Tag: medical coding

Why Outsourcing Certified Professional Coders (CPC) Can Optimize Your Medical Practice

If you’re reading this article you probably own or hold some stake in a medical practice. You may be feeling at a loss for how to best improve your efficiency and boost revenue. That fact that you’re reading this though, means you’ve come to the right place.

Lotris Medical professionals are your best resource to optimize your medical coding processes. A US-based company located in New York’s Capital region, Lotris is comprised of coders certified by the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC). Lotris cares about building a partnership with you based on communication and education to create ideal business processes for your practice to succeed and generate long-term, positive revenue results.

Your accounts and medical coding aren’t something that you can entrust to just anyone who opens up ICD-10 and claims they can just, “figure it out” on their own. Medical coding is a complex, multi-layer process that Lotris CPC professionals have become expert navigators of the codebooks and guidelines.

Time is of the essence with medical coding and the faster claims are forwarded over to billing, the sooner funds can be received to keep your practice up and running. While speed is important, accuracy is just as, if not more, important. If more than 10% of all your claims get denied and sent back for reevaluation you could have a serious efficiency problem on your hands.

There are 3-key-questions you need to answer to know if your medical coding is being done efficiently:

  • Is your percent of claims paid on first submission less than 90%?

  • Does it take more than 30 days for a claim to be paid?

  • Are more than 15% of your accounts receivable older than 120 days?

If you answered yes to one or more of the above, then your practice could be headed for major financial trouble in the future. As you can see, this is a task you need to be completed quickly and accurately by a company thoroughly versed in medical coding. With Lotris, you will have that.

The best coder you’re looking for is known as a CPC or Certified Professional Coder. CPC is one of the most recognized certifications for medical coders in the healthcare industry today. By investing in Certified Professional Coders (CPC) you guarantee quality, efficiency, and a higher ROI (return on investment). At Lotris Medical, our team is a staff with over 25 years of industry experience.  The owners of Lotris are also nationally certified instructors of the CPC curriculum.

You might be wondering though, what does a certification even mean? In order to be certified, coders such as ours have to demonstrate mastery of a standard body of coder knowledge i.e. all of the code sets (CPT, ICD-10-CM, HCPCS Level II). This is tested in a 150 multiple choice exam, proctored over 5 hours and 40 minutes.

Lotris Is Your Resource for CPCs

By choosing to work with Lotris’ CPCs, not only are you investing in coders who are proficient in their industry but ones who have the dedication to prove their credibility by becoming certified. You can take comfort in knowing exactly what skill set our coders will have when you consult with Lotris Medical.

Another consideration is that our CPCs abide by a continued commitment to pursuing further professional development even after they’re hired. By outsourcing to Lotris, you’ll never have to worry if your coding processes have become outdated and obsolete. Our CPC stays current with medical coding changes and trends by completing 18 credits of continuing education and renewing their certification every year to maintain their credentials.

The experienced CPCs at Lotris are tried and true in both speed and accuracy with the credibility to be the most profitable to your practice. A certified professional coder is our promise of fewer errors and therefore fewer denied claims. How nice would it be to run a smoother healthcare practice where every payment could be made on time? An investment in a group of highly experienced CPCs can make a world of difference.

You can contact Lotris Medical for more information email Mmensing@lotrismedical.com or call 800-989-0781.

 

[1] Source: https://reviewob.com/improve-cash-flow-by-outsourcing-billing-coding/

[2] Source: https://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/medical-economics/news/finding-right-medical-coder?page=full

The Top 3 Reasons Your ER Is Suffering From Low Physician Retention Rates

Anyone who runs an emergency room can attest to just how high physician turnover can be disruptive. Low retention rates can make it feel like you’re taking two steps back for every step forward you make.

According to a Physician Retention Survey conducted by Cejka Search and the American Medical Group Association, medical groups reported a total turnover of 6.8% in 2013, compared to 5.9% in 2009 and 6.5% in 2011[1]. While these figures reflect physicians in every field of specialization, one can extrapolate that the statistics for ED physicians would be even higher, considering the high burnout rates associated with emergency room physicians.

The High Cost of Turnover

Certainly, a large portion of the turnover rate can be attributed to factors over which you have little or no control, such as retirement. Nevertheless, the associated costs of replacing an ER physician are significant. To begin, recruiting costs will be in the neighborhood of $60,000 or more. When you factor in training, orientation costs, and reduced productivity for the first few months, the total costs rocket up to more than $150,000.

All the more reason to make every effort to retain your emergency physicians. When a doctor chooses to leave, it’s because the draw of what they perceive to be a better situation outweighs the stress associated with making the change and joining a new team.

Here are three of the main reasons your ER may be suffering from low retention rates:

1 – Work – Life Balance

There’s no doubt that working in an emergency room can be stressful. The hours can be long, and the workload can be heavy. Another survey conducted by Cejka Search[2] indicates that a good work-life balance is among the elements of engagement most valued by physicians. However, this point was also among the lowest scoring marks when rating their current practice. As the scales continue to tip and move out of balance, retention rates will likely suffer.

 

2 – Issues with the Medical Billing and Coding System

Efficiency is one aspect that is non-negotiable if you want your ER to function effectively and keep your doctors around longer. When issues with medical billing and coding continually cause problems, the frustration and excess time involved to make them right can cause some physicians to look elsewhere. Some of the main problems faced by emergency rooms include failing to link diagnosis codes, selecting the incorrect procedure code, randomly using modifiers and not keeping the system updated.

3 – Work Environment

This is probably the most significant and most contentious motivator pushing physicians to leave emergency rooms. The work environment encompasses a broad spectrum of elements ranging from feeling respected and appreciated to the emergency room operations and systems.

Fixing the Retention Problem

The first step in addressing the issue is to ensure you have solid recruitment strategies and practices in place. Investing more time and energy from the outset to ensure your candidates will be a good fit within the organization will pay dividends down the road.

The next piece of the puzzle is to improve on the individual employee engagement. ER Directors can take significant steps in accomplishing this by having a good ongoing dialogue with their physicians to understand their complaints and issues. Doctors need to feel valued and understood, just like any other employee.

Directors must strive to understand what pain points may exist within the emergency department, such as understaffing, billing issues or coding problems. Of course, they must also provide solutions to these points of frustration. At Lotris Medical, we provide comprehensive medical billing and coding solutions, making your ER run much more efficiently, effectively boosting physician retention.

 

[1] Source: https://www.cejkasearch.com/pr/physician-turnover-remains-high-as-more-physicians-retire

[2] Source: https://www.cejkasearch.com/pr/rules-of-engagement-new-survey-reveals-drivers-of-physician