Improve Reimbursement With These Technologies

By Greg Bengel, contributing writer

An industry experts shares four technologies that can help providers get paid what they are owed if utilized properly

In the face of changing legislation, meaningful use incentives, and the adoption of new technologies, reimbursement remains a significant challenge for health care providers. Getting paid in full and on time sometimes feels like a near impossibility.

Health IT Outcomes recently touched on the problem. Specifically, an article on wfla.com examines a report from Frost & Sullivan and concludes that “Many medical practices will need to significantly re-engineer their entire RCM function, and most seek solutions that offer robust integrations between clinical and financial systems."

A tough task, given that it comes at a time when these practices are already jumping through legislative hoops and re-engineering for new technologies and coding systems. Physicians are feeling the pain. “Survey after survey shows physicians are frustrated with the numerous administrative hassles associated with managing a medical practice, particularly around dealing with third-party payers,” Nancy Fabozzi, author of the Frost & Sullivan analysis says on wfla.com.

One solution to the problem of reimbursement may be getting on board with the technology that is giving providers such a headache. In a recent article on Healthcare Finance News, Lisa Burdue, accounts receivable manager with Internal Medicine Specialists, discusses four technologies that are helping physicians get paid in full, on-time.

1. iPads and tablet computers: These popular tools, according to the article, have proven to be a huge help for providers. Using iPads and tablets allows doctors to document changes in real time, which means administrators are able to get their claims and bills out more efficiently and in a timely manner.
2. Integration of electronic medical records with the clearinghouse: As with the tablets, integrating these two technologies is important because it eliminates lag time. “This is where we see technology at its best,” Burdue says in the article. “We are able to verify coverage and verify plans and send it to the clearinghouse.” According to Burdue, doing so has helped her organization reduce the number of open patient accounts that were 90 days and over from 20 percent to less than 15 percent in a manner of a few years.
3. Online patient portal: “This portal allows a patient to access their account. It allows them to pay a bill immediately,” says Burdue.
4. Real-time claims processing: This, according to Healthcare Finance News, is becoming more of a necessity than a commodity. Burdue rightly says that figuring out what a patient’s insurance does and does not cover means the difference between getting paid or not getting paid, and that, “Knowing [up-front] is half the battle.”