February 26th 2024
Your weekly dose of wisdom from the Physicians Practice experts.
October 25th 2023
MGMA Senior Vice President for Government Affairs, Anders Gilberg, discusses some of what’s the organization is anticipated in the 2024 Physician Fee Schedule.
August 23rd 2023
Collecting money from patients is an ongoing challenge that has only worsened with high-deductible health plans.
July 31st 2023
May 22nd 2023
How Healthcare Payers are Tricking Practices Into Poor Contracts
Payers are using deceptive methods to get medical practices to accept low rates and new plans. Don't fall into the trap.
Big Brother Comes to Medicare: CMS Fingerprinting Protocols Begin
New rules will now require Medicare enrollees who are classified as “high risk,” to subject themselves to fingerprint-based background checks.
Sample Credit Card Authorization Policy Form for Medical Practices
Use this sample patient credit card authorization policy to ensure your medical practice is able to collect what it is owed.
Develop an ICD-10 Training Plan for Your Practice
Here are four assessment areas your practice can use to develop training for the ICD-10 medical coding system transition.
Medicare Payment Data Lacks Context, Portrays Physicians Poorly
If the government can make it appear that doctors are getting rich from Medicare payments, it will be easy to garner support to cut physician payments in the future.
How Medical Practices Should Handle Patient Credits and Overpayments
Patient credits are part of the bigger picture of managing a healthy practice. Manage them right, and everyone walks away happy.
The Negative Side Effects of the ICD-10 Delay on Physician Practices
A medical practice director who worked hard to prepare for ICD-10 implementation says the delay comes at a heavy cost.
ICD-10 Delay: Good News or Bad for Physicians?
Whether they think it is good or bad news, savvy physicians will use the extra time to prepare their practices for the ICD-10 coding transition wisely.
Why the Workers' Compensation Reimbursement System is 'Broken'
Workers' compensation carriers are banking on the fact that at some point medical practices will give up and walk away.
Three Things Your Practice Needs to Do Now to Prepare for ICD-10
Whether your medical practice was ready to implement ICD-10 in October 2014 or not, here's what you need to do to get ready for the transition in 2015.
Preventative vs. Diagnostic Services in the Affordable Care Act
Physicians and medical practice staff must be able to differentiate between preventative and diagnostic services in order to avoid a loss in revenue.
The ICD-10 Delay is a Blessing for Many Medical Practices
The ICD-10 implementation delay was cause for celebration for many medical practices, but it angered and frustrated many in the healthcare industry.
How the ICD-10 Delay Affects Physicians, Healthcare
Congress decided that physicians need one more year to prepare for ICD-10. Here's what it means for your medical practice and the healthcare industry overall.
When Health Plans Come between Patients and Physicians
Sometimes insurance companies get between patients and their physicians; especially this time of year when health plans make changes.
View Your Medical Practice Billing Department as a Partner, Not a Vendor
Do you cultivate positive, working relationships with your key departments or vendors? If not, changing your approach might yield amazing results.
Obscure Obamacare Rule Puts Many Physicians at Financial Risk
The 90-day “payment grace period” for exchange insured patients puts physicians at risk for 60 days if patients don't pay their premiums.
Physicians Face Unreasonably High Coding Documentation Standards
Payers know that correctly writing down every patient encounter is difficult for physicians, if not impossible. Therefore, exploiting this is easy for them.
More Insights into the Health Insurance Exchange Plans and Their Tricks
Each day we learn more about how payers are processing claims. Here's what your medical practice needs to know.
February 2014 Medical Claim Data: Most Common Denials and Remedies
RemitDATA's director of product management, Aaron Hood, explores the most common unexpected denials at practices nationwide, with a focus on family medicine.
How Practices Can Improve Patient Payment Collections: 4 Tips
Here are some very basic strategies that may help medical practices to do a better job of collecting payments from patients.
Why I Won’t Collect Deductibles, Coinsurance at Time of Service
If it were possible to predict insurance payments, I wouldn’t be so overwhelmed by appeals and take backs.
Determining Whether to Extend Professional Courtesy to other Physicians
Traditionally, physicians do not charge each other for medical care. Unfortunately, this belief does not seem to be well understood by all doctors.
ICD-10 Implementation Looms: How Medical Practices Can Begin Preparing
The ICD-10 transition will require practices to spend time and money, but doing so now will keep your practice from having to commit even more time or money after October 1.
Medical Practices Struggle to Collect Payments Due to New Payer Tactics
Insurance companies are being sneaky about keeping your money. Here are some of those secrets they'd rather you not know, and what you can do about it.
ICD-10 Readiness: 15 Questions to Ask Your Health IT Vendors
Your EHR and practice management system vendors are important partners in the ICD-10 transition, so be sure they are ready with these 15 questions.
Relaxing the 96-hour Rule for Rural Hospitals Could Protect Funding
Rural hospitals and their patients are particularly vulnerable to loss of funding. This small rule change could make a significant impact.
ICD-10 Training: Start Early, Practice Often
There's plenty to do to get your medical practice ready for ICD-10, but proper training tops the list.
Testing Your ICD-10 Claims Submissions: 8 Critical Questions
Here are eight questions your medical practice should be asking when it comes to testing your claims submissions for the upcoming ICD-10 transition.
Medical Practice Managers: 6 Reasons to View Your Job Differently
The healthcare industry is changing and as such, so is the role of medical practice manager and the business of care delivery. Here's how to adapt.
Despite Delay, Two-midnight Rule Implementation Should Not Be Ignored
When admitting patients to the hospital, knowing Medicare rules and making use of diligent charting can make all the difference.