More and more providers and billing services
are looking into the benefits of web based medical billing software over
the old fashioned server based practice management systems. After running
a medical billing business with server based software for fifteen years,
we decided it was time to look into some of the newer features. To
take a look at the web based software we decided upon after much searching
check this out.
The field of medical billing is always
changing and improvements should be expected in our software capabilities.
As technology develops we should find our software doing more jobs for us
in less time and dealing with regulations and coding changes in real time.
Of course we want all this available to us at a reasonable cost. Here is
exactly how this newer technology of using a web based practice management
system can really save time and money.
The newest web based medical billing software
offers unbelievable features creating shortcuts that save time, money,
keystrokes, denials, and improves cash flow. With a web based practice
management system you can sign onto a secure program on the web on any
computer, not just the one with the software installed. Here are ten
amazing advantages of some of the best of the new web based medical
billing software.
1. Saves time
- Development of new technology has automated so many processes previously
dependent upon employee data entry that incredible amounts of time can be
saved. Electronic payment entry, one click printing capabilities, problem
claims stored in a queue rather than searching through electronic reports,
and one click reproducing of last claim codes are just a few of the
amazing shortcuts now available.
Just imagine the time saved alone in not
having to enter payments. The eobs can now be scanned and converted to an
837 file that electronically enters the insurance payments and
automatically bills the secondary insurance carrier or the patient.
In our server based system we had to open a
box and choose whether you were printing a primary insurance, a secondary
insurance, or a patient statement. When you clicked on one of those it
asked which form you want to use. After clicking on the appropriate form,
a box would ask if you which printer you use. Then if the printer had more
than one drawer, you would have to click on properties and choose the
drawer with the correct type of paper for the form you are printing. If
one of my workers printed out only 25 paper claims or patient statements a
day, a one click printing job would save over 100 commands per day.
As a billing service, we receive hundreds of
electronic reports per week that must be opened, read, and deal with the
problem claims. This task was overwhelming with the server based program.
The new web based program we now use sends just the problem claims to a
queue. We now go to the queue and check on only the problems.
These are just a few of the time saving
systems now available with some web based medical billing software
programs. These systems have enabled us to increase our work load by 50%
without taking on more employees or increasing our hours.
2. Saves
money - With so many time saving advantages of web based
medical billing software we were able to take on extra accounts without
increasing our payroll. We put our employees to much more productive work.
Web based software can also save the upfront costs of purchasing a server
based software along with the required licensing, support, and updates.
The web based program we decided on charges one small monthly fee. That's
it. No extra charges for electronic submissions, support, provider
scheduling, providing a superbill, patient online payments, ICD9 and CPT
codes, code query, set up fees or back ups. No up front costs. Not only
does this cost less, but it works better.
3. Eliminates many errors
that create rework. The automated methods used with the
newest web based medical billing software take many jobs that were once
entered manually by billers and now eliminate the human errors by
automation. A simple typo can cause a claim to be rejected or denied
slowing down the payment cycle and causing much extra and unnecessary
work. Rework is one of the most costly problems in an office. Whenever you
can eliminate rework with better systems you save money.
4. Works in "Real
Time" - When you are used to working on a static server
based software you have no say in updating a process until a new version
is released which you must purchase if you want to be able to update to
these new requirements. This can be a problem when you have an outdated
code you want to change or there are new requirements such as the NPI
numbers, addition of taxonomy codes, or changes to the workers comp form.
A web based program can provide for these
changes as they become necessary. Instead of spending thousands of dollars
to purchase the latest version of a server based software, the web based
program is updated as it becomes necessary for any changes to be made. As
diagnosis codes and CPT codes are added or eliminated, web based software
can deal with these changes immediately, not with the next update. This
feature can eliminate coding denials of insurance claims due to CPT or
ICD9 changes.
5. Claims
scrubbing - Claims scrubbing can go well beyond just letting
you know that a patient's birth date is wrong. One small example of how
helpful an effective claims scrubber can be is when a chiropractor bills a
claim to Medicare where Medicare requires the AT modifier. If the modifier
is not on the claim to Medicare it will be denied and if the AT modifier
is on a claim to another insurance company, that claim may be denied for
invalid modifier. A good claims scrubber will flag the claim if you have
used the modifier incorrectly.
6. Capable of billing UB04
forms as well as CMS 1500 forms - Small facilities such as
rehab clinics and mobile surgery centers are sometimes required to submit
their claims on UB04 forms, depending on if they are credentialed as a
facility or a provider with the insurance carrier. We found a web based
software that will allow submissions of UB04 as well as CMS 1500 claim
forms eliminating the need for two separate billing programs if you are
billing for a facility. This is a great option for a billing company who
may take on a small facility and has no way to print UB04 forms as well as
for the small facility that needs to bill UB04 forms.
7. ICD9 and CPT codes
pre-loaded for your specialty - Our server based medical
billing software did not have the codes pre-loaded. We were constantly
adding diagnosis codes and unfortunately some invalid diagnosis codes were
added. When an invalid code was used, usually the claim was denied for
invalid diagnosis code. The claim was then corrected and resubmitted - a
good example of the rework I was talking about earlier. The web based
medical billing software we decided on has all diagnosis codes and
procedure codes for the specialty of the provider already preloaded. There
are no unnecessary codes but you can add codes. As codes are updated,
added or deleted by the AMA, they are changed automatically in the
program. This will be especially helpful when we go to the ICD10
codes.
8. Automatic insurance
company updates - You don't have to keep up with insurance
company address changes or electronic identification number for your
clearing house. Our favorite web based medical billing software pre-loaded
all insurance companies that could go through the clearing house with the
correct identification numbers for electronic submissions. If a carrier
changes their payer ID# it is automatically updated by the web based
software. You don't have to worry about it. How many of us have suddenly
had all claims for a particular carrier fall into a black hole and find
out it was because they changed their payer number and only notified
providers on a small sidebar on their website. With good web based medical
billing software this would not happen. Because they work in "Real Time",
insurance companies and their electronic identifiers are added or updated
as the clearing house adds/updates them.
9. Eliminates need for
accounting software - A billing service finds the need for
an accounting software like Quickbooks to keep track of billing their
providers for their services. With the new technology, a billing service
can now bill their providers, print statements, send past due notices, run
reports, and enter payments all in the web based system eliminating the
need for Quickbooks. The web based software we chose performs all the
functions we once used Quickbooks for.
10. Multiple practices,
eligibility, and electronic submissions at no extra cost -
This makes a huge difference to a billing service. When we first started
looking at the web based software we were afraid that it would be cost
prohibitive for a billing service with multiple providers as most
companies charged based on the number of providers. We were thrilled to
find an application which not only had more technical features but didn't
charge by the provider or practice but rather by the user.
After researching the advantages of web based
software extensively, we found that we could not afford to ignore the
advantages of web based software. The next thing was to find an
application that was affordable for a billing service.
We found that a company that used the SaaS
(Software as a Service) concept could offer a much more reasonable product
than a typical licensing product. When billing for 60 providers and paying
per provider most web based medical billing software programs got real
expensive. Using the Saas concept a web based medical billing software
could now be offered with no set up cost to medical offices and billing
services for a reasonable monthly fee.
Xena-Health software quickly showed us a
superior product with a host of benefits we didn't know existed resulting
in cutting our data entry time in half. We never dreamed of all the
possibilities that newer technology could supply. With many medical office
costs rising yearly, it was a wonderful surprise to find a cost savings
product that actually increased our efficiency. Xena has been great to
work with and we have been thrilled with the
results. Here is more
information on Xena Health. You can
also call our office at 315-207-4222 X 100 for more information.
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