VITALS
Volume 9 A Glenwood Systems LLC Publication ©2012 Issue 1

Message from the Chief
Ron Flormann
CCO, Glenwood Systems LLC

Efficiency Increases Revenue Receipts - You owe it to yourself to collect what you've earned!

     We've covered many topics in this column during the past several years, each one following a common thread of medical practice efficiency and bottom line revenue enhancement. Still, I am SHOCKED by the number of medical practices that treat revenue management today like their predecessors did twenty years ago.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

  1. Message from the Chief
  2. The Biller’s Tips
  3. Trainer’s Tips
  4. What’s New at Glenwood
  5. CMS Incentive Programs Contact Information
     Ask most Physicians or Billers about their collection performance and most will tell you it's "Good." Ask how this is measured and few have the statistics handy to support the claim. Historically,success has been 1) steady patient count, 2) steady revenue stream, 3) enough revenue to cover medical practice expenses and 4) enough to provide the Physician the living he or she expects. Ask the Physician or Biller in the office what keeps you up at night and most answer - nothing, our revenue stream and patient count are solid![More]
Biller's Tips
Nat Loganathan
Founder, Glenwood Systems LLC

Best Practice - What About the Secondary Balance?

     One of the most challenging billing tasks is secondary payors. Traditional Medicare patients often purchase supplementary plans to cover their hospital co-insurances, office deductibles and co-insurances. For some Medicare patients, Medicaid becomes the secondary payor. Many of these patients do not understand their payment responsibility portions not covered by the payors.

    Since Providers typically do not have contracts with secondary payors, the Office has to be careful when accepting a Medicare secondary carrier from the patient. It is important to be sure to follow coverage rules to avoid denial and non-payment. The Office should be aware that in some cases secondary payors will directly send the payment to the patient without an EoB.[More]

Trainer's Tips
Amanda Seferi
Corporate Trainer, Glenwood Systems LLC

    The decision to implement a fully-certified EMR system is one of the biggest decisions undertaken in a medical practice today. This is especially true if the practice is mature and the staff and providers have not used an EMR system before. The workflow and documentation process will change; the look and feel of the patient encounter may change and the entire staff will be faced with a learning curve. The benefit of a well-designed EMR, such as GlaceEMR, is that the software flows and is intuitive.

    The key to successful implementation and future use in the office is training. The effort each individual staffer and provider puts into the system training will be key to successful use and a smoother practice implementation. The training classes should be given full uninterrupted attention. Remember, the EMR software becomes the foundation of the patient encounter workflow and, in the case of GlaceEMR, the foundation for the most effective billing and reimbursement. A positive attitude and teamwork will benefit the staff as a whole. This is a big initiative and if you are like most practices you will look back a year from now and wonder how you lived without the software. [More]

What’s New at Glenwood

HIPAA Version 5010
Glenwood software is ready for v5010!

     Version 5010 refers to the revised set of HIPAA transaction standards; adopted to replace the current Version 4010/4010A standards. Every standard has been updated, from claims to eligibility to referral authorizations.
     All HIPAA covered entities must transition to Version 5010 by January 1, 2012. Any electronic transaction for which a standard has been adopted must be submitted using Version 5010 on or after January 1, 2012. Electronic transactions that do not use Version 5010 are not compliant with HIPAA and will be rejected. [More]

CMS Incentive Programs 2012 Help Desk Contact Information

     Per the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), do not call your MAC/Carrier/Fi with questions about your incentive payments. Please contact the appropriate help desk.[More]