All Articles Written by Melissa Clark, CCS-P - Chief Executive Officer
All Articles Written by Melissa Clark, CCS-P - Chief Executive Officer
Welcome to the archived list of all medical billing articles written and posted to the site by Melissa Clark, CCS-P, CEO.
All articles are listed below and categorized by date, newest to oldest. Click any article link below to read the entire article.
Understanding the Basics of Urology Coding
Coding urology claims is a critical aspect of medical billing for urology practices. Accurate coding ensures that healthcare providers are reimbursed appropriately for the services they provide, minimizes claim denials, and helps maintain compliance with regulatory standards. However, the complexity of urology procedures, the frequent updates to coding guidelines, and the need to stay abreast of payer-specific requirements can make this task challenging. This article offers comprehensive tips to help a urology practice, or coder navigate the intricacies of coding urology claims effectively. ICD-10-CM Codes The International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) codes are used to describe diagnoses. In urology, these codes cover a wide range of …
Tips for Coding Cardiology and Coding Professional Development
Cardiology coding can be a complex and challenging task due to the intricate nature of cardiac procedures and diagnoses. Accurate coding is essential for ensuring proper reimbursement, compliance with regulations, and providing high-quality patient care. This article provides comprehensive tips for coding in cardiology, focusing on essential areas such as understanding medical terminology, selecting the correct codes, documenting thoroughly, and staying updated with coding changes. Importance of Medical Terminology Accurate coding begins with a strong understanding of medical terminology and anatomy, particularly related to the cardiovascular system. Coders must be familiar with the names and functions of the heart’s structures, common cardiovascular diseases, and procedures. Key Terminologies Anatomical Structures: Familiarize …
Tips for Choosing a Medical Billing Company for Your Practice
Choosing the right firm to handle your billing can seem like a daunting, and even scary task. Medical billing is a critical aspect of healthcare management, impacting the financial health of a practice. Selecting the right medical billing company is essential for ensuring efficient operations, maximizing revenue, and minimizing claim denials. This article aims to provide a comprehensive guide to help healthcare providers choose the most suitable medical billing company for their practice. What is Medical Billing? Medical billing involves the process of submitting and following up on claims with health insurance companies to receive payment for services provided by a healthcare provider. This process includes several steps: Patient registration …
Home Health and Hospice Billing: Key Considerations for Proper Reimbursement
Home health and hospice care are essential services that provide critical support to patients in the comfort of their own homes. As these services become increasingly vital due to an aging population and the preference for home-based care, understanding the intricacies of home health and hospice billing becomes imperative for healthcare providers. Proper billing is crucial for ensuring adequate reimbursement, which in turn sustains the operations of these services. This article will explore the key considerations for proper reimbursement in home health and hospice billing, focusing on regulatory compliance, documentation, coding accuracy, billing processes, and the challenges faced by providers. Regulatory Compliance Medicare and Medicaid Guidelines Medicare and Medicaid are …
Completed the move into our new office
We are happy to announce the renovations are complete, and we have finally moved into our new facility in the heart of Bedford, Indiana. We have been located in Bloomington for over 20 years, but it made more sense for our offices to now be located in Bedford since most of our staff lives in, or closer to Bedford than Bloomington. Our staff is still settling into all the new offices, so we will post more pictures as we get more organized and settled.
5 Most Important Aspects of Medical Billing: Melissa’s Mention
Here is an excerpt from an interesting article that has been mentioned by Melissa: “Medical billing is a process where you pay your provider for their services. When we say you, we mean that this is the process where your insurance carrier and you pay the service provider or hospital you were in for deductible charges. Now when you know this let’s put ourselves in the position of a medical institution, clinic, or practice that has to bill for their work. Believe it or not, sometimes it is very hard to do this and these businesses have their work cut out for them when it comes to charging their …
Data can unlock capacity in the O.R. & drive better decision-making: Melissa’s Mention
“Optimizing operating room performance is a tough nut to crack for hospitals because true OR capacity is often uncaptured and underutilized due to rigid scheduling protocols. During a workshop sponsored by LeanTaaS at the Becker’s Hospital Review 9th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable in November, Sanjeev Agrawal, president and COO of LeanTaaS, and Matt Ruby, director of business operations, surgical services at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, discussed challenges and available solutions related to efficient OR utilization. Four key takeaways: 1. Unused OR capacity leads to unrealized return on investment. The OR represents the economic backbone of hospitals but is often underutilized because of the rigidity of block scheduling and …
HIPAA and Professional Sports Figures: Let’s Get the Record Straight: Melissa’s Mention
Matt Fisher clears up some confusion related to HIPAA and individuals on Health IT Answers. “The spotlight continues to shine brightly on HIPAA, especially as an excuse, when it comes to professional athletes responding to questions around COVID vaccine status. The most recent string of erroneous responses started strongly over the summer when NFL training camps kicked into gear. As players returned and the league indicated its intentions for health safety, questions were often posed to players to find where they all stood. Before diving into a bit from my perspective, I encourage readers to check out a similar article by Charles Curtis on ForTheWin with USA Today where I …
Tips for Recouping Lost Revenue From COVID-19 Pandemic
Craig Adkins of AdvancedMD gives HealthIT Answers some tips of how to recoup some of the revenue lost during the pandemic in this article mention. “The past few months of the pandemic have brought many challenges to physician practices, especially small, independent providers operating outside the domains of COVID-19 treatment. While mandatory shutdowns and quarantines have slowed the spread of the virus, the economic impact has been substantial. Fewer outpatient visits—and even fewer procedures—over the past several months have led to serious financial hardship for many providers. Practices that will stay afloat during this challenging time are doing so strategically. In some cases, practices planned for a “rainy day” and …
EHR Training and Experience Lead to Decreased EHR Use by Residents
Are you satisfied with your EHR? Do you spend 40% of your day in your EHR? Research shows that some physicians do.. “Physicians at large community hospitals spend nearly four hours during work hours, or roughly 40 percent of their day, on the EHR, according to a study published in the Public Library of Science (PLOS ONE). Additionally, researchers found a significant decrease in resident EHR use with increased training and experience, although the overall amount of time spent on the EHR remained high. “Studies exploring EHR use emphasized extensive time as one of the significant drawbacks to EHR,” wrote the study authors. “It has been reported that physicians …
