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Medical Billing Service

Medical Billing Service- How To Select The Right Service Provider?

Medical coding and Billing is a very crucial task that provides a huge responsibility to healthcare providers. 

The competition of outsourcing this service is high, there are tons of organizations to choose from that provide medical billing services. 

With so much saturation, you must look at your options in deep detail before choosing the right one. There are several ways to find the company that fits your practice. 

Let’s find out how you can select the company that perfectly fits your desires.

Types Of Billing Services Out There

Before jumping into the process of choosing your company let’s look at what types of companies regarding this service are there.

Small-Scale

If you are running a small medical practice then this is the option that can work out for you. Many medical billing firms nowadays, work on a small scale and some are also home-based.

If your service has little data management and a limited budget, investing in a small-scale billing company is the best choice. 

Professional

Medical Billing from a professional medical billing company costs more than a small company. However, the extra service provided adds value and tends to be worth the extra spending.

If you have a higher budget, a professional medical company can be a good option for you.

Physician Management Company

These companies have trained professionals and a well-developed hierarchy. This leads to timely submissions of assignments with high productivity.

Costing more than small and professional firms, these companies are worth the money as you completely hand out the medical billing process to them. As a result, focussing more on your practice rather than diverting your focus on other things.

Points Of Consideration Before Choosing Your Company

Services

The most obvious thing to look at before choosing the medical billing company is the services the companies offer. As a company, you need to be clear about the services that the medical billing company is offering and whether or not it matches your needs! Another point to notice is the services that the company does not offer.

Because getting all the services from one company is much more efficient than hiring separate companies for tasks. Another necessary point is taking into account the specialization of the company. If the company meets your requirements it will lead to a lot of benefits.

Cost

For any service that you outsource you need to be sure about how much it costs. The cost of the service a company is willing to spend depends on the budget a company has.

Discussing and finalizing the cost of the service is important. You must have a strategic approach to dealing. Many medical billing companies offer different rates of services so, choose the right package that fits the budget and needs.

Technology Used

Technology is the most important tool needed to get results quickly. However, not every medical billing company has the budget to equip itself with the latest and best tech.

This is why you need to be clear of the service you outsource and also the latest software needed for the task to be completed in the best possible way. You need to communicate this need beforehand, this will allow you to know if the medical billing company has the software required to do the work.

High Response Rate

Not only a good medical billing company, but any service provider takes measures to ensure that they respond to customer’s questions as soon as possible, to not have stoppages in work. Speed and availability are something that top healthcare providers look for. Medical billing partners should quickly respond to concerns before and after the service.

HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) focuses on data protection and security requirements. Ensuring that your company meets HIPPA’s requirements is important, to not have any law-related issues that can ruin a company’s reputation. The law makes sure the patient’s sensitive details are protected and do not get into the wrong hands.

Is Your Data Secure?

In any tech-related field security is a major concern. This question increases in the case of medical practices. You need to remember that by outsourcing you are handing out highly sensitive data and in case it is used wrongly the company will be held responsible.

If you want to ensure the protection of confidential and private medical records, it is important to choose the best billing organization. Medical billing company needs to be truthful to you and provide reliable information on time. Honesty is the best policy!  So make sure you pick a company that makes things clear and immaculate.

Related Medical Billing Services Near Me: How Can I Find Them? 

Advantages Of Outsourcing 

Focus On Important Tasks

There is no denying it, medical billing is essential to your healthcare practice. However, the most important factor of your service is the well-being of your patients. By hiring a Medical Billing, you have more time to give to your patients. This allows the increase of your patient’s satisfaction.

As a result, this will result in more revenue for the company. It’s hard to do this when your employees also have to look at billing duties.

Errors Reduced

Without correct training of employees or if you still use paper-based systems, it results in bad errors taking place. With such a focus on technology, medical billing ensures that all your claims are accurate and quick in submission. This reduces rejected claims and increases efficiency. 

Safety Of Data

Medical-related files information is more valuable than other types of digital data. Outsourcing medical practice, medical experts invest the money to protect patient information and ensure that the chance of a data breach is minimal

Increased Productivity

Medical billing companies have more tools to use the data more effectively than you can. Data mining information in the patient database will reveal a range of patterns that can help you be more productive. 

Examples include adjusting staff schedules to handle patient flow appropriately based on historical patterns and projections, and identifying obstacles in the schedule. You could determine that certain patients need more time in the examination room than previously thought. A little knowledge goes a long way toward helping you operate more efficiently.

Why Med-Miles?

Finding a medical billing company that fits your needs is crucial. While searching for one you will notice that most of the companies you have seen are not perfect for one reason or another. However, Med-Miles ensures that all the boxes of your needs are ticked off. We ensure first-class quality and operational standards as customer satisfaction is our main goal.

For professional medical assistance feel free to call us at (888) 598-9181 or mail us at  info@med-miles.com.

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Medical Transcription Services

Medical Transcription Services- Proactive To The Needs of The Healthcare Sector

Hospitals and medical offices using old transcription techniques have to rely on paper-based charts, containing a patient’s history and treatment. Many errors have been known to be caused by this like, writing incorrectly deciphered by office staff, nurses or insurance companies. Leading to costly and dangerous mistakes. 

Medical practices have two primary options when it comes to medical transcription. They can hire an in-house team of transcribers, or they can outsource transcription to a third party. Accurate notes are essential for ensuring a patient receives the best care and treatment they need. 

To Handle these notes in a more professional and easier way and to keep those notes from getting lost, companies outsource their Medical Transcription Services. 

In-house transcription has some benefits, many medical providers find outsourcing medical transcription services is the more effective option. 

Outsourcing and In-House Transcription-Comparison

According to reports as of 2018, of the 58,000 people who worked as medical transcriptionists in the US, 23% of them worked as in-house physicians, 21% worked in hospitals, and one-third were employed by companies that provide administrative and support services, such as transcription companies. 

Working in-house, transcriptionists are responsible for listening to a recording made by a medical provider, interpreting and studying the recording and transcribing it. 

Nowadays, changes in technology have made the use of speech recognition software more common. Now, a medical provider is likely to dictate a note that is automatically transcribed by the software.

A medical transcriptionist will review the typed-up note, comparing it to the original recording. They will make any changes or corrections needed to the transcription to ensure it is accurate.

Working with an in-house transcriptionist has a few benefits. For example, an employee at the practice will become familiar with a doctor’s way of speaking, making it easier to transcribe notes.

They will also be easy to reach if there are questions or concerns about a particular transcription since they are likely to be in the same office. A medical practitioner can also train transcriptionists to meet his/her standards and to always follow privacy rules and laws. 

An in-house transcriptionist performs other tasks in the office as well. Other than transcribing notes and documents, a transcriptionist might be expected to act as a receptionist, greeting patients who arrive for appointments or answering the phones in the office. Some also handle medical billing, order office supplies and perform other administrative tasks. 

However, multitasking throughout the day can prevent a person from performing their transcription duties with focus. Feeling like they need to rush through transcribing, leading to inaccurate notes. Keeping medical transcription in-house can also be more expensive for a healthcare provider.

If the practice or hospital has hired a person full-time, it will need to pay the employee’s salary, whether there are documents to transcribe or not. The practice will also typically provide payroll and pay unemployment insurance taxes for any employees it hires to do transcription.

Outsourcing Medical Transcription Services Benefits

Charting Made Simple

Dictating medical notes has become easier as technology has improved in the past decade.  Smartphone apps and handheld digital recorders have played a huge part in saving time and money on the administrative paperwork. A physician can now simply enter notes into a device and be ready to see the next patient in a matter of seconds.

The oral notes will be typed out and proofread for errors. The physician would get back the notes within 24 hours and can fill them with ease. With medical transcription, there is no need to search for lost files and waste time.

Increase In Accuracy

Your medical transcription services provider will offer you several levels of quality control to make sure that there is no occurrence of incorrect medical terms.

Companies can also avail the services of a trained transcriptionist for a specific medical specialty like neurology, cardiology or dermatology. Such transcriptionists can assist you with your individual requirements. With outsourcing, comes the freedom from employing several in-house resources for quality control.

Save Money

Numerous costs are involved in hiring a person to provide in-house transcription. Including the time and money spent advertising for a position, time spent reviewing resumes and time spent interviewing candidates. The average company needs more than 40 days to fill a vacant or new position.

Once the transcriptionist is added to the team, your company needs to pay them even if there aren’t notes or documents to transcribe. That is one reason why many medical practices that use in-house transcriptionists usually have their transcription team perform other roles. 

In the case of outsourcing medical transcription services, you only have to pay for the material you have transcribed. If your practice doesn’t see patients for a week or so, you don’t have to worry about continuing to pay the salary of a person who doesn’t have any work to do.

No Equipment

Setting up and maintaining in-house transcription typically requires the purchase of equipment and software. If your team will transcribe documents from recorded voice files, they will need a way to easily playback as well as start and stop those files. 

Using speech recognition software in-house also usually requires the purchase of equipment, such as the software itself and a microphone and recorder for doctors to use when making their notes. Along with investing in the equipment, you will need to spend time training your team on how to use it. 

Outsourcing medical transcription services, all the equipment and software are kept off-site. You won’t have to purchase it, store it or worry about continually updating it

Why Med-Miles?

Transcription companies like Med-Miles offer medical transcription services to fit every type of need. With scalable options, medical transcription can be customized for any practice of any size.

We even offer one-time medical transcription services. It’s time your hospital transformed your unstructured notes into tidy medical reports. Find out more about the medical transcription services offered or feel free to call us at (888) 598-9181 or mail us at  info@med-miles.com.

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Healthcare in the US

Healthcare In The US Is Outdated: An Overview

We live in a world where industries have to find ways of improving and updating, there is no time to stop. Constant improvement in technology is making it crucial to stay informed about new systems.

This is most beneficial if you apply it in your healthcare practice, especially in these times where millions are vulnerable to diseases like COVID-19 and heart attacks, etc. Having older systems makes the healthcare processes slow, often at the expense of your patient’s health.

According to reports by Palo Alto Networks, 83% of devices in US healthcare run on outdated systems.

Let’s find out why running on outdated health care systems is not recommended and how you can improve them.

What Systems Are Being Used Today?

Palo Alto networks checked 1.2 million devices of healthcare organizations in the United States. The results showed that 83% of devices in the US healthcare run on outdated software, with 56% of them operating on Windows 7, 27% on Windows XP, or decommissioned versions of Linux OS.

This is a major issue as Microsoft themselves encourages their users to update to Windows 10. Microsoft stopped supporting Windows 7, even if you do not upgrade to Windows 10, your device will continue operating normally.

But, you will no longer receive essential security updates or bug fixes, meaning your device becomes vulnerable to various security threats. Yet, over half of the medical devices in the US are still using Windows 7.

Risks Of Outdated Healthcare Systems

The practice of having updated systems is still lagging significantly when it comes to healthcare. This is an issue that healthcare systems and organizations need to seriously consider, due to these reasons!

Cybersecurity

Security breaches in the US healthcare system have been growing a lot over the past three years. In 2017, there were 5.1M registered stolen medical records, and the number has been increasing ever since.

In 2018 this figure reached 14M. Until 2019, the number increased by 65%, leaving 40M Americans having their health records compromised. There is a constant increase in these issues and solving them should be a top priority for everyone.

Healthcare cyber threats are a major problem for a few reasons:

-Medical provider networks can contain valuable financial information. Since there are very few people who do not see healthcare providers, nearly everyone’s personal information is available in some form.

-The linked nature of healthcare systems means hackers have access to the data that has been collected under patient’s names for years. Sharing patient information is a very important part of providing the best possible treatment to patients, however, that same sharing also makes networks extremely valuable targets.

-The attacker’s goal is to gather information either to sell or for their personal use. Using the content available through electronic health records, a stranger could use insurance information to set up appointments, undergo expensive medical procedures, or obtain prescription medication under the patient’s name. In these cases, the patient or healthcare organization may be held responsible for the charges or medications.

Communication

Communication breakdowns in healthcare can lead to significant issues and failures, often at the expense of patient health. Having outdated systems makes healthcare communication challenging for many reasons.

  • One patient can have various professionals providing care often over several unconnected locations. This can create dangerous communication gaps between care coordination and leaving limited opportunities for interaction.
  • Differences in education, background, and training amongst healthcare practitioners can result in unclear communication methods. Diversity in communication leads to ineffective communication and misunderstandings.
  • Many hospitals and clinics are still using outdated technology and communication systems. While most industries have swapped out their fax machines for email, pagers for smartphones, healthcare clinics are still using these outdated, inefficient communication technologies as a result costing everyone. If a healthcare provider isn’t able to quickly access patient information and collaborate with colleagues efficiently, not only is time and funding wasted but delivery and quality of patient care are inhibited.

Malware and Phishing

Malware and phishing schemes that plant malicious scripts on a computer or steal login credentials can jeopardize an entire system. Outdated systems make businesses vulnerable to these attempts even more.

It’s essential to train staff to recognize common phishing attempts. One common scam is to have emails from authentic-looking sites request login information, something reputable companies never ask through an email. Once a user provides that information, the hacker on the other end can log in to the system. Outdated systems don’t have the antivirus software that new ones do so why not get one?

Benefits Of Using Updated Systems

Updated healthcare systems in hospitals provide a clearer, more complete picture of the patient’s health, helping doctors to confidently do their job. Here are some advantages of updating your systems.

Updated Tools

Wireless medical devices have become more user-friendly, and their technology is always improving. Hospitals have to ensure that their operating systems are not only keeping up with these advancements. However, if the hospital’s operating system cannot keep up, the device may be partially or fully unusable. With an updated computer system in place, your hospital can utilize smarter technology and serve your patients better.

Streamline Information

Once linked to the system, you can streamline the data and create a complete patient profile. These devices save the patient’s information in easy-to-read formats preventing any misunderstanding of their results. No longer making you rely on handwritten and outdated data but rather clear and complete profiles.

They can also sync their inputs and share among departments more easily, generating clear and fast communication. Additionally, by allowing patients to schedule their appointments on the system, both of you know where and when the patient needs to be somewhere.

Management Improved

The management experience also prospers with this technology. These systems help you understand the staffing needs of your hospital by showing who is working where and for how long. Additionally, you can keep track of how patient care is being managed by seeing what tests are being ordered and their results. As an administrator, you receive a full record of what is going on in the hospital.

Reputation 

Being known as a technologically advanced hospital can improve your rankings. Patients trust hospitals that show that they continue to update and move with the times. This leads to improved reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations. Additionally, insurance and Medicare companies tend to prefer hospitals that provide digital copies of their records. All of this earns you further distinction on the market.

Improve Your Systems Today!

There’s no denying it computers are now the present, not the future. The sooner a hospital adapts and updates these systems, the greater the benefit is to the patient and doctor. 

Securing a network can seem like an overwhelming task. Not only must all questions be considered when forming a plan, but you must find a way to provide substantial maintenance to keep systems from becoming outdated by the latest hacking methods and stay in compliance with renewed regulations.

Med-Miles is here to look at your questions and provide professional feedback, making sure your practice keeps growing and is secure at all costs. All you have to do is contact us at 

+1 888-598-9181 or email us at info@med-miles.com

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EMR

EMR Improves Patient Care In What Ways?

The 20th century has seen a big increase in technological changes around the globe. Software organizations are constantly looking to create solutions that lead to breakthroughs in industrial practices. The EMR market was valued at $23,592 million back in 2016 and this value is expected to rise to $33,294 in 2023.

Medical billing is a process that is very important and if not done right it can cause a lot of issues for clinics or private physicians. However, now this process has been simplified. With the introduction of EMR services, medical billing has been easier. 

How Do EMR Systems Work?

Electronic medical records or EMR is a system of organizing patient data digitally using special software. Electronic medical records are the hard copy data files converted digitally that record information about the patient, like their medical history and treatment. It is a quick and efficient way to gather data and refer to it. 

The Benefit Of EMR Systems To Practitioners 

Service Improved

EMR systems are a great tool for patient care and the quality of work of family physicians. The constant changes in technology make it hard for private and family-run medical centers to keep up to date, after all, they are human. 

This is where EMR Systems are a strong tool to have. EMR systems are designed to simplify access to information and relationships, effectively transforming how physicians conduct their practice.

Save Money

EMR systems are an excellent way to control expenses. According to a study published by The American Journal of Medicine, EMR systems can lead to an increased return to your financial records. The use of EMR systems has led to savings on drug expenditure due to quick and efficient recording and reporting of billing services.

Improved Information

Providing information effectively is a huge ask in the case of paper-based systems. EMR systems allow information to be presented in the form of graphs and pie charts. Vast amounts of data like cholesterol levels, and blood pressure, allow physicians to track any changes that have taken place over time. Leading to better management of chronic diseases, thus,  improving the quality of care provided to patients. 

Space Saved

Out of all the paper produced, the medical industry takes in 92 million metric tonnes of it. Storing these many papers requires a lot of space. However, using EMR systems all of the patient records are stored digitally and only the required information is printed out. This reduces the need for storage units to be installed and spaces can be used more efficiently. 

EMR System Benefits To Patients

Patient Is Top Priority

EMR systems improve the quality of patient care and also play a crucial role in increasing safety. Checking a patient’s record has become very simple through EMR systems, rather than looking through large files and wasting time.

EMR systems are used to prescribe and place an order for a patient. The patient’s history and allergies are available at the click of a button. The availability of such information allows the staff and the doctor to give well-rounded, and efficient care to the patient.

EMR systems allow patients to make informed decisions about their pending surgeries, procedures, and other areas of their health. Furthermore, patients can also request electronic copies of their healthcare information when they want to.

If they ever want to switch healthcare providers, their electronic medical record is transferred to the new healthcare provider, giving them an in-depth look at their history.

Emergency Situation Handled Better

There are many situations where patients cannot carry their medical records. In emergencies like road accidents, sudden cardiac arrests, and natural disasters, patients cannot provide medical details.

In such cases, electronic health records can be critical life-saving info for emergency care providers. And this is possibly one of the most important benefits of EMR systems.

Secure Data

According to research in the US around 15% of the paper documents are misplaced and 7.5% of those are completely lost. This increases the risk of the patient’s private information being leaked.

With EMR systems, they contain firewalls that prevent breaches and secures all the information.

Accuracy Increased

During emergencies and also generally errors are made when documenting a patient’s data. Errors like confusing handwriting or mis-spelling can lead to misdiagnosis or other problems. 

EMR systems allow the occurrence of these errors to decrease significantly which leads to accurate and precise records.

Environment Friendly

Using EMR systems is not only helpful for efficient record keeping, but it is also playing its part in us having a cleaner environment. Requests, results, bills, all of these take a lot of printing of papers.

EMR systems eliminate all of these by a Green and Clean record-keeping system.

Guide To Choosing EMR Systems

Initial Investment

The cost of EMR systems varies with the number of options it offers and the vendor you select may also impact the cost of the software.

Therefore, when you request a price estimate, ask for the initial licensing fee. And also, the amount that the additional components you need will add to the price.

Customer Support

Even after days of using EMR systems, companies come up with issues about functionality. Making it important to choose a provider that offers customer support 24/7. Without excellent customer support at the back, it is unlikely that hospitals can get all the advantages of EMR.

Customizable

Hospitals have their management styles and needs, so the EMR system must be flexible enough to adapt. Double-check varies with vendors if their systems have room for all your requirements. 

Training

Perfecting an  EMR software takes days or even months. So you must confirm the time it will take to get the EMR up and running from the provider.

Some vendors even offer training to the staff and medical practitioners. So that’s another critical advantage of choosing your EMR software.

Get Automated EMR Services Now!

EMR systems have a direct impact on the medical practices and processes of healthcare organizations which is why you should take ownership of your decisions, identify requirements, get EMR expertise, integrate practice management, focus on simplicity and ease of use of the software, assess support and upgrades, check vendor feasibility, determine your financial limits, focus on the implementation of strategies and techniques.

Are you one of those people that has been involved in this practice for years? Do you have piles of data of your patients which is crucial for you? 

Well worry no more, Here at Med-Miles LLC, we offer you all the required expertise that you need in switching to a better future. 

All you need to do is contact us at +1 888-598-9181 or email us at info@med-miles.com.

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E-Prescribing

Learn How E-Prescribing Can Benefit Hospitals?

Making a prescription for your patients is one of the most important parts of medical practice. A doctor’s handwriting is one of the most common jokes everyone makes when visiting a clinic or hospital. 

Not only is handwriting a problem but making sure the prescription is safe and you don’t lose it is another drawback to paper-based prescriptions. 

E-prescribing has introduced doctors and patients to a whole new level of this process. This accurate way of prescriptions is not only less time taking but easier to manage for both the patients and doctors. 

E-prescribing is currently at its highest in the United States. Especially after the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) implemented rules and regulations for E-prescribing, it has gained a lot of trust around the country. Let’s look at how E-prescribing gained this much attention and its benefits.

The Rise Of E-Prescribing!

E-prescriptions were initially designed to assist pharmacies by saving delivery time for staff. They also played a role in decreasing the overheads medical firms were facing. 

This intrigued the owners and the pharmacists, leading to quick developments. Another reason for the rise of E-prescriptions is that they offered clinics and hospitals enhanced patient safety by making better clinical decisions. 

According to The World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 50% of patients around the world do not complete their prescribed medication. This hurts patient health contributing to frequent hospital visits and even worse it leads to patient death. The introduction of e-prescribing is less hassle for patients as it makes it easier for them to get their prescriptions.

E-prescriptions can either be used separately or can be combined with the Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems. Many healthcare providers consider the integration of e-prescriptions with EHR because it contains patient data such as clinical information, lab orders. 

E-prescription being a part of EHR makes it convenient for physicians to access all patient information and at the same time, he can share e-prescription with the pharmacist, ensuring efficiency and accuracy.

The Process Of Creating E-Prescriptions

E-prescriptions are created through software. The system sends medication prescriptions electronically to pharmacies. During a patient visit, the prescriber uses the E-Prescribing software system on a smartphone or tablet to write and send prescriptions. Nowadays, with all the technological advancements around, many options are available in E-prescribing software making them even handier.

Benefits Of E-Prescribing

Reduces Chances Of Errors

It has happened many times that pharmacists tend to provide wrong medicines due to incorrectly reading the handwriting on prescription, and deliver medicines that sound familiar to one mentioned. For example, Brillinta and Brintellix are different drugs but sound familiar, one is used for coronary syndrome and the other treats depression. If mixed up, it may lead to patient death or any severe symptoms. 

E-prescription can eliminate medication errors that occur due to handwriting mistakes. Also, e-prescriptions allow physicians and pharmacists to access a patient’s previous medication and reduce the chances of dispensing the wrong medication.

Automatic Systems

A good software system integrates with your EHR software system which offers the facility of instant clinical alerts. Most visits to clinics and hospitals in the United States are caused by preventable drug events which can be reduced with the implementation of e-prescribing as they prevent the prescription of a medication that the patient may be allergic to.

Quick Medication Process

Traditional prescriptions tend to lose medication history, making it difficult for psychiatrists and physicians to track details. With E-prescriptions, a patient’s medication history can be accessed within milliseconds. Every record is saved in application memory. E-prescription applications fetch data from EHR platforms, to speed up e-prescribing.

Instant Notifications

E-prescribing allows physicians to be informed of allergies and previously prescribed drugs. Everything is documented & stored within the application. E-prescription also provides an alert to the providers if the newly prescribed drugs may cause any severe symptoms. Instant notifications through e-prescribing help physicians to provide alternate medication, suggest substitute therapies and treat any allergies on time.

Track Medication

Traditional prescriptions do not guarantee the completion of the prescribed medication. There is no effective method to track if the prescription is fulfilled. This could be due to patients losing the paper, forgetting to fill the prescribed form or the moment they start feeling better they stop the medication.

E-prescribing assists physicians to track if the patients have filled prescription forms and whether or not they have consumed the required amount of the medication as prescribed.

Fewer Chances Of Delays

When patients receive prescriptions from the doctor chances are that they may forget to fill their medication intake or may have lost the paper. This leads to patients, either revisiting the physician to rewrite the prescription. E-prescribing allows prescriptions to be directly sent to the pharmacy leaving no chances of errors from the patients.

Key Considerations 

Almost all the hospitals that already have Electronic Health Record (EHR) will go with the decision of an e-prescribing solution implemented so that they can connect with pharmacies in their network. 

However, there are some questions that hospitals and other healthcare providers should consider before having E-prescribing integrated with their EHR.

Will EHR Be Included?

EHR allows physicians to update patient medication details. If the E-prescription software is integrated with the EHR system it allows the providers to enhance the quality of patient care. 

Not having an integrated EHR system limits the information given to pharmacists regarding medications and other reports.

Is It Secure?

Since the pharmacies, retail, and mail-order outlets are the external elements for hospitals, keeping a tab on the network they are connected through is crucial. Through E-prescribing a lot of sensitive drug details are shared. Hence one should ensure a secured network for implementation of E-prescription.

The network must be compliant with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and other regulatory compliances so that sensitive patient information is kept protected.

Revealing Hidden Costs!

When a patient receives medication from a pharmacy through e-prescribing, some networks charge for transactions done on platforms. Clarify the charges before implementing e-prescribing with EHR.

Automate Your Practice Now!

The e-prescribing platform allows hospitals and practitioners to stay connected with national pharmacies to improve medication and patient safety. 

With e-prescribing, the system builds a bridge between providers and pharmacies to improve the overall process and ensure patient safety. E-prescribing makes the medication management process effective and improves care workflow. E-prescribing is changing healthcare delivery by reducing prescribing errors and saving on healthcare costs. 

If your practice hasn’t switched to e-Prescribing software, it is time you leap to change your prescribing methods and satisfy your patients and reduce your costs.

Med-Miles LLC is here to assist you in automating your practice with up-to-date E-prescribing systems. All you need to do is email us at  info@med-miles.com or call us at (888) 598-9181 for a simpler and an effective future.

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Healthcare Software Solutions

Healthcare Software Solutions: Why Do You Need One?

The 20th century has seen a big increase in technological changes around the globe. Software organizations are constantly looking to create solutions that lead to breakthroughs in industrial practices.

Medical billing is a process that is very important and if not done right it can cause a lot of issues for clinics or private psychiatrists.

However, now this process has been simplified. With the introduction of Healthcare Software Solutions-EMR, EHR, and PMS, medical billing has been easier.

Thinking-Why do you need EMR systems?

Nowadays there is an electronic solution to everything. Keeping paper records of your patient’s medical bills is a huge burden on employees and slows them down as well.

Here, EMR (Electronic Medical Record) systems play a huge part in minimizing the effort of keeping records of medical bills.

Choosing EMR systems over paper records provides you with benefits that can’t be ignored.

This blog post highlights some of the advantages of having an EMR system. You Should Read Them!

  • Medical Diagnosis Improved

In the US over 12 million people suffer from misdiagnosis.

This is due to the time it takes to track your patient’s medical records.

With EMR systems all it takes is a click of a button and you get all the history of your patient, making you focus more on the diagnosis of your patient rather than wasting energy looking for the right file.

  • Easier Access To Information

Paper-based medical files are huge and looking for the right file takes time and a lot of concentration.

This is more threatening in case of an emergency where time is very limited.

Using EMR systems, you have access to thousands of records within milliseconds, potentially saving lives.

  • Storage Space Eliminated

Out of all the paper produced, the medical industry takes in 92 million metric tonnes of it. Storing these many papers requires a lot of space.

However, using EMR systems all of the patient records are stored digitally and only the required information is printed out.

This reduces the need for storage units to be installed and spaces can be used more efficiently.

  • Increased Customer Care

The time it takes to look through files causes employees to ignore the patient. This increases the danger of misdiagnosis and also upsets customers.

With EMR systems it allows employees to do what they were hired for, which is taking care of the patients.

  • Data Security Improved

According to research in the US around 15% of the paper documents are misplaced and 7.5% of those are completely lost.

This increases the risk of the patient’s private information being leaked.

With EMR systems, they contain firewalls that prevent breaches and secures all the information.

  • Accurate Data

During emergencies and also generally errors are made when documenting a patient’s data.

Errors like confusing handwriting or mis-spelling can lead to misdiagnosis or other problems.

EMR systems allow the occurrence of these errors to decrease significantly which leads to accurate and precise records.

  • Environmentally Friendly

Using EMR systems is not only helpful for efficient record keeping, but it is also playing its part in us having a cleaner environment.

Requests, results, bills, all of these take a lot of printing of papers.

EMR systems eliminate all of these by a Green and Clean record-keeping system.

How Can You Switch To EMR/EHR Systems?

Choosing the best EMR, EHR systems requires you to look at different aspects of your business.

There are a lot of EMR software packages and you can select the efficient one by following certain processes and criteria.

The EMR software has a direct impact on the medical practices and processes of healthcare organizations which is why you should take ownership of your decisions, identify requirements, get EMR expertise, integrate practice management, focus on simplicity and ease of use of the software, assess support and upgrades, check vendor feasibility, determine your financial limits, focus on the implementation of strategies and techniques.

Are you one of those people that has been involved in this practice for years? Do you have piles of data of your patients which is crucial for you?

Well worry no more, Here at Med-Miles LLC, we offer you all the required expertise that you need in switching to a better future.

We will provide you the best vendors of EMR systems according to your needs. So, don’t miss this opportunity.

Feel free to contact us at +1 888-598-9181 or email us at info@med-miles.com.

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Medical Billing

Is Outsourcing Medical Billing and RCM for Your Pediatric Practice a good option?

Medical billing and Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) is a huge process that is crucial for both clinics and independent medical service providers. 

To assist with this task many Medical Billing firms have come into existence that allow healthcare professionals to outsource their task of RCM.

Some may argue that outsourcing medical billing might be a risk, however, people also suggest that outsourcing the RCM process allows clinics and pediatricians to give more time to their patients and improve the quality of their service. 

Let’s look at whether or not outsourcing RCM is a good decision!

Why you should outsource Medical Billing and RCM?

  • Lower Costs

Medical billing in-house comes with its costs. The set-up costs of buying desktops or laptops and also installing the desired software for RCM cannot be ignored if you want to introduce in-house billing. 

Then comes the salaries of the people who will be responsible for the medical billing and their training costs. All these costs will not be incurred if you choose to outsource your RCM to a trusted and experienced company. 

Medical Billing companies earn by cutting a certain percentage off the bill the company receives which is quite low looking at the costs of in-house billing.

  • Less Pressure on employees

With in-house billing employees always stay curious about the accuracy of their billing. Employees as a result end up giving more time in the billing process rather than what their main job is. 

Outsourcing RCM relieves employees of the stress and allows them to focus on the job they were hired for.

  • Greater Consistency

In-house billing gives better results if done by a small group of people. However, what if one of the employees gets sick or goes on his/her annual holidays. 

This won’t be an issue with outsourcing medical bills as they will consistently process your bills ignoring what goes on in your firm regarding your employees, all they are concerned with are the bills of your customers.

  • Respond better to changes in Medical trends

Medical Billing companies have more knowledge of the requirements of the bills and the upcoming changes that will take place. 

Outsource companies respond better to the changes than in-house billing because it is what they do 24/7. 

Responding to changes for in-house billing companies will be slower and more complicated as they will need to retrain their employees and might have to update software.

  • Errors are reduced

Employees in medical firms have a lot of things in their mind while they are on duty regarding the patient which makes them prone to mistakes while billing the patients. 

They might enter the wrong name or enter the wrong code which affects the cash flows of the practice.

Employees in the medical billing companies are very well trained and their job is to bill the customers and have no other tasks on their mind which reduce errors.

Signs that you need to outsource your Medical Billing

Using in-house billing for years helps companies to develop a certain flow of how they bill their customers and how they use their software.

However, there are certain signs that your practice is not doing the right job in billing your customers and it’s better you opt for outsourcing the medical bills.

  • Pending Registrations

When your employees start ignoring steps like completing the authorization of customers and following up on claims it breaks the flow of the bills. As a result, there are missed entries in the company’s accounts which causes complications. 

  • Price transparency not provided

A company’s customer always needs to know about the information costs they are incurring. If an employee fails to do so it means he/she doesn’t have enough knowledge about the billing system. This is a major sign that you should pass on the work to professionals.

  • Non-electronic methods of billing used

Keeping all the files of non-electric bills safe in a locker can be a confusing task. If your firm is not eligible enough to use electronic devices for your billing systems then it’s better you outsource the firm’s RCM.

  • Coding errors are seen on a consistent basis

Group of employees that have been over-worked for years tend to make small errors like entering the wrong code, especially as codes change frequently. However, these small errors have a huge impact on the billing system of the company.

Outsourcing a firm’s RCM is a great way to make your work more productive and consistent. It allows your employees to completely focus on the customers which gains their trust for the future.

However, what you need to take care of is choosing an authorized outsourcing firm and you can do just that by contacting Med-Miles by email (info@med-miles.com) or by calling us at +1888-598-9181 for your medical billing solutions.

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Claim Scrubbing

How Does The Process of Claim Scrubbing Help a Medical Practice?

We have seen many changes in medical billing for the past few decades. Many healthcare providers have to follow the rules, regulations, and guidelines required by various insurance companies while submitting claims.

Also, they have to make sure if their claims comply with HIPAA or not?. All these requirements are essential to get reimbursements on time.

But many healthcare practitioners and organizations face denials and late reimbursements due to errors in the medical billing and coding. Errors in billing and coding lead to losses of approximately $128 Billion in the US every year. 

Claim scrubbing is the process that helps to lower the risk of errors in claim submissions. It allows you to look for any billing and coding errors, and correct them. It can be done manually or automated. 

Stick with us to find out what the claim scrubbing process is and how it can help you with accurate claim submission to avoid errors. 

What is Claim Scrubbing?

Claim scrubbing is a process that is performed before the submission of claims to healthcare insurance companies. A medical claim has information about the patient, healthcare provider, individual physician, medical staff, and insurer details. It also includes data about the diagnoses, tests, treatments, and procedures performed for a patient.

You have to double-check all the information entered in the claims before submitting the claim. Otherwise, you will experience denied claims and late payments that can affect your revenue cycle. 

Claim Scrubbing Can Improve Your Medical Practice

Errors in medical billing are common because the thousands of coding requirements by third-party healthcare insurance create room for coding errors. A single mistake in a submitted claim can lead to denial, and you would not get payments for your medical practice on time.

Your claim has to be 100% error-free for accurate submission of claims. And, even if you submit 100% clean claims, you still might face denied claims. Claim scrubbing helps you avoid further errors for the accurate submission of claims. 

The revenue cycle of a medical practice depends on the accurate submission of claims, and clean claim scrubbing can help you achieve more profitability. 

It requires thorough research of claims and allows you to make your claims in compliance with all the rules and requirements. Your medical practice can be at risk if you face many denied claims and late or low reimbursements. Hence, you must implement claim scrubbing in your medical billing process.

How Can You Optimize the Claim Scrubbing?

As discussed earlier, claim scrubbing can be manual or automated; it depends on how you want to do it and your budget. If done correctly, it can improve the revenue cycle of your medical practice. The following methods can help you optimize your claim scrubbing process:

Use Claim Editing Software

It is best to use claim editing tools to check if there are any errors in medical codes. Verify if you are using the right codes issued by coding regulatory authorities. ICD-10 includes almost 70,000+ procedure codes and 69,000+ diagnosis codes. And, there are numerous HCPCS and CPT codes as well. 

Human errors are the prominent cause of claim denials, so it is sensible to use claim editing tools to avoid claim issues. Automating the claim scrubbing can save you a lot of time and money. 

Rectify the Repeated Errors

Sometimes, you might face the same coding errors over and over again. In that case, you need to look for repeated code errors. You can discuss the issues related to coding with the medical staff, administration, physicians, or coders to identify the root causes and rectify them to avoid errors in the future. 

Perform a Charge Review

The charge review process is performed before the creation of a claim. It is for finding out any inaccuracies in charges when you are going to bill a patient. Sometimes a claim may be rejected due to errors in the payments charged by a healthcare provider, leading to coding errors. 

Various charge review tools can help you automate the process of charge review. The software will check for the mistakes in charged amounts before submitting them in a claim. 

Outsourcing Your Claim Submissions

You still might be facing denied claims even after following proper practices of claim scrubbing. It means your office might lack the experience or not be aware of the successful claim practices for dealing with the claims. 

Also, If you feel you do not have enough time and budget to manage claims by yourself, you can get a claim handling service from a medical billing company like Med-Miles LLC. 

We provide the best medical billing services nationwide and can handle all your claims. We can help you avoid denied claims and late reimbursements with our customized claim processing services. 

This way, you won’t have to worry about claim scrubbing by yourself as we will take care of the whole process for you. 

When you outsource your claim handling, you can save time for your practice and care for patients.  Rely on Med-Miles LLC for all your medical billing needs. Contact us today to get error-free claims and save your time and money for your practice.  

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Cardiology Billing

How to Handle Cardiology Billing and Coding? Know 5 Essential Tips!

Cardiology is one of the most puzzling practices in the healthcare field. According to a study, heart diseases lead to about 655,000 deaths in the US every year, which means 1 in 4 deaths is caused by cardiovascular disease.

After ICD-10, the importance of documentation, compliance, billing, coding, and auditing in cardiology has increased more than ever.

Due to this, the medical billers and coders have to become even more knowledgeable about cardiology billing and coding as there are constant changes, many complications, and tiresome methods. 

Many cardiology healthcare practitioners and organizations often report several denials due to errors in cardiology billing and coding. 

As a result, cardiologists who practice should be familiar with cardiology billing practices. Read on to learn about the essential tips related to cardiology billing and coding. 

  • Thorough and Proper Documentation is Critical

In cardiology billing and coding, thorough documentation is the key. If there are issues in the documentation, it can result in coding errors and billing. Inaccurate and incomplete documentation can lead to claim denials and slower reimbursements, leading to discrepancies in the revenue cycle. 

Holes in the documentation can lead to potential errors and problems. For example, if you had to adjust the usual methods for a heart patient, you have to document it to avoid denials from the healthcare insurance companies. 

  • Don’t Forget to Use Combination Codes

If there are two medical conditions present for a patient, it is recommended to use the codes for both diseases. Combination codes can help you in this case. For example, if a patient has acute kidney failure with heart failure, codes for both medical conditions will be used. 

It is vital to use the combination codes because you have to get your reimbursements according to your diagnosis procedures. You will get accurate payments for your practice if you use the combination codes properly. 

  • Reduce the Human Errors as much as Possible

Human errors are the leading cause of claim rejections in healthcare practice. And, as there are many complex codes and procedures in cardiology billing, human errors are bound to happen. A code consists of up to 7 letters and numbers, increasing the room for mistakes. 

And, as you get used to entering the CPT and ICD-10 codes, you might get lazy while adding them or put them in documentation without checking them. You can avoid it by double-checking the cardiology codes and doing a proper audit of the documentation. 

  • Be Aware of the Changes in Cardiology Coding

Healthcare providers have to stay updated with the coding standards in cardiology billing because ICD-10 CM, HCPCS, CPT, and PCS frequently change the codes and guidelines. So, the current coding standards may become outdated after new changes are issued in the coding system. 

Keep yourself updated with the CMS website and AHA (American Heart Association) by subscribing to them. Also, keep checking cardiology coding with the state and local coding regulatory authorities. Don’t forget the alphabetical and tabular indexes because sometimes the codes may appear correct in the alphabetical index, but disqualifiers may occur in the tabular index. 

  • Regular Audits

Auditing your healthcare practice regularly will help you identify discrepancies in the revenue cycle of your practice. It allows you to understand communication gaps between physicians, nurses, billers, and coders. 

Any errors in the procedures and processes of a healthcare practice can lead to denied claims and slower reimbursements. That’s why regular audits allow you to optimize your healthcare practice to provide the best care for the patients. 

How Can You Optimize Your Cardiology Billing and Coding?

You still may face some difficulty with cardiology billing and coding because cardiology is one of the most complex healthcare fields. It requires utmost attention at each step of the practice. 

Providing care to the patients while maintaining a healthy revenue cycle system is critical for every healthcare provider. But the rules, regulations, and compliances hinder the performance of a healthcare practitioner or organization. 

So, how to have an accurate cardiology billing and coding system?

It is best to outsource your billing and coding operations to a medical billing company. MED-Miles is a renowned medical billing company providing medical billing services to several healthcare providers in the US. We can help you to have an accurate billing system after doing a thorough audit of your healthcare business. 

Also, we provide medical billing solutions customized for a healthcare provider’s practice. So, if you are struggling with the billing and coding of cardiology practice, we can help you optimize your cardiology billing and coding system.

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Pharmacy Billing

Pharmacy Billing and Reimbursements: 7 Points to Know

From pharmacy to patient’s hand, prescriptions undergo many stages of reimbursement. Filling a prescription and adjudicating it may seem complicated, but it is the only way to understand pharmacy billing. 

If you are a physician and thinking about offering medications through your own office along with your healthcare services, it is an option worth considering. It can contribute to your practice revenue while providing an added convenience to your patients.

As you are aware, the health care industry is a complex one that is constantly changing and evolving. That is why it is so crucial to understand all the requirements and coding a medication department needs to implement it properly in your practice. 

According to a Drug Trend report, pharmacy reimbursements are affected because of continuous changes in the prices of biotech and traditional drugs. And, now average sales price has decreased from 6% to 4% on non-pass by CMS. This shows how tricky managing billing and reimbursements can be in the pharmacy industry.

So, here are seven important facts about pharmacy billing and reimbursement that you need to know before implementing medication services in your practice. 

  • Keep Aware of the Changes in the Drug Prices

Like any product, there are changes in the prices of drugs. Hospitals are buying drugs at higher prices as compared to fixed-fee payers. There are opportunities to buy drugs at lower prices, but other alternatives are not searched properly. It is important to have a process to find out the prices and compare the spending with reimbursements. 

  • Understanding the Coding

Drugs have to be coded correctly for getting reimbursements without a hassle. There are HSCPS codes, and you have to do them appropriately. Otherwise, if a patient is not billed correctly, the reimbursement will not be obtained accurately. And the healthcare provider will face denials which may lead to losses of thousands of dollars. 

  • Managing the Work Flow

It is critical to understand the workflow in pharmacy billing and reimbursements. Buying the drugs, procuring them, accurately coding, and finally getting a reimbursement. Ideally, a physician gives a prescription, and then a pharmacy gives the medicine to the patient.

But this process is more complex than it sounds; all the information must be entered correctly to accurately billing the patient and avoid getting denials from healthcare insurance companies.

To manage the workflow correctly, you need to have a plan with you. Everything has to be planned, from buying the wholesaler to delivering the claim to the patient or healthcare insurance company.

  • Rules and Regulations in Pharmacy

It is critical to be knowledgeable about the rules, compliances, and regulations in pharmacy. It is recommended that your coding is done appropriately according to the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes for pharmacists who are practicing Medication Therapy Management (MTM).

Following these rules and regulations is important to have a correct reimbursement and avoid getting yourself into any trouble because these are strictly followed by everyone related to the healthcare industry.

Similarly, the rules and regulations will vary according to the healthcare field. It is best to know about all the procedures and rules to avoid any pharmacy billing and reimbursements.

  • Procurement Stage

The drugs are transferred to inventory and unit of measure (UOM) from the pricing and quantities at the procurement stage. When the medicines are delivered from the wholesale provider to the pharmacy, all the data is entered into the system. 

All the data is checked manually to avoid any errors or mistakes. This is an initial stage, any errors in procurement can lead to further issues in the next stages. Having an experienced and professional staff is vital to procure medicines accurately.

  • Avoid Errors in the Charge Master

The chargemaster has the information regarding the billing of the medicines. A pharmacist has to make sure the right quantity is entered into the system. You have to take care of the units of measure, the prices, and the coding to do the right billing.

Furthermore, miscoding and omission of a medicine can lead to many problems like late or low reimbursements and denied claims.

  • Keep in Check with the State Laws

You have to make sure what state laws allow you to do. In most states, pharmacists are allowed to make changes in the prescription, so they are given independence at certain levels depending upon the state laws. 

Similarly, if you plan to incorporate the pharmacy department in your practice, you have to make sure if your state will allow it. And what regulations and rules they have for doing a pharmacy business.

Still Not Sure How You Can Improve Your Pharmacy Billing?

MED-Miles can help you with pharmacy billing and reimbursements. We have experts who have been providing pharmacy billing services for almost a decade now. They have experience working for many healthcare providers who have an accurate billing system now, facing fewer denials and getting reimbursements at the right time. Contact us at +1 888-598-9181. 

 

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