointments for emergencies and access reporting that shows counts for various procedures and appointment times by day, week, or month.
Printing schedules for physicians and other practitioners
Tracking activity to improve wait times and other metrics that boost patient satisfaction
Accessing one-click co-pay acceptance to improve your revenue stream
So, making the right choice when it comes to your medical appointment software can mean the difference between a waiting room full of annoyed patients and efficient appointment-setting practices that make your patient’s loyal customers.
New Patient Registration Improvements
Patients often complain about the new patient registration process for the following reasons:
Too many forms
Duplicate information on forms
Takes up too much time during the office visit
With the right automation tools, you can streamline the new patient registration process by moving it online. Patients should not have to re-enter their name, insurance information, and contact information on multiple forms.
Paper-free new patient processing makes sense. It can also help you save time and money and alleviate patient dissatisfaction. Explore the solutions offered by OmniMD, such as pre-visit data capture, context-aware forms, and data validation for consistent data.
Making Diagnostics, Reports, and Medication Information Available
Implementing a patient portal allows your clients to retrieve prescription information, diagnostics results, and other reports impacting their health. Making this information available online can also help healthcare providers prioritize urgent cases. By improving medical care and outcomes, online diagnostic tools, reporting, and medication management further improve customer satisfaction.
Providing immediate access to lab results can help practitioners come to a conclusive, accurate diagnosis faster. This means that the patient receives the right treatment earlier in the progression of diseases and disorders.
After treatment, patients may have questions regarding symptoms, complications, and other concerns that come up during the recovery process. Allowing patients to send a message directly in the patient portal can provide updated information for physicians looking to recommend additional treatment or alleviate patient concerns. Alternately, limited engagement can slow recovery periods and put the patient at risk.
Find out how vigorous engagement with patients through a patient portal facilitates care transitions such as diagnosis, treatment, and aftercare.
OmniMD offers numerous tools that can help your practice retain patients through improved engagement. Contact us today for a free consultation on how our tools can streamline your practice.
