Medical Billing Blog: Section - Claims
Archive of all Articles in the Claims Section
This is the archive containing links to all articles written in the Claims section of our blog.
Click any of the article links below to read the entire article or browse another section to the right to read articles on another subject.
EHR Use Negatively Impacts Patient-Provider Relationship
A recent study by Pelland et al. found that while EHR use may reduce medical errors, the technology is also shown to complicate the patient-provider relationship. Researchers at Brown University performed a qualitative analysis of comments submitted to a 2014 Rhode Island Health Information Technology survey to gain insight into physicians’ personal experiences with EHR systems. Both office- and hospital-based physicians in Rhode Island submitted responses describing their perceptions of the impact of EHR technology on patient-physician interactions. Responses from hospital-based physicians were measured against the opinions of office-based physicians for contrast. While both hospital-based physicians and office-based physicians voiced concerns regarding the effect of EHRs on patient-provider interactions, the …
How to Collaborate for EHR Usability
The number of health IT developers and products has increased significantly as a result of federal incentives for EHR adoption but correlates with the rise of provider dissatisfaction with the usability of these systems. What providers expect from their EHR systems and what health IT developers deliver have proved not to be one in the same. This disconnect points to the need for the latter to focus on the needs of the former and deliver EHR technology that is user-centered. Therefore, collaboration between health IT developers and clinical end-users is key to ensuring EHR systems are user-friendly in an industry rapidly adopting new technologies year after year to tackle new …
Configuring a chargemaster for medical services
Configuring a chargemaster for medical services is like constructing a building. The more complex the building (or medical services), the more planning, skill, and manpower needed to do the job. The chargemaster of a primary hospital will be different from a tertiary hospital with more acute specialty services. The volume of services rendered gives an estimate of the volume of chargemaster transactions, while the variety and complexity of services rendered gives an idea of the resources needed. Dedicated training, level of expertise, attention to details, and the skill of the chargemaster team determine a successful outcome. The Basics 1. Know your payers and its policies (i.e. what Medicare Jurisdiction the …
Incident-to Coding: Physician vs. Non-physician Provider
Question: Our practice needs to make sure that “incident-to” guidelines are being followed? Part of the Medicare guidelines is that the physician must stay involved in the patient’s care, but they don’t give a specific timeframe. If the patient only sees the non-physician provider (NPP) once or twice a year, and only sees the physician every two to three years, would Medicare consider that as the provider staying involved in the patient’s care? Answer: Once upon a time… Continue reading this article
EHR is Still a Top Buying Priority for Physicians
A recent survey of healthcare executives shows that inpatient and outpatient EHR technology are top of mind for provider buying priorities for health IT purchases, trailing only telemedicine. A third of 248 respondents to a Research Data survey listed telemedicine (33%), inpatient EHR (32%), and outpatient EHR (32%) solutions as their current top health IT buying priorities. The three technologies were well ahead of MACRA implementation and patient engagement, both reported by 20 percent of healthcare executives, as health IT purchasing priorities. The greatest number of respondents — ranging from healthcare CEOs, CIOs, and CFOs to IT, medical, and nursing directors — working in standalone hospitals (47%) and integrated delivery …
