All Things Medical Office

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I am considering creating several online courses for newbies to the medical office such as the medical billing process, creating a positive patient experience, etc. Please share any ideas you would be interested in.

Medicare will begin paying flat rates for clinic visits to outpatient clinics to avoid upcoding.  Do you think this is fair? Read the full article here

It is important to understand how refunds and recoupments can potentially have a negative impact on reimbursement.  Since these financial activities are generally performed separately, sometimes it is difficult to ... Read more

I invite you to participate in my discussion forum at Medical Office @ About.com .  Please feel free to use this forum to ask questions or express your opinion. Someone else may be searching for help on the same topic. Lots of people can contribute to or benefit from the discussions in this forum. 

I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I wish you and your family a safe and enjoyable holiday as you travel and shop. This year I am so grateful for my family, friends and career. I want to especially express how grateful I am for my readers. I love hearing from you - your questions and feedback. You inspire me to continue to provide the best content to help you improve your Medical Office. As always, please feel free to contact me with your questions or comments at allthingsmedicaloffice@gmail.com .

HOUSTON, Nov. 12, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Healthcare providers have a referral problem. Twenty percent of referrals are never completed, in large part due to the fact that referring patients is a laborious task involving old technologies like fax and follow-up phone calls. Plus, increasing opportunities to strengthen relationships with other local care professionals has become more difficult. Medifr is the first free open eReferral platform created to solve the current referral problem and help care providers gain the valuable exposure to referring colleagues they need to grow their practices. "In the past, the medical and care communities have been slow to adopt new technologies and it has not only affected their office efficiency but also their ability to grow their business," says Dr. Sean Martin, Director of Health and Technology. "Medifr makes is simple to send, receive and track referrals so providers don't lose business. Plus, it provides a unique way for c

There's only a little over a month left in 2013. This is not the time to slow down - it is time for that extra push. Find ways to motivate your staff to increase revenue and reduce bad debt. If you need some ideas, visit www.medicaloffice.about.com and read about ways your medical office can motivate employees.

"If you will spend an extra hour each day of study in your chosen field, you will be a national expert in that field in five years or less." Earl Nightingale

I recently wrote an article for AskAMedicalBiller.com that discusses the importance of filing claims before the timely filing deadline.  It's important to know what the time limits are for each type of insurance payer because they all differ and not knowing can place your medical practice in financial trouble. To read the article in full, visit AskAMedicalbiller.com/dont-lose-money-file-time/.

Here is a question from one of my readers.  Do you have any advice for her?   Interested to hear from other offices how they manage denied claims. No detail is too small, from how you physically organize the paperwork to who in the office does this work. We recently had a staff member leave who was in charge of researching and correcting denied claims. One of my jobs is posting payments and I would give her a copy of anything that needed to be looked at. I am a coder as well although this is not my primary job. We found mountains of paperwork on her desk including the RAs I had given her to research months ago and money is being recouped from as far back as 2011!  For now, it has fallen to me to sort this out and handle current denied claims. How do I stay on top of the new denied claims when half the time, I don't know why it was denied? I can see how her work piled up as it did, intentions are good but the denials are piling up faster than I can solve them.  H

The electronic health record enables health care providers to effectively manage patient care through the use and sharing of patient records. Is your office properly trained and equipped to be meaningful users of EHRs?

Have you read this week's Medical Office newsletter? If you haven't signed up yet, you can preview this week's newsletter here . My free, weekly newsletter can arrive in your mailbox every Wednesday. Sign up today at MedicalOffice.About.com .

It has been brought to my attention that some medical billers are concerned about the impact that the Affordable Care Act will have on their jobs.  The worry is that these types of insurance plans will add to the problems that we currently experience as billers on a day to day basis.  As a medical biller myself, I have often faced challenges that prevent my claims from paying and these newly covered patients will most likely only add more of the same. With that being said it doesn't matter what our political or personal beliefs are; we are all professionals and our job is to: Get maximum reimbursement to meet the goals of the medical facility we bill for Offer a courtesy to our patients by submitting claims and getting payment on their behalf The burden is ours because we chose to be billers and we should continue to perform our jobs to the best of our ability.     Think Pink!

Kareo is offering EHR free.  Go to www.kareo.com/EHR for details.

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Physician Office Managers Association of America (POMAA) is offering free professional certifications through October 31, 2013 if you purchase a study guide.  Some of the certifications include: Certified Practice Manager Certified Medical Billing Manager Certified Human Resource Specialist And Many More Visit www.pomaa.net and order your study guide today!

Anyone interested or know someone interested in a Travel Hospital Billing and Collection Analyst opportunity.  Email your resume to jody.ruch@ereso.com .   The successful candidate will have a minimum of 5 years of hospital business office billing and collection (or other medical billing office, ie., clinic or physician) experience and be a very high energy, ethical and well organized professional with excellent follow-through, customer service and team working skills. Candidate must also possess expert level ability in billing and/or collections with Medicare, Medicaid, Commercial and/or Self Pay. Good luck!

Technology continues to change in healthcare in order to improve the quality of care patients receive. But that technology does not have to be limited to medical equipment for performing procedures or developing new methods of treatment. Read more

Welcome to my new blog - All Things Medical Office!  Here you will find links to articles for medical office professionals including articles I have written for About.com Medical Office and Ask a Medical Biller . Thank you for following and please feel free to comment.