HIPAA compliance requires special focus. A practice with multiple separate systems for patient scheduling, electronic medical records, and billing, requires multiple separate HIPAA management efforts. This article presents an integrated approach to HIPAA compliance and outlines HIPAA terminology, principles, and requirements to help the practice owner to ensure HIPAA compliance by medical billing service and software vendors.

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The reduction of accounts receivable is key responsibility of billing function in a medical practice. This article compares traditional (distributed) billing function with centralized workflow management. It shows that centralized workflow management yields significant advantages over the distributed approach in terms of the ability to manage accounts receivable. However, it also requires significant investment in process, technology, and personnel training.

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Debt collection from patients is a conflict doctors often prefer avoiding for fear of potential implications to practice reputation and increased exposure to malpractice lawsuits. Healthcare debt collections require unique combination of sensitivity, skill, and discipline. Understanding of debt collections process and outsourcing opportunities help the practice owner improve revenue cycle while minimizing practice risks.

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Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) pushes the limits of outsourcing and reduces the exorbitant costs of specialized practice management software. SaaS model is available for all aspects of chiropractic clinic management, including scheduling, billing, and SOAP note documentation, which are mission-critical for high quality health care, practice building, and regulatory compliance.

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Google became a standard reference tool for almost every group of age and interest. But Google frustrates doctors looking for better understanding of medical billing complexities and modern straight through billing technologies. This article briefly explores the contradictory forces of the most popular search algorithm on the planet and outlines specialized, collaborative, and self-learning technologies to solve its limitations in the context of medical billing and compliance.

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When patients miss appointments, they interrupt the flow of patient care and impede clinic productivity. A missed appointment amounts to reduced billing and missed revenue. The rate of no-shows runs at thirty percent for the average Family Practice clinic. Worse, if the clinicians are part-time or full-time staff rather than contracted, they sit idle on the company clock. In this case, a missed appointment is not just a missed opportunity for revenue; it’s lost money with each passing minute.

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Without a computerized scheduler, a practice has less than 2% chance to earn the title of a “better performing practice,” according to Medical Group Management Association. Convenience and front office efficiencies are two obvious benefits of a computerized scheduling system, since without it, the only manual way to find out if a specific patient has a scheduled appointment is to flip through the appointment book page by page. But the benefits of integrated computerized scheduling stretch far beyond convenience, front office efficiencies, and better charge followup of a stand-alone, albeit computerized, scheduling. A well-designed and integrated scheduler allows preferential patient scheduling, which, along with improved controls, helps revenue optimization and practice compliance.

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Medical Billing technology has witnessed continued expansion during the first two months of this summer, as evidenced by press releases about some ninety products accumulated in BillingWiki. A practice manager may find it difficult to select the best product from such a large product variety. This article roughly tabulates some eighty-five press releases about medical billing technology products and/or vendors across two-dozen service categories.

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Pattie Stechschulte’s vision of a chiropractic office in 2125 includes simplified check-in, complete patient checkup using non-invasive techniques, self-configurating adjustment table that sets itself up for next patient, a touch-screen computer system in each room loaded with intelligent software for SOAP notes, consultation modules to tap into more experienced doctor’s knowledge, and a patient-friendly portal for online patient education and appointment scheduling. While non-invasive checkups and self-configurating adjustment tables still belong to the future, the information technology aspects of Pattie’s vision has already become a reality for chiropractors using advanced Vericle-like solutions.

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The high level of computer skill required by the prohibitively complex chiropractic office management solutions often hinder the doctor’s ability to use such solutions correctly in a chiropractic office environment. Instead of increasing office productivity and efficiency, chiropractic billing software becomes yet an additional obstacle and profitability impediment. Its high cost and user training problems add insult to injury and frustrate even seasoned and accomplished practice owners. Combining Wiki (shared knowledge repository on the Web) with video technology solve many of the difficult training problems of chiropractic clinic owners and office managers.

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