Physical Therapy Management & Physical Therapy Documentation

The Importance of Patient Pay Online Options

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Mar 9, 2014 | Healthcare Practice Management, Physical Therapy Billing, Physical Therapy Documentation, Physical Therapy Management, Physical Therapy Marketing

Studies have shown that people are more likely to pay any bill rather than their doctor bill. Collecting patient pays can be difficult, especially larger amounts. Making it as easy as possible for clients to pay their portion of medical bills improves collection rates, while fostering the patient’s perception of the practice as one that’s modern and makes an extra effort on their behalf.

There Are Always Options

Clinicians must offer patients options and the first place to start is through the ability to make payments online. Clients are already used to doing things online and many utilize a mobile device for their transactions. With the In Touch EMR™, online payments can be linked with the clinician’s merchant account and deposited directly into the practice’s account, usually within seven days.

Online payments offer patients the convenience of 24/7 access and the ability to use a variety of payment methods, from credit and debit cards to electronic checks. Older patients may not have access to the Internet, while others may be afraid to disclose the appropriate information. For these patients, traditional checks and cash are still an option.

In Touch EMR™ also offers patients the ability make recurring payments. The software breaks down client amounts into manageable amounts that they can pay over time. Clinicians may want to consider offering discounts for situations that include cash payments or balances that are paid within a specified amount of time.

Convenience And Security

In Touch EMR™ provides the means to accept payments without the need to store sensitive data on-site. Information is maintained in the cloud and strict security protocols are in place that complies with the Payment Card Industry Data Standard. In Touch EMR™ is HIPAA compliant.

Going Green

Accepting online payments utilizing the In Touch EMR™ is significant progress in the process to go green. It eliminates a majority of paper bills and statements, though there will still be instances necessitating a paper bill be printed and mailed.

“Online payments create better revenue cycles and reduce the expense of collection costs.”

Billers spend less time on sending reminders and statements, and can focus more on the claims process. Necessary payment data is sent to the billing department for posting to patient accounts. The team at In Touch EMR™ will even help clinicians set up the system to begin accepting payments electronically.

The ability for patients to pay their bills online is crucial as more individuals shift away from carrying cash or writing checks. For many, paying for products and services is simply a matter of entering a credit or debit card number. Any clinician that doesn’t have the ability to collect payments online is cheating their medical practice of a quick and convenient way to improve revenues, and incurring significant costs in time, effort and printed reminders.

Studies have shown that people are more likely to pay any bill rather than their doctor bill. Collecting patient pays can be difficult, especially larger amounts. Making it as easy as possible for clients to pay their portion of medical bills improves collection rates, while fostering the patient’s perception of the practice as one that’s modern and makes an extra effort on their behalf.

There Are Always Options

Clinicians must offer patients options and the first place to start is through the ability to make payments online. Clients are already used to doing things online and many utilize a mobile device for their transactions. With the In Touch EMR™, online payments can be linked with the clinician’s merchant account and deposited directly into the practice’s account, usually within seven days.

Online payments offer patients the convenience of 24/7 access and the ability to use a variety of payment methods, from credit and debit cards to electronic checks. Older patients may not have access to the Internet, while others may be afraid to disclose the appropriate information. For these patients, traditional checks and cash are still an option.

In Touch EMR™ also offers patients the ability make recurring payments. The software breaks down client amounts into manageable amounts that they can pay over time. Clinicians may want to consider offering discounts for situations that include cash payments or balances that are paid within a specified amount of time.

Convenience And Security

In Touch EMR™ provides the means to accept payments without the need to store sensitive data on-site. Information is maintained in the cloud and strict security protocols are in place that complies with the Payment Card Industry Data Standard. In Touch EMR™ is HIPAA compliant.

Going Green

Accepting online payments utilizing the In Touch EMR™ is significant progress in the process to go green. It eliminates a majority of paper bills and statements, though there will still be instances necessitating a paper bill be printed and mailed.

“Online payments create better revenue cycles and reduce the expense of collection costs.”

Billers spend less time on sending reminders and statements, and can focus more on the claims process. Necessary payment data is sent to the billing department for posting to patient accounts. The team at In Touch EMR™ will even help clinicians set up the system to begin accepting payments electronically.

The ability for patients to pay their bills online is crucial as more individuals shift away from carrying cash or writing checks. For many, paying for products and services is simply a matter of entering a credit or debit card number. Any clinician that doesn’t have the ability to collect payments online is cheating their medical practice of a quick and convenient way to improve revenues, and incurring significant costs in time, effort and printed reminders.

What to Expect From Your Front Desk Staff

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Mar 7, 2014 | Healthcare Practice Management, Physical Therapy Billing, Physical Therapy Documentation, Physical Therapy Management, Physical Therapy Marketing

The front desk staff has a variety of critical tasks to complete that will directly affect patients and the practice. Clinicians can make the job of the front desk easier, more efficient and help grow their practice with integrated software that has the ability to automate many of the duties for which the front desk is responsible.

Perception Is Reality

The front desk staff is the first person a patient comes in contact with when they schedule an appointment and when they arrive at the office. People make snap judgments and a patient’s first impression of the practice will be dependent upon their interaction with the front desk.

The person at the front desk must be pleasant, knowledgeable and efficient. They must possess people skills and like working with the public. Not everyone has the necessary skill set for the job and clinicians shouldn’t hesitate to shift staff around to ensure the first impression a patient has of the practice is a pleasing one that makes them feel comfortable and eager to come back when they need services.

Scheduling And Patient Intake

The front desk is responsible for scheduling appointments, obtaining essential information and sending reminders. A lot of information is obtained in a very short time from patients, ranging from eligibility and identification to secondary insurance and contact information. Scheduling can be completed directly from the In Touch EMR™.

Many of those tasks can be accomplished automatically with In Touch EMR™. Eligibility can be determined online with hundreds of insurers. Payer information is built in and new companies can be added. Patient demographics come straight from the insurance company, resulting in fewer claim denials. With a single action, a patient file can be created and all the data will be transferred automatically.

In Touch EMR™ is the only EMR software that has an app specially designed to work with the iPad. Patients can take a photo of themselves with the tablet for identification and even fill out patient forms. The information received via the iPad is automatically transferred to the patient’s file.

Front Desk Marketing

A clinician’s front desk should also be doing marketing and In Touch EMR™ provides the necessary tools. When intake information is obtained, all the needed contact data is available to send reminders, greetings, newsletters and special offers.

In Touch EMR™ has built in functionalities that enable practices to contact patients via phone and email, voice and text message, along with traditional mail using built in greeting card software. In Touch EMR™ can be used with the automated Therapy Newsletter or Clinical Contact software systems.

In Touch EMR™ simplifies the entire front desk process, from intake to maintaining contact. The software helps reduce reimbursement denials, automatically creates patient files, and helps practices maintain contact with patients through reminders and newsletters. Practitioners must work harder than ever to retain patients and generate new clients. In Touch EMR™ is a single source solution to automate and market practices.

In Touch EMR and Its Voice Recognition Feature

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Feb 2, 2014 | Electronic Medical Records, Physical Therapy Documentation, Physical Therapy Management, Physical Therapy Software

There are many myths about the use of voice recognition. In the mid-1990s clinicians began using voice recognition with their EMR systems, but they weren’t very accurate for medical records.

Systems weren’t always able to distinguish from background noise and had difficulty with accents.

Voice recognition systems have come a long way since then and will save clinicians considerable time.

Built In Voice Recognition

The newest computers, devices and operating systems have voice recognition capabilities built in, and most people don’t even know it.

If the computer was built after 2011, voice recognition is built in whether it’s a PC or a Mac, and can be integrated with the In Touch EMR™ software.

Practitioners using an EMR with cloud computing are ready for In Touch EMR™.

One EMR, Multiple Devices

In Touch EMR™ can be used with an iPad, Android tablet, computer or laptop. In Touch EMR can be implemented on Windows, Apple and Android operating systems.

In the beginning, practitioners may feel uncomfortable or self-conscious using voice recognition capabilities.

Clinicians who have never used an EMR before may want to use a computer or laptop when they first begin using voice recognition.

Laptops and computers provide practitioners with the flexibility to type or use their voice when documenting patient records.

For clinicians who are familiar with EMR usage, have little background noise, and are in a semi-private setting, an iPad or other tablet makes sense.

Clinicians can combine voice recognition and typing for documentation.

Implementing In Touch EMR software on mobile devices means practitioners attain greater portability, but typing will be compromised due to smaller screen size.

Accelerated Productivity

Combining the use of voice recognition with In Touch EMR™ increases the speed at which patient documentation can be recorded for increased productivity.

Voice recognition dramatically decreases the time and cost associated with transcription and billing processes.

In In Touch EMR, Practitioners can dictate notes, edit, make referrals, document the entire patient encounter, and monitor follow up measures simply by talking.

It’s much easier, faster and efficient to speak than write/type.

In Touch EMR™ provides the means for clinicians to work more efficiently and quickly complete claims for billing.

Voice recognition capabilities allow clinicians to streamline all the office processes, document faster and spend more time with patients.

In Touch EMR™ provides a powerful tool that integrates easily with virtually any system. Combined with voice recognition usage, it simplifies life, completes documentation in a fraction of the time, and allows practitioners to submit claims faster.

Automating Appointment Reminders With Your EMR

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Jan 31, 2014 | Electronic Medical Records, Physical Therapy Management, Physical Therapy Software

Automated patient reminders are critical for practices and an EMR can handle that job, freeing staff for other, more important work. No shows, cancelations and rescheduled appointments interrupt the normal flow of patients and result in lost revenue.

Every clinician should have a cancellation policy in place that indicates the practice needs at least a 48 hour notice to cancel.

Patients get busy and forget, but they have to know that there will be repercussions for cancelling.

Clinicians must be careful what the penalty will be, however.

Cancellation Consequences

Many practices charge patients at least 50 percent of the office visit cost. Patients will quickly become angry with this approach and may choose to take their business elsewhere, something that no practitioner wants.

Instead, the cancellation policy could stipulate that the patient will be required to donate $20 to a charity.

How Reminders Work

Twenty-four hours before the appointment, the EMR should send an email or text reminder to the patient.

It should address the patient by name, identify the practice, state that the message is a reminder of their appointment, and give the date and time.

If the patient wants to reschedule, they know how to contact the clinic.

Stick with the basics.

The same can be done with a phone reminder.

Patients can press one to confirm their appointment and the office does nothing. If a patient wants to reschedule or cancel, they can press two and the call will be routed to the office.

This allows the front desk to speak with them directly for patient retention.

Automating With An EMR

The In Touch EMR™ contains the ability to produce automated patient appointment reminders via email, text and phone.

The system can transfer reschedules and cancellations directly to the office. It integrates smoothly with existing office systems and clinicians can customize their messages.

Automated patient reminders prevent missed revenues and overbooking, and can be utilized to remind patients when it’s time for an annual check-up or follow up visit.

Clinicians can set reminders to notify patients about tests and other procedures that are conducted on a regular basis.

It’s just one of the ways that the In Touch EMR™ demonstrates meaningful use.

Having an automated system of patient appointment reminders is critical for clinicians. It eliminates manual effort, maximizes patient retention and reduces the work load on the front desk. It frees staff to perform insurance verifications, follow up on referrals, and conduct customer service tasks.

Will Obamacare Make America Healthier?

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Dec 24, 2013 | Healthcare Practice Management, Physical Therapy Documentation, Physical Therapy Management

Obamacare is definitely trying to create a population of healthier people, especially in the workforce.

It does so through free, government approved services and employer-based incentive programs with an emphasis on prevention, since it’s much cheaper to prevent than cure.

Free Services For The Asking

Patients will now have access to a variety of guaranteed preventative services at no cost to themselves.

Services are free, even if they haven’t met their insurance deductible, and when the services are delivered by providers in their healthcare network.

Guaranteed services include screenings and counseling for conditions ranging from alcohol and domestic abuse to colon cancer and diabetes.

Patients will have access to screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol and colon cancer, along with depression, heart disease and breast cancer.

Counseling will be provided on diet and nutrition, depression and tobacco use, along with HIV/AIDS and STDs.

Vaccines are an important part of Obamacare’s plan to prevent the spread of disease and prevent potential pandemics. Vaccinations can be obtained for chicken pox, flu and pneumonia, along with tetanus, whooping cough and hepatitis.

Children are eligible for screenings to detect autism and developmental problems, along with hearing, vision and lead-related health issues.

Youngsters can receive fluoride and iron supplements, though the final list of free services hasn’t been finalized yet.

Employers, Incentives And Penalties

Obamacare encourages employers to offer workers incentive programs to get healthy and stay that way.

Incentives can take the form of cash and discounts on insurance premiums.

Employers can also choose to make contributions to flexible spending accounts that patients can use to pay for specified medical-related expenses.

Employers who provide workers with insurance must now offer a core group of benefits in those policies.

It represents a considerable cost to businesses and Obamacare legally allows employers to charge their staff penalties for not being healthy.

Penalties can be assessed in the form of higher insurance premiums, co-pays and deductibles for transgressions that include smoking, weight gain, high cholesterol levels and not getting enough exercise.

Employees can be charged up to 50 percent higher premiums than healthier coworkers.

A Golden Opportunity

This is a huge opportunity for therapists to create programs that focus on prevention and maintenance.

With the assistance of the In Touch EMR and In Touch Biller PRO, corporate wellness programs are easy to administer and reimbursements are obtained quickly.

The systems enable clinicians to work with the greatest number of people to increase revenues.

Obamacare focuses on negative reinforcement to improve patient health and disciplines transgressors with higher insurance costs.

There’s debate about the effectiveness or fairness of the approach, but the benefits and penalties of Obamacare are a fact and it’s essential that clinicians find ways to work within the law to treat patients and increase revenues.

Obamacare 101: The Impact on Your Patients

by Nitin Chhoda PT, DPT | Dec 20, 2013 | Healthcare Practice Management, Medical Billing, Physical Therapy Billing, Physical Therapy Documentation, Physical Therapy Management

Obamacare means major changes for virtually every segment of the population and clinicians will need to educate their patients about those changes and how it will impact them on a personal level. The healthcare climate will also affect practitioners and how they deliver healthcare services.

To keep up with changes in Obamacare, remain compliant and receive timely reimbursements, it’s essential to have the right software tools.

In Touch EMR offers a complete system that grows with practices. In Touch Biller PRO can be fully integrated with EMR technology.

Together, the systems make practices more efficient, help educate patients and obtain payments quickly.

Upcoming Changes

For many, Obamacare means healthcare coverage for the very first time through the Health Insurance Marketplace and the expansion of Medicaid, for others it will mean no change at all.

Parents can now keep their adult children on their policies until the age of 26 and no one with a pre-existing condition can be turned down for insurance.

A $63 fee will be levied on all policies to help pay for high-risk patients.

Most individuals with employer-based insurance won’t have to purchase coverage through the Marketplace. If their cost is more than 9.5 percent of their annual income, they can apply for coverage in the Marketplace.

Marketplace insurance plans don’t automatically extend coverage to spouses. Employer-based plans typically offer spousal coverage, but companies are not obligated to do so.

Employee spouses may have to purchase personal coverage through the Marketplace or their own workplace.

Married couples may have to purchase coverage independent of the other through the Marketplace.

Medicare recipients will still be able to choose their own physician and Obamacare closes the donut hole, allowing seniors to pay less for prescriptions.

Seniors with high medical costs will be able to receive in-home care. Seniors with annual incomes of $200,000 or more will see an increase of .9 percent in Medicare payroll taxes.

Penalty Fees

The individual mandate tax (IMT) fines anyone without healthcare insurance, Medicaid or Medicare, though there are a few exemptions. Beginning in 2014 the IMT is $95 on adults and $47.50 for children.

The tax increases each year to a maximum of $695 for adults in 2016 and $397.50 for children.

After that, the fee is adjusted each year for inflation.

Buying Marketplace Insurance

A bronze, silver, gold or platinum policy can be purchased on the Marketplace. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the average price for a policy on the Marketplace will be about $328 per month.

Consumers can also purchase what’s known as a catastrophic policy for around $129 per month. The actual cost will depend on the level of coverage purchased and the geographic location of the buyer.

Federal subsidies are available to help individuals purchase Marketplace insurance coverage.

Subsidy amounts will depend on household income, family size and geographic location.

Core Services

Under Obamacare, each consumer is entitled to a core group of services ranging from hospitalization to prescription coverage.

The emphasis is on preventative services and those will be offered free, with no co-pays from patients.

Consumers can receive free cancer screenings and vaccinations, along with consultations on nutrition, diabetes, and HIV and STDs.

Obamacare will affect patient coverage, how insurance is purchased and used, and the way clinicians dispense healthcare services in the U.S.

The exact impact remains to be seen, but it’s imperative that practitioners educate patients about their options and how their decisions will affect their coverage and finances.