Medical Billing Software and Productivity Questioned
Does technology really benefit us? The right technology can make our lives easier; however, if they don’t have the right features, they can end up hurting us more than benefiting us. Medical billing software has revolutionized the medical industry. With easier retrieval of medical histories and reduced paperwork, using proper and robust software can go a long way in improving your productivity. It’s good idea to understand the functionality of a given billing application. Those that are able to boost revenue and increase the productivity of a healthcare provider.
Some of the more important features include:
- Patient portal
A patient portal is a secure online website that gives patients convenient, 24-hour access to personal health information. Portals are very convenient and usually save valuable time. For example, it can be an avenue for patients to book appointments at the comfort of their bed or couch without having to be present in a hospital or medical provider’s office. Patients and the healthcare provider communicate through portals, be it follow-ups on how they are feeling or reminding them of their medication and / or appointments.
Another exciting thing about this feature is that test results can be uploaded and viewed via portals. Therefore, the patient does not have to go under the pressure of waiting for a phone call with the information about their last test result. They can view them whenever they are ready.
The health service provider’s back-end feature is effective through allowing the patients to key in their information. This saves them the hassle of entering information in massive stacks of paperwork. Patient details can be recorded by a doctor (first hand) without having to pass it through their assistants.
- E-prescribing
It’s without a doubt that you have heard a joke or two about the poor penmanship of physicians, as they are not known to have the best handwriting in the world. The modern way of health service delivery makes it much easier for them to generate a prescription. They do not have to give written instructions to pharmacies. They can do so through electronically and securely through e-prescribing. Additionally, it reduces fraud.
This feature saves on time as well. When patients leave a medical provider and head to a pharmacy, the prescription will either already have been filled or waiting for them. This is terrifically convenient, an expeditious process.
The most important thing that makes this feature a benefit to both patients and healthcare providers is the fact that it allows for accurate prescriptions. No one has to worry about the misinterpretation of the handwritten details.
For healthcare providers, there’s a high probability that patients will stay with you and trust you if your service delivery / model is convenient.
- Claim denial manager
This is the billing, organizational, filing, and updating medical claims that are related to treatments and diagnosis of patients. Your organization(s) heavily depend on the regular and timely flow of monetary values. Therefore, the claim denial manager comes to the rescue by speeding up payments. Instantaneously, it has a way to discover whether there’s a problem with an individual claim, such as codes that are incorrectly applied.
Additionally, claim denial management software pings you with problem alerts accompanied by suggestions on how to fix them. If this does not save you the time and energy, rather than examining individual records hunting for warnings and errors, what does? Today, it’s a simple process of correcting the mistakes on the spot.
Your organization will be able to examine all problematic claims and get the reasons that led to the denials. You’ll also be able to discover problematic claim patterns / trends and make adjustments in your process to correct them.
- Voice recognition
There’s a high probability that you’ve interacted with a voice recognition mechanism, especially those who have called a company sorting out bills or making inquiries.
It incorporates a system that can record audio when humans speak. It translates the audio into text, displaying it on a computer screen. This completely replaces traditional methods, where the physician would draft notes and have them typed into a patient record with a more convenient and effective way to input the data.
This feature reduces errors such as keying in wrong data. In addition, it also saves on time, as one does not have to wait as long.
- Healthcare analytics
One of the most successful features in this software is the healthcare analytics. It modernizes the whole system. It utilizes big data as well as the strong capability of computers to tabulate, analyze, and compare information about patients. This can be a meaningful aid for you and your team while managing your business, especially in the financial aspects. It also processes data more efficiently, giving a clear picture of how your organization is running.
This feature incorporates several dashboards such as the executive dashboard that gives the leaders in an organization access to an organization’s information. It also has Key Performance Indicator (KPI) benchmarking services. You can use this feature by setting standards that you expect at the end of a certain period, and it will help you to keep track of the performances and to see the fields you need to improve on.
No modern practice should lack this critical feature.
Conclusion
Medical billing software can help your organization improve efficiency and save money. It’s essential to understand software features, which can help you in determining the most applicable for your field of work and stay competitive in the healthcare industry.