Medical Billing Blog with Medical Billing & Coding Info & Articles
Our blog contains news and articles relating to numerous healthcare sectors including revenue cycle management, medical billing, medical coding, ICD, HIPAA, practice management functions and more.
Documenting in Your EHR While Focusing on the Patient
Mott Blair, a Wallace, N.C.-based family physician, doesn’t get distracted by the EHR in the patient exam room. That’s because he keeps it in the hallway, right outside the exam room. He uses an old-fashioned clipboard and paper to take notes during patient visits. “I do all my work face-to-face with patients. I maintain that eye contact, and I always listen,” he says. This work flow has been intentional on Blair’s part, since he’s witnessed many physicians “caught up” entering data and not focusing their attention on patients. His patient’s experience starts with a nurse at the practice capturing their vitals, chief complaint, and current medications and documenting those details …
Indiana Makes Top 5 States for EHR Adoption
A recent report by the Center for Data Innovation ranked each state based on its rate of EHR adoption and provided recommendations on how policymakers can enable more efficient data use. Data innovation—specifically in the healthcare industry—is imperative to fostering improvements across the care continuum. Researchers at the Center for Data Innovation stated data insights using EHR technology for preventive care and better clinical decision making could cut costs across the industry by up to $450 billion. States were evaluated and ranked for their level of EHR adoption and use according to the availability of high value data sets, development of useful technologies, and proliferation of human and business capital …
EHR Use Nearly Same in Hospital Outpatient Practices
EHR adoption is nearly universal in hospital-owned outpatient practices as of 2017, according to the latest research from HIMSS Analytics. The 9th Annual Outpatient PM and EHR Study pulled data from myriad sources, including a web-based survey aggregating data from a total of 436 respondents including physicians, practice managers, administrators, CEOs, and health IT experts between June 23, 2017 and July 12, 2017. Additionally, HIMSS collected information from its market intelligence platform on June 30, 2017 to gain insight into nearly 150,000 hospital-owned and independent practices. Based the data, 92 percent of hospital-owned outpatient facilities are presently using a live and operational EHR system. “Statistics from LOGIC and the 2017 …
RCM tip: Stop snail mail for electronic billing
Healthcare organizations should offer electronic billing options patients want rather than use snail mail to send paper statements, according to Jim Denny, president and CEO of Duluth, Ga.-based Navicure. He specifically cited a 2017 Patient Payment Check-Up survey that reveals 89 percent of providers still send paper statements through snail mail, although more than 50 percent of patients prefer electronic bills over paper statements. Given this survey, Mr. Denny shared the following tip with Becker’s Hospital Review. “Despite the abundance of technology that is available, many providers are still billing patients via snail mail. Not only does this way of billing cost more (on average paper billing can cost $7 …
EHR Dissatisfaction is Contributing to Provider Burnout
“I am a daily user of two EHR systems. One is a community hospital based complex EHR, and one is a cloud and iPad based EHR that we use in our private practice. The private practice-based EHR is much more user friendly and adapts well to our practice. I am what you would consider a “power-user” on our community hospital based EHR, and spend a fair amount of time helping other members of the medical staff better understand and use it. The integrated dictation, patient education, auto-population of data, and macros are just a few of the elements of the EHR that make my life easier, and has the potential …
eClinicalWorks Settlement Leads to Distrust of EHR Vendors
A recent study investigating provider opinions regarding the eClinicalWorks $155-million settlement found over one third of surveyed providers are more suspicious of all EHR vendors as a result of the lawsuit. The eClinicalWorks settlement followed allegations that the EHR company had misled consumers regarding its EHR certifications and paid some customers kickbacks in exchange for positive product promotion. Conducted by the Research Cloud, the study surveyed providers working in ambulatory settings to find out how familiar they are with the settlement and how the events have impacted their perception of eClinicalWorks and the EHR industry as a whole… Continue reading this article
EHR Use Negatively Impacts Patient-Provider Relationship
A recent study by Pelland et al. found that while EHR use may reduce medical errors, the technology is also shown to complicate the patient-provider relationship. Researchers at Brown University performed a qualitative analysis of comments submitted to a 2014 Rhode Island Health Information Technology survey to gain insight into physicians’ personal experiences with EHR systems. Both office- and hospital-based physicians in Rhode Island submitted responses describing their perceptions of the impact of EHR technology on patient-physician interactions. Responses from hospital-based physicians were measured against the opinions of office-based physicians for contrast. While both hospital-based physicians and office-based physicians voiced concerns regarding the effect of EHRs on patient-provider interactions, the …
Understanding HIPAA’s Medical Record Transfer Rules
“I recently received an inquiry from a physician who was frustrated by patients returning to his practice multiple times seeking copies of the same medical records. He described a situation where he (“Physician A”) had properly transferred a patient’s medical records to a new physician (“Physician B”). The patient then left Physician B to transfer to Physician C. Physician B was willing to transfer his own medical record for the patient to Physician C, but did not include the portion of the medical record provided by Physician A. Physician A was then required to provide his medical record to the patient again and wondered whether this was a common issue …
Tips for Succeeding at MIPS
With the CMS’ Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and value-based care model in full effect, it’s important for physicians to understand what MIPS means for their practices, particularly when it comes to understanding what types of technologies are available to help them avoid a negative adjustment to their Medicare reimbursement. As a practicing dermatologist, I’ve faced the ongoing challenges that evolving government mandates present and their subsequent reporting requirements. That said, these mandates, particularly MIPS, present an opportunity to refine and streamline existing regulations, while also taking a concerted step toward an effective quality care model and reimbursing physicians for value over volume. While another health IT mandate may seem …
Proposed QPP rule extends reprieve to small practices
The recently issued 2018 proposed rule for the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act’s Quality Payment Program includes a threshold increase that would lessen Merit-based Incentive Payment reporting requirements for small and rural practices, according to Justin Barnes, board advisor at iHealth Innovations. Mr. Barnes shared the following tip with Becker’s Hospital Review. “The proposal extends transition year flexibilities into the 2018 reporting period and introduces bonus points for small practices, 2015 Certified Electronic Health Record Technology use and the care of complex patients. The rule also proposes postponing introduction of the MIPS Cost performance category… Continue reading this article
