EMR Adoption, Selection and Implementation Checklist, medical records

Medical Coding Latest Trends

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Jun 17, 2018 | Electronic Medical Records, Physical Therapy Billing, Physical Therapy Software

Medical coding is a complicated task, and requires constant updating. NItin Chhoda shares the main tasks of a medical coder and the importance of using certified people.

Because medical coding is such an important task, many clinics assign a medical coder to do the job. Sometimes the medical coder and the medical biller are the same person, especially in a smaller clinic.

But medical coding is a complex task that requires a detail oriented approach and specific knowledge. Some of the most recent trends in medical coding have shown an increase in the demand for certified medical coders.

Updates to Codes

A certified medical coder for physical therapy billing is required to spend a certain amount of time studying medical coding before they become certified.

You don’t have to have a degree or certification to work as a medical coder, but you do have to understand medical terminology and have a good education in physiology and anatomy.

Reading what a clinician has written and assigning the appropriate medical codes would be hard if you don’t know what the clinician is talking about.

But another advantage of hiring a certified medical coder is that they will be required to take continuing education courses and re-certify regularly. That means that when changes are being made to medical coding websites, the medical coding staff member will be updated through courses.

One very important change that is coming soon is the switch from ICD-9 codes to ICD-10 codes, which will occur in October of 2013. An additional 100,000 codes will be introduced into the system, and the ICD-9 codes only number about 13,600 codes. This change is going to affect every single health care provider in the country.

Education and Job Outlook

As a result of the need for skilled medical coding professionals, the job of a medical coder is looking pretty steady for the next decade and beyond.

Competitive certification programs are popping up all across the country. For people looking for a steady and well-paid job, medical coding is a good option these days.

There have been a few recent trends in medical coding education. Most significantly, more and more medical clinics want to hire certified medical coders rather than someone they will have to train themselves.

A skilled and experienced coder will be able to handle the job efficiently and they will be learning how to deal with changes and updates as part of their re-certification courses. With this kind of confidence-inducing education, certified medical coders are a well-respected part of successful medical practices.

Paperwork vs. Electronic Medical Records

Another big adjustment that is rapidly changing the way medical coding is done is the introduction of electronic medical records. For some coders, this sounds like the best idea yet. EMR systems might make their jobs faster and more efficient, allowing for coding and billing to occur side-by-side within the computer program.

Some medical coding professionals are not so enthusiastic. They see plenty of potential for problems with security and privacy. But as electronic systems evolve and the need for better electronic security arises, it seems that security companies are developing the proper privacy measures to accommodate a paper-free medical coding environment.

Medical EMR Solutions Give Clinicians More Power

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Dec 26, 2017 | Electronic Medical Records, Medical Billing, Physical Therapy Documentation

Clinicians who already use medical EMR know that this technology is helping them and their staff work more efficiently. Nitin Chhoda shares the many benefits that EMR can offer to your physical therapy practice, helping it succeed.

The ability of any clinician in any medical practice is limited by financial factors. If a practice doesn’t make a profit, or at least break even, nobody can continue to provide healthcare.

Because the prices of healthcare in the United States are so high, patients cannot afford to pay for their own healthcare.

The majority of U.S. citizens cannot afford to pay the average prices for healthcare. As a result, both patients and clinicians must rely on healthcare insurance companies.

Insurance companies provide a sense of financial safety to patients, and patients can better afford to make monthly payments towards healthcare than they can afford to pay a $20,000 hospital bill all at once.

About Medical EMR

For medical EMR clinicians and health care practice management, knowing that part of every bill will be covered by insurance provides some financial security, even in a market where the patients who need the services cannot pay for those services.

Medical EMR systems make everything about a healthcare provider practice run more smoothly and efficiently if implemented well. The upfront cost of a medical EMR may seem restrictive, but the benefits tend to outweigh those costs relatively quickly.

A medical EMR system can bring stability to a practice and can turn into a tool that clinicians use to better serve their patients.

Spending More Time on the Important Stuff

Most clinicians would spend a whole lot less time handling paperwork if they had the choice. The truth is that everyone who works in healthcare has to know how to fill out forms and make correct notes about their patients.

The same should be applied when it comes to medical EMR. This can even get in the way of how well a clinician can care for patients, especially in a busy practice where limited time is given for each appointment.

medical EMR clinicians Before and after each appointment, a clinician needs time to review the previous patient’s file as well as refresh their memory with information about the next patient’s medical history.

Medical EMR software makes doing these tasks faster and more intuitive. Rather than requiring that a staff member find a paper file and have it ready, the clinician can pull up the information on the computer in seconds, or even on a hand-held tablet computer.

Advanced Technology

Software is becoming more and more advanced, and not just because using computers is fun or flashy. Clinicians who use successful electronic medical records systems find that they are more efficient and can spend more time with patients when they use a medical EMR.

And of course, that staff member who used to pull files and return them to their place all day long can now spend time doing other, more important things.

Perhaps that staff member can now handle a more efficient and time-saving induction process, so that new patients’ health insurance information is more complete.

Medical EMR companies and billers benefit because they can reduce the number of rejections and denials. And patients can be better prepared for the costs that will come their way – allowing them to focus on their treatment plan.

EMR Solution Portability

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Sep 24, 2017 | Electronic Medical Records, Physical Therapy Documentation

In order to maximize the effectiveness of your EMR, use the system in a portable device like a tablet. Nitin Chhoda explains how this portable tablet device can make your physical therapy documentation much easier than using a desktop computer alone.

How does an electronic medical record turn into a truly portable EMR?

There’s really just one way to make sure that information is recorded and communicated as efficiently as possible, and that’s by adding tablet computers to your practice.

Many health care practice management professionals are very hesitant to consider this kind of technological change, but this is the change that will be coming and it’s better to get out in front than to follow in this field.

It turns out that you can get tablet computers for the staff members who need them for a big discount, as a health care provider. Additionally, since you are willing to order a larger number than the average consumer, you can also rely on a bulk discount.

While many managers consider this portable EMR too much of an investment, tablet computers do not cost as much as you might think.

Making it Easy to Bill

EMR solutions can streamline many of the tasks that are accomplished every day in a health care practice. No more pulling and re-filing of paper records. No more waiting to re-schedule a patient or to fill an empty slot recently cancelled. And most importantly, no more waiting for the details of the medical billing that must be done to get the practice paid.

The good news is that financial staff, including accountants, medical coders, and medical billers, are used to using pretty complex software to accomplish their jobs.

If they have transferred from one job to another, they know how to adjust and adapt to new software quickly.

Billing Staff Can Adjust

Medical billing staff are usually the first to hit their stride with an EMR and they are the first to start bringing in some revenue as a result of their improved efficiency and accuracy.

But to allow for this kind of efficiency and speed, the billing staff has to have access to the medical records and the clinicians notes about each visit. The way to speed up this process is to give clinicians portable EMR and tools so they can simply enter their notes and instantly save them to somewhere that the biller can access them.

Clinicians Will Adjust to the Right EMR Solution

Another concern is that clinicians will resist the change from a paper notepad to a tablet computer. Many clinicians have been working with pen and paper their entire lives and the thought of changing now is pretty intimidating.

For the younger generation of clinicians, the switch will not be so hard. But any time you try to change the way someone does something, like having EMR, you’ll come up against some resistance.

The right EMR software and solution will make the job of clinicians easier. Reviewing files that are always available at their fingertips will become the habit.

They never have to wait or dig through a lot of irrelevant information if the EMR presents their notes in an easy-to-read and logical manner. Tablet computers can organize information in the way that we think, making it easier and faster for us to do what we need to do.

Physical Therapy Software: Relationship Between EMR, Clearing Houses, Payers and Your Wallet

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Aug 21, 2017 | Electronic Medical Records, Physical Therapy Documentation, Physical Therapy Software

The major roles of EMR, clearing houses, and billing are very important because the flow of the business depends on it. Nitin Chhoda explains these relationships and the impact it has on your practice’ income.

Reimbursements from private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid and Workers’ Compensation are the primary sources from which physical therapists collect revenues.

Those income sources pay the bills and salaries, fund expansion and equipment.

In an age where payments are being limited, capped and questioned, physical therapy software EMR offers assistance in locating the best payers that directly affects a practice’s profit margin.

An EMR offers online submissions for quicker turnarounds on payments, along with billing and coding options for greater flexibility. Physical therapy software also provides the means to identify the best payers.

Contracts with Payers

Therapists may have negotiated contracts with primary payers, but that doesn’t mean the dollars are going to start rolling in. Preferred provider organizations (PPOs) often sell their contracts to third party administrators (TPA) or another PPO that reimburses at a lower rate.

Selling contracts to other providers is a common practice, but most probably the one that’s financially disastrous for clinics. EMRs offer physical therapy software analytic tools that can be used to track payments from a wide range of third-party payers.

Therapists can ascertain which organizations pay the highest reimbursement rates and those that don’t limit or cap payments or services. EMRs offer physical therapy software billing and coding options to ensure practice owners are receiving the highest level of compensation for their services.

The Role of Physical Therapy Software

Physical therapy software provides the means for therapists to compare and contrast the financial benefits of working with specific third-party payers.

The current trend in healthcare is toward cost reduction, which directly affects access to established and potential patients.

Cost reduction is beneficial for insurance companies, but the plan doesn’t provide adequate reimbursements for clinic owners and their services. EMRs offer therapists physical therapy software options that help grow their practice.

Any therapist operating their own practice will soon learn about clearinghouses and the role they play in keeping their clinic funded. Millions of claims are filed with carriers each day, all of which would be traveling by mail to the four corners of the earth.

Clearinghouses and More

Clearinghouses were established to facilitate claims processing, resolve reimbursement issues and address physical therapy software errors. An EMR sends a therapist’s claims to clearinghouses electronically where they’re received almost immediately and checked for errors, before making their way to the specified payer.

The entire process can be accomplished in a matter of hours, compared to traditional mail that could take days to reach its destination. With the assistance of an EMR, questions can be answered, errors addressed, and corrections can be accomplished in the blink of an eye for a quicker turnaround on reimbursements.

Before the advent of physical therapy software EMRs, it could take weeks or even months of paper-based communications to clear a claim question and deposit the funds in a clinic’s account.

Physical therapy software provides the means to submit claims and obtain reimbursements quicker, offering better cash flow for any clinic.

An EMR saves long, tedious hours of phone time with individual insurance providers clarifying claims, allowing therapists to spend more time treating patients and less time waiting for reimbursements. They also contain the essential components needed for compliant physical therapy documentation to protect practice owners from a variety of legal ills.

EMR Solution: How to Effectively Improve Staff Productivity

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Aug 16, 2017 | Electronic Medical Records, Physical Therapy Documentation, Physical Therapy Management

When transitioning to an automated physical therapy documentation such as EMR, it is important to talk to your staff. Nitin Chhoda emphasizes the importance of open communication, and preparing your staff for the big changes that are about to come.

Communication and pre-planning will help to ensure that the documentation system you chose is the right one for your practice.

Managing a healthcare practice takes ingenuity, patience, and an ability to see the bigger picture while focusing on the details that need to be improved.

The complexity of the job is what draws a lot of smart, capable people to the profession.

But these days, you have to be competent with many forms of technology as well as with the people who you are responsible for managing. And the reason that electronic medical records solutions were developed was to help management streamline and integrate all systems within a practice.

Managing Expectations

To truly benefit from a medical EMR, your practice will need to prepare in a number of ways. One of the most crucial jobs that need to be done will be to manage the expectations of the staff.

If the staff is excited about a new EMR system and is ready to learn and be challenged, the process will go more smoothly and everyone will be able to use the EMR to improve efficiency.

But if the staff feels anxious, unprepared, and frustrated by the process, productivity will probably go down and the adjustment period will be much longer than necessary. Before you can expect your staff to get better at their jobs because of an EMR, you’ve got to train them and prepare them psychologically for the process.

That includes bringing the staff into the planning process so they feel they have a voice and their goals will be met with the EMR.

Choosing the Right EMR Software

Another crucial decision, which could make or break your experience with an EMR solution, will be what EMR you choose. This choice should not be obvious. Expect it to take some time for you to identify which EMR will help your practice to reach its goals.

Make sure that you have specific, achievable goals for productivity and efficiency before you even begin the search, and then base your decision on how well the EMR can help you to achieve those goals.

Getting staff input during this process will also be very valuable. If staff members are currently frustrated by certain aspects of their job or the way that certain systems are not integrated well enough, they can tell you what their goals will be.

The goals of individual staff members can be powerful tools, especially if the staff knows that the EMR is meant to help them to reach their individual goals.

Take Your Time

Managing the transition process will probably be stressful enough without a lot of time pressure. So don’t overdo it by setting tight deadlines and strict expectations.

Nobody needs to feel pushed too hard during the implementation process, and that includes practice management. Taking your time will also allow you to identify problems right away, while you still have access to training materials and support from the software developers. If you take your time, you will be able to do things right the first time, saving you time and money in the long run.

Physical Therapy Software EMR Benefits

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Jul 23, 2017 | Electronic Medical Records, Physical Therapy Documentation, Physical Therapy Software

Learn how EMR can be very beneficial to your practice. Discover how this latest physical therapy documentation can be more convenient when it comes to efficiency, productivity and reporting.

If you’ve heard anything about physical therapy software and electronic medical records (EMR), the reviews have probably been mixed.

Over the past five years, many physical therapy software systems have been implemented for the first time.

There are some systems that seem to work well for large scale hospitals and medical facilities, and there are others that improve the efficiency of the billing team but clinicians and doctors have not yet adopted their use.

The Challenging Times

The first few years of any new technology are challenging. Physical therapy software engineers are venturing into new territory. Healthcare providers are unlikely to see the value of something like EMR if they haven’t seen them successfully used in practice. A lot of skepticism, lack of enthusiasm, and problems with the software have given EMR a bit of a bad name.

But regardless, EMR systems are slowly increasing in popularity. More and more medical practices, from large hospitals to small private practices, are implementing technological improvements that are starting to be truly effective. Physical therapy software developers are working with early adopters of technologies to make changes that improve the systems.

Broad Strokes

The process of implementation can be a bit burdensome, but forget that part for a few minutes and imagine a medical practice that has already implemented physical therapy software. Put aside concerns about cost, and imagine that instead of a paper folder and pencils or pens, the clinicians carry around small tablet computers that are hooked into your server, where all the EMR are stored.

Each time they change rooms and see a new patient, they can quickly pull up the record they need, scan it for the relevant details, and start taking notes on the current appointment.

Sounds like the future, doesn’t it? Well, it is the future of medicine. Each time the clinician finishes a visit with a patient, an alert is sent to the medical coding and billing staff.

At their most efficient, physical therapy software solutions could even provide the first draft of codes based on common terminology and previously agreed upon standards. In ten years, it may be that every practice is using some form of physical therapy software.

Convenience, Efficiency, and Reporting

The most basic benefits of EMR are in convenience and efficiency. A physical therapy software staff or member no longer needs to pull files for incoming patients and re-file the files that have been taken out during the day.

Communication between the clinician, assistants, and billers is made smooth and instantaneous.

A lot of time is spent in physical therapy private practices just getting things and information from here to there. Everything can move at the speed of automatic alerts and emails. This will free up time for more important tasks.

And for the management of physical therapy software, having all of the data in one place and easily accessible represents a big change to the way we do business. Reporting can highlight inefficiencies as well as efficient and effective practices. The benefits of having information at your fingertips are almost immeasurable.