Registration Audits Prevent Revenue Leaks
MedBiz Front office Audit Form is a valuable tool to guard against revenue losses and unnecessary insurance claim delays.
Richard Maynard, owner of MedBiz Partners Inc. in Palm Harbor, Fl, recommends a periodic audit of 10-15 records for each of the registration staff.
- The following are key measurements including on the form.
- Copays and Self pay collections
- Insurance eligibility
- Policy Name , group, and policy number
- Medicare’s new number
- Patient Demographics
- Mobile phone for ECW messaging features
- Verify the ECW check box Do not send statements is not being abused with family or friends. Maynard, who is also an eClinicalWorks® PM trainer, recommends updating the new user security setting to prevent this occurring.
- Verify insurance cards being scan.
- Follow up on audit results and schedule the necessary training.
- Offer team bonuses for successful audits: Gas cards, retail gift cards.
Maynard with MedBiz states ” If your seeing over 30 patients per day, the front office person is the most important person in the practice after the clinical staff, especially if you aren’t using PE (Physician Extenders) .”
MedBiz Partner’s complimentary Registration Audit Form: https://www.medbizpartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Registration-Audit-2018.pdf
Case Study: How Premier OBGYN Increased Profits for Medical Practice
Background: Premier OBGYN has been operating for over 10 years. Six years ago, they made the switch to eClinicalWorks®, one of the top EHR/PM systems.
The Challenge: During their growth as a Medical Practice, overseeing the billing department plus other areas pertaining to the business of medicine became overwhelming. Premier required a solution that would allow them to focus their talents and strengths on the patient’s experience and care and still increase profits for the medical practice.
Premier’s administrator, in aligning her practice with key resources, had already outsourced payroll, human resources, and legal issues. Her next goal was to determine if adding the revenue cycle management/billing process to that list was practical.
Their consultant recommended the following guidelines when searching for an RCM vendor.
- Length of time in business / references
- Level of experience with our EMR/PM (eClinicalWorks®)
- Location; We prefer a local vendors as we do with legal and accounting services.
The Transition: Based upon several recommendations, Premier reached out to Mr. Richard Maynard, CEO of MedBiz Partners Inc. located in Palm Harbor, FL with their concerns. Mr. Maynard and his team are not only Certified ECW PM Trainers, but their RCM services platform is 100 % eClinicalWorks® and have been in operation for over 24 years.
Premier minimized the changes internally by first selecting the MedBiz Assist program which enabled them to keep our billing/coders in house for the time being and all insurance posting, and denial management would be handled by MedBiz.
The Results: The MedBiz team connected to our eClincialWorks® system within 72 hours, and incoming revenue increased by 25 % within the first 60 days.
In summary, the paradigm shift the practice made in smart sourcing key task created a stable and profitable medical practice for our practice. To find out how MedBiz Partners can help your revenue stream and increase profits for your medical practice, talk with CEO Richard Maynard at 727-785-3050 ext 224 or visit online at www.MedBizPartners.com.
eClinicalWorks® Tip of the Month Efficient Treatment Order Entry
Tip #1. Save time selecting a patient’s lab or radiology company. Set practice or patient-level settings to automatically default a specific lab or radiology company based on practice preference (practice defaults), insurance company preference (EMR—Labs, DI & Procedures), or patient preference (patient demographics).
Tip #2. Take advantage of some built-in features. Utilize order sets and eCliniSense to quickly get to orders that you commonly prescribe for a patient that are triggered by a specific diagnosis. Create lab, diagnostic image and procedures “Favorites” lists and copy to other providers and staff through, “Misc. Configuration Options.”
Tip #3. Prepare ahead of time. Create a pre-clinic workflow where the provider, or someone else, reviews patient charts from the upcoming schedule. Preload orders that are routine for that patient or for that visit type. Don’t forget to make use of pre-set templates that contain orders and merge them into progress notes during pre-clinic, or during the patient encounter. Templates can also be configured to automatically populate into a note by tying them to a chief complaint.
Tip #4. Configure defaults for orders per user. From the lab, and then the diagnostic image and procedures order screens in treatment, click on the, “My Defaults” button to set preferences for default location (in-house vs. send out), search filter (contains vs. starts with), and set “Favorites” as a default, if desired.
Tip #5. Maximize efficiency on the fly. Set up lab and diagnostic image aliases with acronyms (MMA—Male Medicare Annual, for example), so that users can choose to search by “alias name,” instead of “order name.” Once the acronym is entered, all the orders configured in that alias will drop into the orders. Also, when repeating a lab or radiology order for a patient, click on the “previous orders” button near the top right—make sure the company is selected as “All”—and click on any individual previous orders to quickly re-order them.
Ms. Rebecca Kane
MedBiz Power Partners
Atlantis Consulting
Managing Telephone Interruptions
Everyday interruptions at your medical practice can be a barrier to effective time management and can eventually become an obstacle to your success. Put your phone to work for you-Not against you. You control telephone interruptions, they don’t control you.
Tips for Success
Tip #1 Designate a specific time of day to accept calls and another time of day to reply to messages. Forward calls outside of these time periods to voice mail.
Tip #2 Record a custom greeting on your voicemail that identifies individuals who may be of further assistance to the caller and give specific instructions for leaving a message.
- This will lessen any anxiety or worry on your end that you are missing an important call, and allow you to continue on in your workday with limited telephone interruptions.
Tip #3 Prepare for outgoing calls in advance. Group your outbound calls together, and be sure to have all of the necessary facts and information prepared prior to placing each call.
Tip #4 Call verbose people when they are least likely to talk for very long.
- “Think smarter, An old military adage that may come in handy here is, not harder.” No one wants to receive a work call near or during lunch, or at the end of the work day. So, if you owe a telephone call to a verbose person, this may be your time to call.
Tip #5 Indicate up front that your time is limited. Leaving a professional and detailed message indicating your availability to receive calls is okay, and may assist in limiting telephone interruptions throughout your workday as well.
Tip #6 Know when to bring closure to a call is very important. Using appropriate closing statements such as, “Thank you for your time,” and “Call me if I can be of further assistance,” can bring a call quickly and professionally to an end.
*Remember-Always avoid social conversation if possible. This will prolong your telephone conversation and take time away from your workday.
“Don’t give up because things are hard, but work smarter, when you think of giving up.”
Manage Drop-in Visits
Tip #1. Arrange your office furniture so that your desk cannot be easily seen from the hallway or doorway. If you can be seen, you will likely be interrupted. If you want to maximize the time in your day, try arranging your office furniture in a discrete manner, also removing extra chairs and sitting areas. It may provide for a less inviting space, but will offer a more productive work environment as fewer distractions come your way.
Tip #2. Limit your open door policy to a specified time each day. It is okay to set these boundaries. The key to time management is to prioritize your time for work while still setting aside time for the needs of your Physicians and coworkers. Regulating this policy, limits interruptions while also increasing workflow.
Tip #3. Communicate your preference for scheduled appointments. “A schedule defends from chaos and whim.” If you are a morning person and find you are at your most creative and productive early in the morning, schedule high-value tasks in the morning at your peak creative/productive time. If your creativity and energy picks up later in the day, schedule high priority tasks then. Your “down” time can be scheduled for less important tasks like checking e-mail or returning phone calls. *Remember you don’t find time for important things; you make time for important things best by scheduling.
Tip #4. Stand up when a person enters your workspace and remain standing for the duration of his/her visit. With the exception of scheduled appointments and meetings, standing will limit casual conversation and provide for control of the environment as well.
Tip #5. Politely ask any visitors, “How can I help you?” instead of, “How are you?” or “What’s up?” Leading with an open-ended question, has limitless answers and can likely take a great deal of time. “How can I help you?” is a concise and professional question that can provide a less time consuming response.
Tip #6. Use concluding phrases such as, “I think we’ve covered it all,” or “If that’s all, I have other pressing business to accomplish.” These phrases will conclude a conversation that may be taking a great portion of your time and allow you to exit from a lengthy meeting or conversation that has exceeded its limit or has continued to casual and unnecessary banter.
Tip #7. Learn to say “no.” Identify interruptions in the workplace and do no let them overtake you. Learn to make the most of your workday by saying “no” to unnecessary interruptions. Saying “no” to things that are not a priority allows you to focus on the things that are.