Go With EHR to Improve Billing Accuracy, Efficiency
Published on Mon Jul 09, 2007
Easy 3-step approach takes the guesswork out of system selection
If you-re not using electronic health records (EHR) yet, now's the time to consider a switch. Shelling out up-front for an EHR system can streamline your billing processes and improve your office's return on its claims in the long run.
And that's not all: EHR also speeds up patient care and reduces expenses for paying transcribers and compliance risks due to illegible documentation.
But with hundreds of EHR systems available today, suitable for every type and size of practice, where do you start? Let our experts guide you through the EHR maze to ensure you have all the information you need to choose the best system for your office.
Learn Some EHR Basics The first question you-re likely to ask yourself is: Why would my office want to pay the costs for an EHR software system? Here's why.
In simplest terms, EHR is computer-based patient health records, which replace paper patient charts and documentation. You typically access the patient's health information over a secure network, which allows for real-time information from various locations including the billing office, the exam room, and/or the front desk.
Most EHR systems include information about the your patients- current and past health, medical conditions and medical tests. You may also be able to input, store and access data about medical referrals, medical treatments, medications, and even demographic information and other non-clinical administrative information.
Important: Medical practice management (MPM) systems often integrate, or even come with, EHR systems. While some of the information in an MPM system and an EHR system will overlap--for example, patient and provider data--you-ll use the EHR system for assisting the providers with clinical data while you-ll use the MPM system for administrative and financial matters. For more on MPM systems, read the articles -Boost Productivity, Speed Payment With Practice Management Software,- -8 Perks Ease Your Practice Management Software Decision- and -Ask the Right Practice Management Software Questions- in the February 2007 issue of Medical Office Billing & Collections Alert and -Make the Most of an MPM System by Choosing the Right Features- in the April 2007 issue.
Third-party billing companies: Think EHRs don't affect you? Think again. EHR systems -are a huge advantage for an outsourced billing company,- says Robin Roach, CEO of Health Data Solutions in St. Albans, W.V. -As a billing company, we provide and maintain our clients- EMR systems as a value-added service to our clients at no additional charge. That's a large expense for us, so there must be a return on our investment to make it worthwhile. The prime benefit for us, being a billing company that is off-site, is that we have instant access to the patient's record.- Pick [...]
