‘All-in-One’ or ‘Specialized’ Medical Billing Software? Which is Best?

‘All-in-One’ or ‘Specialized’ Medical Billing Software? Which is Best?

Which is the BEST kind of Medical Billing Software? “All-in-One” or “Specialized”?

When considering WHICH medical billing solution they should use, practices wonder which is best, an “all-in-one” solution or specialized software. Well, the following are a few important pros and cons to consider when making a choice between these solutions.

ALL-IN-ONE:
An “all-in-one” system tries to provide a single, comprehensive solution that offers functionality for the major areas of the practice—Practice Management (PM), Electronic Medical/Health Records (EMR/EHR), and Revenue Cycle Management (RCM)—accessed from one central point. It has features like clinical notes, patient information, and history, diagnosis and treatments, scheduling, appointment reminders, reports, patient educational resources, as well as a medical billing section.

PROS:
• Most of what a practice need is included in the system
• There is no need to be concerned with multiple integrations or vendors

CONS:
• Tends to have a higher ‘entry’ cost
• Usually designed for the “middle-of-the-road,” therefore sometimes doesn’t properly address specific needs of a practice
• Sometimes, the practice is left paying for additional customizations to fit their particular needs

SPECIALIZED SOFTWARE:
Specialized medical billing software, on the other hand, is particularly programmed to maintain billing details of tests, procedures, examinations, diagnoses, and treatments conducted on patients.   However, many specialized software providers extend their scope to include features like practice management, scheduling, and other administrative and clinical functions (that are generally a part of EHR software systems) by partnering with other specialty software companies—creating a “best-in-class” solution.

PROS:
• Integrating multiple “best-in-class” software packages—each taking a much more focused approach—creates an offering with much more in-depth capabilities
• Usually are more ‘nimble’ in responding to industry and regulatory changes
• More ’scalable’ in supporting the growth of a practice

CONS:
• Most of the time the practice has to deal with multiple vendors

 

CONCLUSION:
Where “all-in-one” solutions offer a wide breadth of capabilities across the business, they usually also lack focus, depth, and sophistication. “All-in-one” solutions are usually only efficient in one area, with the other areas tend to be ‘compromised’ and not fully developed. Then, when it comes to flexibility, they tend to be slow to adapt to changing practice needs.

Specialized software, however, typically offer a more efficient experience, with each ‘component’ streamlined and designed with a specific purpose in mind. Their focus on limiting the software scope makes them flexible and easy to use.

EZClaim—a leading software package in medical billing and practice management—has made it easier for the medical practice to have the benefit of a “all-inclusive” solution. They have created the best of both worlds by taking on the responsibility of integrating the “best-of-breed” into a harmonized “best-of-class” offering that allows the practice to pick and choose for their specific needs. The seamless integration of partner products and services ensures the practice does not have to give up robustness and flexibility for a simplified “all-in-one” solution, and it further enhances the practice’s workflow.

As a specific example, one of EZClaim’s partners is TriZetto Provider Solutions (TPS), a provider that seamlessly blends claims processing with revenue management and analytics software, so the practice can get paid faster, and more accurately.

Today, the practice can get the benefit of all the power and ease of use of EZClaim’s medical billing software and all the access and security that is needed when dealing with personal records by using  TPS—which includes patient access, claims and denials management, patient financials, and advisory services.

The powerful integration between EZClaim and TPS efficiently adds functionality to the practice. Now the practice can gain deeper insight into the claim lifecycle, and take the proper steps to improve the overall health of the practice. The right ‘integrated’ solution makes all the difference!

So, if your practice needs more confident billing, after payments, and more informed decisions, but the power of EZClaim and TPS to work for your practice with the integrated suite of revenue cycle solutions.

In addition to TPS, EZClaim has tightly integrated a variety of of ‘components’ to be able to offer an “all-inclusive” best-in-class solution for a medical practice’s needs: Electronic Health Records (EHR), Clearinghouse, statement and payment services, HIPPA compliance, claims scrubbing, appointment reminders, and inventory management. It has partnered with a variety of providers like QuickEMR, BestNotes, and PracticeFusion  [ Click here for an entire list of EZClaim’s partners ].

It is important to note that an “all-in-one” solution does not usually include the Clearinghouse portion that TPS offers. The powerful integration between EZClaim, TPS, and EZClaim’s EMR partners, efficiently adds functionality to ANY practice!

If you are considering the best course of action to meet your practice’s needs, consider using EZClaim by downloading a FREE TRIAL or contact one of their product specialists today to explore all the options for how to best solve your practice’s operational challenges, and grow your business.

For details and features about EZClaim’s medical billing software, visit their website.

“Find Grids” Simplifies Medical Billing

“Find Grids” Simplifies Medical Billing

Whether you are an experienced EZClaim user looking to learn a new trick or just starting out with the software,  “Find Grids” simplifies medical billing within the EZClaim software.

For the average biller, customizing grids is as important as adjusting your mirrors to face in the proper direction before driving your car. At a basic level, grids allow you to sort, filter, and customize your workflow and search needs. However, there is more flexibility available with grouping panels, flexible filtering rows, custom columns, and the ability to create and share widgets within the software—all of which will simplify your billing. (To learn more details, view the “Working with Grids” tutorial below).

CLICK FOR VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/embed/ikUIM2AVURQ

The grids feature in EZClaim is a very powerful tool since the grids are highly customizable (they function like a spreadsheet). At the click of a button—or the stroke of a key—you can search for data and align your columns in your find claims field. If sorting to a specific set of claims is important to you, a simple click organizes your data to be queried for rendering. Sorting data has never been easier!

To simplify your workload even further, you can create an “established” find grid (i.e. find patient grids, find claim grids, find disbursement grids, etc.). You then can make bulk changes to the status of each claim without dealing with individual touches. Then, once you have created the filtered columns, you can go deeper and create reports that show you exactly what you want by using the filter editor. This is just one more way that EZClaim makes billing simpler and quicker. “Find grids” simplifies medical billing for all who use EZclaim’s software.

Find Grids Simplifies Medical BillingSo, here’s a few questions to ask yourself. Is it important for you to customize your grids so that you can find what you need when you’re looking for it? Would you find it helpful to have auto-filters in place and be able to populate your search at the click of a button? Would it be helpful to be able to create a “widget” that you can share with your team?

Well, if you answered “Yes” to any or all of the above questions, then our tutorial on “Find Grids” (click here to view) will guide you through, step-by-step, the most efficient use of the feature. In addition to that, you can also reach out to our customer service team for more details.

If you are new to medical billing, EZClaim can help with your evaluation.  You can either schedule a one-on-one consultation with our sales team, view a recorded demo, or download a FREE 30-day trial right now.

For detailed product features or general information about EZClaim, visit our website at ezclaim.com/

Watch Medical Billing Webinar on Telehealth

Watch Medical Billing Webinar on Telehealth

A recent medical billing webinar on Telehealth that EZclaim hosted is now available to review.

On April 30th, EZClaim hosted a Telehealth Updates Webinar for our clients with guest speaker Sandy Giangreco Brown – Director of Coding and Revenue Integrity Health Care at CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP

We had one of the largest viewing audiences 101 active attendees in the session. Sandy shared informative billing codes and direct links to update hands-on information for billers actively coding Telehealth sessions. For those of you who missed it, we have provided on our website the recorded session ezclaim.com/webinars and can provide the presentation slides too! Just send a request to sales@ezclaim.com

We continue to get views of this presentation and look forward to hosting more hot topics with the CLA Team.

With the onset of COVID-19 came a great opportunity for clinics and hospitals to offer Telehealth and Communication Technology Based (CTSB) services. The Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, have provided many updates to the available services that can be provided and billed to the patients to help practices not only stay afloat financially but also and most importantly, to keep their staff safe and provide excellent care to their patients!

There were new guidelines released even after this webinar on 4/30/2020 (which can be found here – https://www.cms.gov/files/document/se20016.pdf, and now includes audio-only Telehealth for services such as psychotherapy, tobacco cessation and medical nutrition counseling as well as diabetes self-management training. CMS is also increasing the payments for the Audio Only services from $14-$41 nationally to $46-$110.

As of April 30, 2020, in order to bill Telehealth, RHCs are now required to bill the G2025–CG–95 from January 27, 2020, to June 30, 2020. Then from July 1, 2020, to the end of the PHE, they will be billing the G2025 with an optional 95 modifier, per CMS SE20016 Medicare Learning Network Transmittal.

FQHCs will need to report three (3) codes for their Telehealth Services:

  1. G0467 (or other appropriate FQHC specific payment code)
  2. 99214–95 (or other FQHC PPS Qualifying Payment Code)
  3. G2025–95

CLA is on the frontlines and closely monitoring and analyzing activities related to Telehealth and other virtual health regulations

CMS Telehealth fact sheet, Frequently Ask Questions:

As your practice adjusts to Telehealth going forward, EZclaim’s medical billing solution can help you simplify patient billing and help you get paid for Telehealth visits. (Our recent medical billing webinar on Telehealth may just help you better understand the current situation).

So, to help you investigate how EZclaim’s medical billing solution may work for you, either schedule a one-on-one consultation with our sales team or download a FREE TRIAL to check out the software yourself. For additional information right now, contact EZclaim’s sales team at 877.650.0904 or send an e-mail to sales@ezclaim.com.

[Contributed by Sandy Giangreco Brown – Director of Coding and Revenue Integrity Health Care, CliftonLarsenAllen LLP]

Getting Paid for Telehealth Visits

Getting Paid for Telehealth Visits

Telemedicine was already growing in popularity prior to the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic. So, as the adoption rate increases, EZClaim clients may have questions about sending telemedicine charges and getting paid for Telehealth visits.

Telehealth challenges can range from issues with technology to getting paid. With Telehealth becoming the norm for many doctor-patient visits, it is important to have a thoughtful approach in place regarding collecting patient payments. To stay in business, you have to get paid for the work you are doing. So, establishing a process for Telehealth consultations is vital to your business, and it should be a top priority to build a successful program from beginning to end.

The answers to the following questions will help set the baseline for how to collect patient payments for
Telehealth visits:

  • What is my process for charging for copays?
  • How and when do I collect outstanding balances?

For example, if you collect payment before an in-person visit, you should collect payment before a Telehealth visit, too. There is no need to re-create your process completely. Just change what is needed to match your current in-office routine.

Sending Charges Before a Telehealth Visit

A simple way to send pre-visit charges to patients is to provide them with a link that takes them directly to the payment site. EZClaim’s medical billing solution is integrated with BillFlash LinkPay, which enables customers to provide payment for the upcoming visit. So, before the Telehealth session begins, the practice simply sends a link to their patient via an e-mail or text, making the appointment confirmation and the payment processing part of the check-in process. After the payment transaction is complete, it will immediately show up on the practice’s BillFlash report. LinkPay is designed to be easy to use and doesn’t require patients to remember a login or a chart number.

Here’s how EZClaim enables the process through BillFlash:

  1. Prior to Telehealth visit, the patient is sent a link to pay through LinkPay, and another link to join the Telehealth call
  2. The patient pays the required amount through LinkPay, which is immediately confirmed and processed
  3. The patient joins the Telehealth session
  4. Results and follow-up are completed electronically
  5. Insurance billing is completed
  6. The patient receives a paper statement or eBill notification for any remaining balance
  7. The patient is directed to pay the remaining balance online at MyProviderLink.com

Automate What Can Be Automated

With so many changes taking place in healthcare, a great way to help protect the financial stability of your practice is to automate what can be automated. This saves your staff time and decreases your cost of doing business.

One way to do this is to set up automatic payment plans for patients, particularly for those who have been hit hard by the economic impact of COVID-19. A payment plan is a good way of keeping the revenue flowing in, and it shows your patients that you are compassionate and willing to help them through these unprecedented times.

BillFlash also securely stores payment information, so patients will not need to re-enter their information every time they pay a new bill.

As you continue to adjust to Telehealth going forward, BillFlash can simplify patient billing and payments significantly and help getting paid for Telehealth visits.

So, for a LIMITED TIME (during May 2020), EZClaim customers can try BillFlash statement and eBill services for FREE for 30 days. Click on this link for more details about BillFlash or try it out for the next month.

For additional information, call BillFlash at 435-940-9123, or contact EZclaim’s support team at 877.650.0904 or support@ezclaim.com.

[Contributed by James Easley VP, Marketing NexTrust Inc.]