You Need to Adapt in Order to Survive HOW YOUR COMPANY CAN PROSPER DURING THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY CHAOS he healthcare industry is facing a state of complete disorder and confusion: Uncertainty surrounding the T implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the looming switch to ICD-10, EHR and “meaningful use” deadlines, hospital acquisitions of physician practices, new HIPAA rules, and Health Insurance Exchanges... the list goes on. It seems like a challenging time for medical billing companies – and it is. The good news is that not only can you prosper, you can bring hope and financial stability to struggling practices and salvage some that would otherwise collapse and shut down (or get swallowed up by a hospital or other acquisition entity). How can you assure your and your clients’ continued prosperity and growth? Focus on becoming a full-service revenue cycle management company. in today’s dynamic marketplace, billing companies that do not keep up with the constant changes will be left in the dust by companies that do. You must not only stay current with what is happening in the industry, you need to make alliances with other companies that can provide services to your clients that will help them solve cash-flow challenges beyond just their medical billing. The more services you can offer to your clients, the more you will be perceived as “the expert” who can solve their cash flow problems. A brief review of the latest issue of Billing will introduce you to vendors that can be valuable to you in assisting your clients with medical coding questions, HiPAA compliance, eHr Meaningful Use attestation, online document management, patient portals, integrated payment channels, patient collections, and other revenue cycle issues. do not forget that HBMA conferences will introduce you to technology partners that can help you keep up with changes in this dynamic industry. Make sure you are using a billing system that is fully integrated with an EHR system. Many outdated, server-based billing systems are trying to patch together a practice management system with one of the new electronic health record systems designed by a different company or on a different platform. The company that developed the practice management (PM) system creates an interface with an eHr system developed by another company. chaos generally ensues. if this is the case with your PM system, you are only asking for headaches and a possible loss of clientele. eHr companies are dropping by the wayside every day. Some of them are also server-based. Trying to get them to work together with billing software is like using “bubble gum and bailing wire” and will only lead to ongoing issues in your company. Two different companies, with two groups of programmers, trying to keep all the different parts of both systems running smoothly is almost impossible and can lead to turmoil in your company. As painful as it may seem now, it may be a good idea to begin looking for a billing system that is totally integrated with an eHr system. That means that it was designed from the ground up by the same programmers in the same company. There are such systems available, and most of them are cloud-based (accessed securely 24/7 through a browser via the internet). 22 HBMA Billing • noveMBer.deceMBer.2013 By Patrick Phillips
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