Deep breath, let it out, sigh. Dinner’s going to be late again. In fact, you might as well place that pizza delivery order now, or Chinese, it doesn’t really matter you will be eating it cold either way. Or not eating at all. The receptionist in charge of billing didn’t file claims today. Again. For the third day in a row.
Possibly, as the Office Manager, this is your fault. You have reviewed the new EHR program a million times, but your billing manager just isn’t getting the NextGen system, so they simply don’t do it. You might as well be speaking Greek to the other employees who have to use it. Or, have to use it if you want to get paid for seeing patients.
After the fifth meeting this month, you have added all the macros you can think of, included all the common CPT codes, checked and rechecked ICD10 sites. But your receptionist forgot to check a box when scheduling the new patient so the nurse can’t even pull up their chart. Who’s idea was this new system anyway? Maybe it’s time to recruit some help. Maybe it’s time to find a NextGen RCM consulting servicer.
Hire Outside Help!
An RCM (revenue cycle management) consulting firm agency can help you plan, implement, solve problems, and, most importantly, train employees in relation to NextGen software. RCM agencies can automate processing health insurance claims, payment collections. They can even help you with more complex tasks like re-filing denied claims or appeals and even handling collection calls. They can make sure you charge the most competitive pricing of your services. Reduce worry about proper billing and coding. Here is a good list of some of the important tasks they can help you with:
- Submitting claims of billable fees to insurance companies.
- Properly coding diagnoses and procedures.
- Determining patient balances and collecting payments.
- Collecting subsequent patient information during registration to establish a medical record number and meet various regulatory, financial, and clinical requirements.
- Applying or rejecting payments through remittance processing.
- Examining the necessity of medical services.
Don’t Rush Through the Onboarding Phase
Let’s face it; there are more acronyms in Healthcare and more regulation than just about any other industry. HIPPA, OIG, ICD10, OSHA, Medicare/Medicaid Rules, the list is endless. You would think just being an ethical provider would be enough, but there are rules about rules. Wouldn’t it be nice to feel confident that your system takes everything into account?
NextGen Healthcare has been around since 1974. If you take the time to set up the system properly, it will save you so much hassle on the other end. All the thought process to streamline your practice has already been done. You just need to invest the time to learn it. Think of an RCM consulting firm as your expert tour guide.
There are so many tips and tricks they could show you to make your life easier, which brings me to why you don’t want to be the only one who knows how to use the new system. Unless you like cold Chinese food.
Have Your Entire Team Check it Out
Training each team member may not be rocket science, but it is the key to maintaining a successful practice. Everyone can be resistant to change. Don’t rush your people either. Consider bringing in lunch for the staff, maybe schedule a few hours free of patients so the doctor and nurses can attend.
Treat everyone with respect. Everyone is different, so that means they might have different takeaways. All your team members are a valuable part of your practice. Encourage them to write down questions and work through common daily scenarios in the new system. Point out task-specific perks. For example —the receptionist hates waiting on hold with insurance companies. Explain that she can now check eligibility online. Maybe your billing staff cringes at placing collection calls—NextGen offers Integrated collection services with TSI collections.
You don’t have to miss dinner again! You have a plan!
You decided to invest in the best practice management software. Your billing manager has been there since the dawn of time and will do anything possible to stick with pen and paper HCFA forms. Now you have a plan! She may fuss, but once she sees how much time she can save with the new system, you will be back on her cupcake list in no time.
Wisely hire a professional consulting team with awesome trainers who will take the time to through all the tips, tools, and shortcuts built within NextGen Office. Best of all, your doctor can get back to what he does best, taking care of patients.
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