Apr 19, 2022 | EZClaim
For over two decades, EZClaim’s foremost goal has been to make medical billing easier and more efficient. Let’s look at the features in EZClaim that h.
Templates
Templates are a great way to save time and ensure accuracy by pre-filling fields that will be consistent across patients or claims. EZClaim has two types of templates to choose from
Patient templates
Patient templates can be used to pre-fill patient demographic information. These templates are extremely useful and flexible across a range of scenarios where you know that patient demographic information will be the same.
For example, if your office has one doctor that only serves Medicare patients, you can easily create a template that will pre-fill Medicare as the payer for that doctor. Maybe you have a payer that requires a specific qualifier. This can be quickly loaded from a template with the necessary fields pre-filled.
Claim templates
Claim templates work much the same way that patient templates do. They make it easy to create claims around “standard” visits. In pediatrics, a common usage might be a claim template for a well-visit and immunizations. Standardizing these visits with a template not only saves you time but also helps ensure you are collecting all the applicable charges and that nothing gets left off.
Another common example that we see is using templates for modifiers for tele-health visits. The template gives you a standard foundation to make sure everything is in order.
A similar functionality that many find useful is using the “previous claim” pre-fill functionality. This copies the fields from the previous claim into a new one, which you can then alter as needed.
Both patient and claim templates serve as a flexible tool to standardize your process, reducing repetition and increasing accuracy.
Validation rules
Another great tool to ensure clean claims is by validating inputs. EZClaim comes with several default validation rules, for example, a billing provider must be set before the claim can be submitted. This tool can also be used to create custom rules. Rules can be set around how to validate:
- Patient entries
- Payer entries
- Physician/Facility entries
- Sending claims
Like the templating functionality, validation rules are extremely flexible and can be adapted to your individual needs. As an example, one custom validation rule revolves around Medicare member numbers—because we know that all Medicare member numbers are 11 characters, we can set a validation rule that enforces 11 characters for all claims where Medicare is set as the payer. Maybe for your use case certain CPT codes require extra documentation, or certain types of claims that should be flagged for extra review before being submitted. These rules can all be standardized and enforced with custom validation rules.
It might be the case that certain rules have exceptions. Validation rules can be set up to trigger with an error, so that the claim cannot be submitted, or with a warning, so that the user is made aware that a rule has been broken but it will not prevent the claim from being submitted. Custom rules are a powerful tool and must be used with caution—you don’t want to prevent clean claims from being sent out. However, if you find that you are continually running into a particular issue with a category of claims, it can be a great way to ensure accuracy.
Aug 31, 2021 | Support and Training
As a medical billing software company, EZClaim has worked and built relationships with thousands of billing experts across the country. With the aim of helping establish a standard of best practices, we have come up with 3 keys to being a medical billing expert. If you own a medical billing company or are studying to be a medical biller, then you will not want to miss these.
1. Strong Communication Skills
Medical billers must interact with a variety of individuals in their roles.
One of the most important people a medical biller must learn to communicate with is the patient. It is a biller’s job to be courteous, transparent, and offer up solutions to problems. Clearly communicating to patients their financial responsibilities will allow for the medical biller to complete the claim. It is also crucial for a medical biller to communicate well with their provider. If a patient’s claim is not complete, the biller must feel comfortable reaching out to the health care provider to find the missing pieces. Proper classification and correct billing methods is a critical component to getting paid.
2. Be Proactive
Be proactive in furthering your knowledge, the medical billing industry is continuously changing, and it benefits a biller to remain on top of the industry standards. There are billing associations you can join such as the American Medical Billers Association. Taking classes at a local community college or attending a billing school will help hone your skills. If a medical biller has gone through certification, these should be kept current.
3. Strong Follow-Up Skills
A good medical biller understands that having a strong follow-up and watching their dates is a critical component of revenue collecting. Identifying and correcting time management issues will increase productivity. An effective medical biller will set follow-up dates to track claims and set reminders in their billing program.
EZClaim offers many tools to assist billers with follow-up tasks. Between customized grids, follow-up reports, tasks, and reminders there’s a tool that will work for you and your workflow process.
In conclusion, a thorough knowledge of billing software, processes, and practices, is just one component to becoming an effective biller. Building strong relationships with patients, providers, and insurance companies through excellent communications and strong follow-up skills will ensure that patients stay satisfied with the medical practice and that providers are paid in a timely manner.
ABOUT EZCLAIM:
As a medical billing expert, EZClaim can help the medical practice improve its revenues since it is a medical billing and scheduling software company. EZClaim provides a best-in-class product, with correspondingly exceptional service and support. Combined, EZClaim helps improve medical billing revenues. To learn more, visit EZClaim’s website, email them, or call them today at 877.650.0904.
Apr 5, 2021 | AMBA National Conference, Medical Billing Software Blog, MMBA Chapter Meetings, Support and Training
In this interview with a medical billing expert and co-owner of Elite Billing Resolutions, Vicky Greenwood, we talk about dealing with the challenges in owning a billing company, some important skills that every medical biller needs, and the value of choosing the right medical billing software. In our time speaking with Vicky, we focused on topics that will aid, contribute, and help grow the skills of the medical billing community. We at EZClaim believe in highlighting the best practices in the industry and sharing those with the larger community. We encourage you to consider these insights, and then let us know what topics you would like to learn more about.
EZCLAIM: When did you get into medical billing?
VICKY: “I started in 1994, and at the time we were working on a dinosaur of a system called, “Signature.” We would have to wait overnight to process the entire day’s work. Then we would return in the morning to see if there were any errors in the batch or denials in the claims, which meant being accurate in entering information was essential. Outside of that, we kept all our paperwork in filing cabinets, and they needed to be sorted and organized by date. If a date was off in the filing system it could take the better part of a day to find a patient’s claim. The difference between then and now is night and day. I am definitely thankful for technology.”
EZCLAIM: Why did you start Elite Medical Billing?
VICKY: “We started Elite Medical Billing because we wanted to be able to directly impact our medical practices with the services we provided, and we wanted the freedom to enjoy doing it for our clients. I also knew that I was experienced in the field, was competent at my job, and enjoyed doing what needed to be done to get practices paid. Once I honed those skills and knew we could do it. We hired a lawyer and an accountant, then formed our company.”
EZCLAIM: What are challenges in starting a company?
VICKY: “First, you have to understand the value of time management and delegation. You don’t want to bite off more than you can chew. It is good to know when you need to ask for help. Next, you want to find good staff. I look for people who have the right attitude about the job first and have the characteristics to be proactive and work hard. Then, I look for experience in the field, learning if they had hands-on experience with claims, denials, and coordination of benefits is part of that. At the end of the day, my staff are my [company], and fortunately, most of my staff have been with me from the beginning.”
EZCLAIM: Why did you choose EZClaim?
VICKY: “We had a client who needed software and, being a smaller company, we needed cost-effective software with strong tech support. When we searched on Google for “easy to use medical billing software,” we found EZClaim. We were won over by the first phone call. Since then, we have been reminded of how great a decision that we made. The simplicity by which you can enter the information, process new patients, and ‘claim them’ within minutes is invaluable. That combined with the great customer service—that answers our questions most often on the first call with detailed answers—and video tutorial support is why we will continue to use and promote the software.”
EZCLAIM: Are you a member of AMBA and MMBA?
VICKY: “We joined the MMBA and AMBA in 2016 to help us certify our billing company. That process and the training, testing, and materials were amazing pieces of helping us get established and grow. In addition, the expos, webinars, and online support offer an abundance of information. Of course, the annual expos are both informative and a great work trip for team building and fun. We make it annually to the MMBA, but our next big goal is to go to the AMBA in Las Vegas!”
EZCLAIM: Have some final thoughts to offer fellow medical billers and business owners?
VICKY: “As a medical biller and owner, you have to be willing to talk with physicians. You need to show them the vouchers and documentation of your work. And it is important to communicate how they bill and how they can be sure to properly classify to get paid. You need to review what they have done in the past and how they can improve in the future by training staff.”
“You can also add value by making them the good guy and yourself the bad guy when dealing with patients and getting paid. We allow patients to call us directly, we answer the questions, and tell them how much they have to pay—then we forward the call to the office. Remember, at the end of the day, you have to show them the money. They work hard and they deserve to get paid.”
ABOUT EZCLAIM:
As a medical billing expert, EZClaim can help the medical practice improve its revenues since it is a medical billing and scheduling software company. EZClaim provides a best-in-class product, with correspondingly exceptional service and support. Combined, EZClaim helps improve medical billing revenues. To learn more, visit EZClaim’s website, email them, or call them today at 877.650.0904.
