Integrating an EHR and PM – RCM Insight

Integrating an EHR and PM – RCM Insight

Have you ever been a bit overwhelmed when shopping around for all your medical practice needs?  Of course!  There are so many pieces required to meet all the HIPAA and reporting requirements, but it’s also about efficiency and ease of sharing information between clinicians to administrators.  This can make the all-in-one Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Practice Management (PM) systems very tempting.  Keep in mind, you will pay a hefty price for an all-in-one, which makes this a very simple decision for some practices.  The good news:  You have alternatives that still provide the same ease of sharing data through integration.  I recently interviewed Dan Loch, President of EZClaim Software, LLC.  EZClaim offers a stand-alone billing platform that offers several options for integration with clearinghouses and EHR’s.  I asked Dan what he felt the biggest advantages were to using stand-along programs.

    1. Your practice will get the best of both worlds! Often practices will find a great EHR, but the billing side is not the best, or vice-versa.  Using stand-alone programs that can talk to each other allows a practice to choose an EHR solution that is best for their clinicians AND a PM solution that is best for the billers and administrators.
    2. Typically, stand-alone systems are more ‘nimble’ in responding to industry and regulatory changes.
    3. Integrating multiple ‘best-in-class’ software packages creates an offering with much more in-depth capability.

If you are currently using separate EHR and PM solutions but the programs are not integrated – consider looking into this feature.  This will relieve the burden of entering data twice.  Start by verifying if the programs have an existing integration.

    • If so, the hard part is done! Just ask what the process is to get set up and if there are any fees associated.
    • If not, consider contacting your PM software vendor to inquire what formats they accept for EHR integrations. Once they provide the specs, work with your EHR to determine if you can export in the required format.

There is no single solution that works for every practice.  If you’d like to learn more, check out this article from EZClaim ‘All-in-One’ or ‘Specialized’ Medical Billing Software?  Which is Best?  I hope that this information will help you weigh your options and find the right fit for your specific situation.  If you have questions or would like some help determining what would be best, RCM Insight is here to help!  Visit us at www.rcminsight.com and submit a request to chat on the Contact Us page.

 

Life Cycle of a Medical Bill (Revenue Cycle 101)

Life Cycle of a Medical Bill (Revenue Cycle 101)

Life Cycle of a Medical BillThere are five ‘phases’ in the life cycle of a medical bill: Pre-appointment; Point of care; Claim submission; Insurance payment or denial; and Patient payment. This post will overview each of these phases, and could even be considered to be a “101-level” course on Revenue Cycle Management.

With high deductible health plans on the rise, the recent explosion of telehealth appointments due to COVID-19, and many other factors in play, it’s more important than ever for everyone to understand the life cycle of a medical bill, and how the process works. The healthcare revenue cycle is relevant not only to those who work in healthcare, but to the patient, too.

The revenue cycle is the series of processes around healthcare payments—from the time a patient makes an appointment to the time a provider is paid—and everything in between. One way to think of it is in terms of the life cycle of a medical bill. Although there are many ways this process can play out, this post will lay out a common example below:

1. Pre-appointment
For most general care, the first stage of the revenue cycle begins when a patient contacts a provider to set up their appointment. Generally this is when relevant patient information will begin to be collected for the eventual bill, referred to on the financial side of healthcare as a claim.

At this point a provider will determine whether the appointment and procedure will need prior authorization from an insurance company (referred to as the payer). Also, the electronic health record (EHR) used to help generate the claim is created, and will begin to accumulate further detail as the provider sends an eligibility inquiry to check into the patient’s insurance coverage.

2. Point of care
The next step in the process begins when the patient arrives for their appointment. This could include when a patient arrives for an initial consultation, an outpatient procedure, or for a follow-up exam. This could also include a Telehealth appointment.

At any of these events, the provider may charge an up-front cost. One example of this is a co-pay, which is the set amount patients pay after their deductible (if they are insured), however, there are other kinds of payments that fall into this category, too.

3. Claim submission
After the point of care, the provider completes and submits a claim with the appropriate codes to the payer. In order to accomplish that, billing staff must collect all necessary documentation and attach it to the claim. After submitting the claim to the payer, the provider’s team will monitor whether a claim has been been accepted, rejected, or denied.

[ Note: Medical coding refers to the clerical process of translating steps in the patient experience with reference numbers. The codes are normally based on medical documentation, such as a doctor’s notes or laboratory results. These explain to a payer how a patient was diagnosed and treated, and why. This information helps the payer decide how much of an encounter is covered under any given insurance plan, and therefore how much the payer will pay. ]

4. Insurance payment or denial
Once the payer receives the claim, they ensure it contains complete information and agrees with provider and patient records. If there is an error, the claim will be rejected outright and the provider will have to submit a corrected claim.

The payer then begins the review process, referred to as adjudication. Payers evaluate claims for accurate coding and documentation, medical necessity, appropriate authorization, and more. Through this process, the payer decides their financial obligation. Any factor could cause the payer to deny the claim.

If the claim is approved, the payer submits payment to the provider with information explaining details of their decision. If the claim is denied, the provider will need to determine if the original needs to be corrected, or if it makes more sense to appeal the payer’s decision.

Following adjudication, the payer will send an explanation of benefits (EOB) to the patient. This EOB will provide a breakdown of how the patient’s coverage matched up to the charges attached to their care. It is not a billing statement, but it does show what the provider charged the payer, what portion insurance covers, and how much the patient is responsible for.

5. Patient payment
The next phase occurs when the provider sends the patient a statement for their portion of financial responsibility. This stage occurs once the provider and payer have agreed on the details of the claim, what has been paid, and what is still owed.

The last step occurs when a patient pays the balance that they owe the provider for their care. Depending on the amount, the patient may be able pay it all at once, or they might need to work with the provider on a payment plan.

 

The above example represents one way the lie cycle of a medical bill can play out. Some of the ‘phases’ are often repeated. Because of the complexity of healthcare payments and the parties involved, there is not always a ‘straight line’ from patient care to complete payment. That’s why we call it the revenue cycle, and there are companies that provide systems for its management.

One of EZClaim’s partners, Waystar, aims to simplify and unify healthcare payments. Their technology automates many parts of the billing process laid out above, so it takes less time and energy for providers and their teams, and is more transparent for patients (Click here to learn more about how Waystar automates manual tasks and streamlines workflows.) When the revenue cycle is operating at its most efficient, providers can focus their resources on improving patient care—and that’s a better way forward for everyone!

For more information of how Waystar works together with EZClaim, click here.

[ Article and image provided by Waystar ]

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ABOUT EZCLAIM:
EZClaim is a medical billing and scheduling software company that provides a best-in-class product, with correspondingly exceptional service and support, and can help improve medical billing revenues. To learn more, visit their website, e-mail them at sales@ezclaim.com, or call a representative today at 877.650.0904.