Dental Billing

Dental Billing Basics

Physicians and dentists are different in many ways. They attend different schools for their degrees, perform different procedures on their patients, and use different sets of data and codes for billing. However, medical and dental billing are actually very similar. Successful billing for both physicians and dentists requires an understanding of billing and coding principles and of how insurance companies process claims. READ MORE………

Cross Training

How Cross Training can Make Your Practice More Efficient

Having a small to medium medical practice necessitates training staff for highly specific positions. Often times what may be an entire department in a larger operation is handled by a single employee at a doctor’s office. READ MORE………………….

Not Ready for ICD-10

Considering all of the coverage ICD-10 has received, it is unlikely you were caught by surprise, but perhaps you were caught unprepared. Health care providers around the nation let out a collective sigh of relief after successfully testing and implementing ICD-10, a project almost twenty years in the making. But the truth is that even for the most prepared the change will be a challenge. Mistakes, delays and rejected claims are sure to occur. For those that did not prepare, even after almost a year of delays, the task at hand may seem daunting. The truth is that if you get started right away, you can quickly make up for any lost time. Read more...

Meaningful Use Final Rule

After spending some time listening to physicians and other health care providers, not to mention some harsh criticism from Congress, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) released the Meaningful Use Final Rule last month. That review time was spent gathering more than 2,500 comments about the challenges physicians face in trying to incorporate Electronic Health Record (EHR) technology into their practices and making that technology work for their patients as intended. Now, after the final rule was issued, CMS will continue to collect public comments about the EHR Incentive Program which provides cash incentives to practices that incorporate certified EHR technology under specific guidelines. Read more...

Credentialing Under Obamacare

Credentialing Under the Affordable Care Act

For many medical practices, credentialing has become a necessity under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, as it is often referred to. In order to get these patients in the door, a doctor’s office must be credentialed with the major commercial health insurance companies as well as with Medicaid and Medicare. Fail to do so and patient will week healthcare where their insurance plans are accepted. READ MORE…………….

Practice Startup

Starting a New Medical Practice

The complexities of setting up and running a medical practice may seem overwhelming. Understandably, most physicians do not have extensive experience running a business, but the prospect of working for oneself is still enticing. For this and other reasons, it is highly advisable to consider obtaining the services of a medical practice consulting firm to get your new practice off the ground. This article will cover some of the basics you should be thinking about when getting started. READ MORE………………

Insurance Claim Denials are Costly In More Ways than One

Individual insurance companies seem to deny claims based on different criteria. Providers, meanwhile, are forced to put expensive administrative systems in place just to keep up. A standardized system is nowhere in sight. READ MORE…………….