Practice Management Alert

Computer billing software can make or break your practice. When chosen correctly, software can improve your billing and collection efficiency, and help you manage your practice. When chosen poorly, it can be a time-consuming, costly headache. So, how do you sort through the vendor's sales hype and find the right software for your billing department? Ask yourself and your software vendors eight questions:
Will the Software Do What You Want It To Do?
Define what you want your computer billing system to do and look for that, advises Barbara J. Cobuzzi, MBA, CPC, CPC-H, CHBME, president of Cash Flow Solutions Inc., a billing and collections consulting company in Lakewood, N.J. Buying new billing software can be an opportunity to obtain a tool that does more than just launch claims, she says. "You have to realize that your billing system can do more than generate claims and keep track of your accounts receivable (A/R)," Cobuzzi states. "Your billing system is your management information system. All the data you collect for billing give you management information. It can help you when you're doing your collections. It can give you reports and information that help you manage your entire practice, including marketing and benchmarking internal performance."
 
Defining the practice's business problems and finding the software package that will provide information to help address those problems is often the most difficult part of the software selection process, admits Peter P. Legorburu, president of Brickell Research Inc., a medical practicemanagement software company based in Miami. He says, "The biggest step you can take is first asking, as a business, what are the operational requirements? What are the goals? The basic operational requirements would be to generate a claim in an efficient and timely manner, and submit it as quickly as possible and get paid. Then, if there's a need for additional information and follow-up, handle it in an efficient manner so you can bring the claims and payment process to closure. You need also to be able to study what is happening in your practice. But, you need to be able to assess your payers, compare the plans you contract with, and generate reports that allow you to see what's actually going on financially."
Is the Program Easy To Use?
Although practice-management software can do more than generate and file claims, there are practices with physicians who care only about submitting claims and getting paid. "Some doctors want reports to analyze their practice, and some doctors could not care less," observes Donna Jones, CPC, administrator for Metropolitan ENT, a two-physician and one-audiologist practice in Alexandria, Va., and owner of Innovative Business Solutions, a medical billing and management consulting company. "If all your doctors want is their [...]