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April 12, 2011

Latest from Kareo

Managing Underpayments in Medical Billing: Getting Every Penny You Deserve

By Elizabeth W. Woodcock, MBA, FACMPE, CPC

With today's complex coding and reimbursement systems, it came as no surprise to discover that payment accuracy rates among insurance companies dip as low as 77 percent. That finding comes from the American Medical Association's Health Insurance Report Card, a survey published annually by the AMA. The results are, arguably, alarming. It's simply not healthy for your practice's bottom line if nearly one in four insurance payments – or even one in ten – is wrong. Spending a little time now to improve tracking and management of payments pays off down the line... Read More

You are invited to join us for a complimentary one-hour webinar:

How to Prepare for ICD-10/5010 to Reduce F41.1 (Anxiety Reaction)

Thursday, April 21, 2011
1:00 PM EST/10:00 AM PST

Speaker: Nancy Maguire, ACS, PCS, HCS-D

If you've heard about the need to prepare for the transition to ICD-10/5010, but are not sure where to start, or if you've started but are not sure you're on the right track, join us for this practical webinar.
Nancy Maguire, ACS, PCS, HCS-D, leading expert on ICD-10, will walk you through the steps to make a smooth transition. You'll gain insights on:

How do we develop a plan of action?
Who should we involve in the transition?
What are the differences between ICD-9 and ICD-10?
What are the deadlines and how does this impact our practice?
And much more

Register Now

Best Practices

Use Key Performance Indicators to Manage Your Medical Billing and Practice Profitability

By Judy Capko

In these trying times, physicians and practice managers are concerned about the impact of the nation's economics and the effect it will have on their practices. It's important for physicians and managers to examine specific Key Performance Indicators, KPIs, to monitor practice performance... Read More

ICD-10 Training Camp

Documentation - the Silent Witness in Medical Billing

By Nancy Maguire, ACS, PCS, FCS, HCS-D, CRT

The buzzword of the ICD-10 diagnosis classification is "DETAIL." It is a fact that the I-10 diagnosis codes, as well as the procedural coding system (PCS), will require an increase in physician documentation. It is quite possible, and probable, that this increase in documentation will change patient scheduling, resulting in fewer patients seen on a daily basis (for example, 3 less patients per day). The old order for documentation standards will no longer be enough on and after October 1, 2013... Read More

Win a Free Kindle — Be Sure to “Like” Kareo on Facebook by Friday, April 15

Just as a reminder, the next monthly drawing for a free Kindle is this Friday, April 15. We'll be selecting a name from our list of friends and "likes" on Facebook, so all you have to do is "like" Kareo. It's that simple. Our first winner from March is already enjoying her Kindle--wouldn't you like to be next? "Like" Kareo today... Read More

Case Study

"Success for Physicians Depends on Knowing the Business Side of Their Practice"

Zaffar Iqbal, MD

For much of his career, Zaffar Iqbal, MD, never paid much attention to the billing operation related to his practice. As an employed internist, he didn't have to worry about the business side of providing patient care. Then, two years ago, he decided to go into his own private practice in Kingman, AZ. That experience opened his eyes to the intricacies of billing and the science of getting paid for the care he provided... Read More

Case Study

"Productivity and Accuracy are Important to a Billing Company’s Bottom Line"

Ken Hurdley, Accrohealth

Husband and wife team Ken and Kathy Hurdley have been operating their own billing company, Accrohealth, since January 2000. Today, AccroHealth handles 15 clients and has since grown to six employees based on Ken’s careful analysis of revenue per full-time employee. "I use revenue per FTE as the guideline for knowing when we needed to add staff," Ken states... Read More

Billing Tip of the Month

Reduce Your Manual Payments with a Few Clicks in Kareo

By Kenneth H. Lee, Physiatry Reimbursement Specialists, Inc.

It pays to open up the Kareo Payments screen from the Encounters drop down and uncheck the "show unapplied only" box on a regular basis. If you see a lot of blanks in the Description field of insurance payments, you are spending a lot of time/money posting manual payments. Sort by... Read More

Top News and Ideas from Industry

Bill Would Post Every Physician's Medicare Billing Data on Internet

Charles Fiegl, Amednews, April 4, 2011

A Senate bill aimed at curtailing Medicare fraud would publish physician billing data online, letting viewers determine how much individual doctors earn annually from the program. The release of the data has been prohibited by a court ruling for more than 30 years... Read More

Model Legislation Drafted for Out-of-Network Balance Billing

Emily Berry, Amednews, March 29, 2011

As several states consider whether, or how, to restrict balance billing by out-of- network physicians, the National Conference of Insurance Legislators on March 6 adopted model legislation on the issue. Rather than explicitly banning or allowing physicians to bill patients when insurance doesn't cover what a physician is owed, the model legislation calls for... Read More

Patients Say They Would Pay More Quickly with Online Access

Pamela Lewis Dolan, Amednews, March 22, 2011

Patients suggest that if physicians want to improve their collections, they should provide online access. An Intuit Health survey found that patients often are late in paying not because they don't have the money, but because they are confused about their bills... Read More

Does EMR Make Your Practice More Marketable?

Daniel Casciato, Medical Office Today, April 8, 2011

With the passage of the HITECH Act of 2009, healthcare providers have to implement a viable EMR system by 2015 or they will start facing Medicare reimbursement cuts. While some medical practices are still reluctant to make the switch, those who are early adopters could leverage it as a competitive advantage... Read More

MedPAC Recommends Physician Pay Increase for 2012

AAPC News, April 1, 2011

If Congress takes up recent recommendations made by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), acute care and outpatient hospitals, physicians and other health professionals, ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs), end-stage renal dialysis (ESRD) centers, and hospices should see payment rate increases in 2012... Read More

Claims and Appeals Reform Held Until Year-end

AAPC News, April 1, 2011

If you’ve been waiting for claims and appeals reform as outlined in the health reform bill, you’ll have to wait until next year. The U.S. Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury (the Departments) announced via a technical release that enforcement of a key health reform provision will be postponed for a second time... Read More

Will There, or Won't There, Be Fines for HIPAA 5010, ICD-10 Non-Compliance?

Tom Sullivan, ICD-10 Watch, March 14, 2011

If you're concerned that CMS (The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) will smack you with a fine for failing to comply with either HIPAA 5010 or ICD-10, then you're not alone... Read More

How to Avoid Being Burned by Staff Burnout

Victoria Stagg Elliott, Amednews, March 21, 2011

Many workplaces, including medical practices, tried to accomplish more with less during the recent economic recession. Employees were laid off. Open positions went unfilled. With a larger burden placed on the remaining employees, experts warn that steps are needed to reduce burnout... Read More