Overview of ICD-10

Process revisions and implementations are not new to the US medical claims processing industry. But, after the ICD-9 transition in 1970s, ICD-10 is the major change that the medical billing and coding industry faces. We know that United States is not the first nation to implement ICD-10. Canada implemented ICD-10 in 2001, Germany in 2000, Australia in 1998, and the United kingdom in 1995 itself. As opposed to other nations that implemented ICD-10, the US has much enhanced ICD-10 coding setup due to the medical advancements that has happened during these years.

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10 steps to gateway of smooth ICD-10 transition

It is long since we started talking about ICD-10 transition. But, still most of us are unclear as what to do with the implementation. We are in fact awaiting the HIPAA 5010 change by January 1, 2012 that’s going to redefine healthcare compliance & enhance medical claims processing. This version will support ICD-10 changes which 4010 & 4010A cannot. should we wait till we go live with 5010 or at least till we hear final freeze updates from medicare or WHO? Continue reading “10 steps to gateway of smooth ICD-10 transition”

Getting your practice running better with more collections

If I say this, it would give a better meaning if I mention about improving the medical billing collections. In the United States, healthcare industry functions in a totally different way. Practices not only have to care about curing the patients and coping with technology and medical advancements, but also have to run behind the uncollected money. It is unfair but has become an essential part of the day-day operations of any practice. Continue reading “Getting your practice running better with more collections”

All about EMR & Why you need EMR for your practice

The US healthcare industry is looking forward to many technological and industry based implementations in the forth coming years. With the deadline fast approaching for ICD10, HIPAA 5010 Compliance, ACO program and EMR implementation, hospitals & healthcare organizations are busy working out plans for smooth transition of these ventures. ICD10 and ACO implementations are being anticipated with the view to improve quality of healthcare in the US. Continue reading “All about EMR & Why you need EMR for your practice”

What should healthcare organizations do to ensure patient data protection

Time and again, the US healthcare industry is struggling to defend against the threats to patient data security. But, despite all patient data protection measures taken by the US government, the HIPAA covered entities – medical claims billing and allied organizations, data security breach incidents are still uncontrollable and the breach list is increasing day by day. Continue reading “What should healthcare organizations do to ensure patient data protection”

Denial management in Medical billing

It’s true that effective denial management can increase healthcare collections to a huge extent.  For years and years, we know how the healthcare billing industry functions and how important it is to focus on denial management. We would be losing about 10% of collections as ‘uncollected’ amount if we don’t work on denial management effectively. That’s why denial management is given great importance, though every process is significant in medical billing. Continue reading “Denial management in Medical billing”

Improving Patient Collections – Medical Billing

Physicians’ office and medical billing companies employ various effective strategies to boost the medical insurance billing collections. In order to achieve enhanced collections and make practices more profitable, it is essential to focus on patient AR as well. But, there is a lethargic stance while working with patient receivables despite the fact that patient receivables contribute to a significant percentage of the total medical billing collections. Continue reading “Improving Patient Collections – Medical Billing”

How does insurance eligibility verification helps in reducing denials and the medical billing cycle

insurance verificationInsurance eligibility verification is the foundation of the medical insurance billing cycle and it has the power to decide the fate of a claim. At times we don’t give adequate significance to doing insurance eligibility verification. We have an impression that certain claims don’t require insurance eligibility verification and we fail to foresee the consequences that we would have to face by not doing the verification. When it comes to business, big or small, a loss is a loss. The loss is to be borne by physicians or patients. Even the medical billing companies are at loss if there are delays and denials. Continue reading “How does insurance eligibility verification helps in reducing denials and the medical billing cycle”

Why physician credentialing is important?

why physician credentialing is important

As a physician, it is essential for you to be credentialed and be in par with several prominent insurance carriers. You have to add this on top of your task list to improve your practice performance and serve your patients in a better way. Just like taking up professional licenses or buying a new machine for clinical procedures, getting credentialed is also an essential requisite to run a smooth practice with minimal risks. There are companies that provide physician credentialing services. You can save time and reduce the paper work by outsourcing the work to them. Continue reading “Why physician credentialing is important?”