Appreciating the Layers
By Kathleen Casbarro ICD-10 changeover represents a multi-level issue for practice owners What makes the ICD-10 changeover so challenging? “You just have to know your onions,” said Carmen, waving a wooden spoon. Ben snatched a mushroom from a prep bowl. It was always fun to visit his wife’s pizzeria, even when he was worrying about his chiropractic practice. “I don’t usually envy you,” he said, “but just for the moment I wish onions were all I had to worry about.” “See,” Carmen continued, spreading onions over the sauce and cheese on a pizza with a practiced hand, “not everyone likes onions sliced and on the pizza, but everyone wants them in the sauce, where they don’t even notice them. Tomatoes, cheese, sausage — that’s the stuff people think is key to a pizza, but the onions are really essential. Without onions carefully chosen, chopped, and simmered in the sauce, you won’t have the flavor.” “Down-home philosophy based on pizza,” Ben laughed. “Just what I need today.” “I know this whole changeover in the insurance reporting is bothering you a lot.” “True. Payments from insurance companies are a very large part of the profit at the clinic. If I don’t make the changeover correctly, I could lose out in a very big way.” “So the codes are like onions,” said Carmen. “It’s not something everybody knows about and notices, but it’s very important. When someone says you know your onions, it means you’re really knowledgeable and experienced, not just on the surface.” “I’m not sure they’re really talking about pizza.” “Come with me on this,” Carmen laughed, pushing the pizza into the big oven. “The codes are changing, and you would like that to be a small thing, something your office staff can take care of, but it’s really important, the way onions are important. Just because your clients don’t notice it doesn’t mean it’s a small thing. It’s worth an investment of time and money if that’s what it takes.” “I think it will take time and money,” Ben admitted. “The ICD-9 set has 14,567 codes, while new ICD-10 has 69,832 codes.” Carmen turned away from her workstation to stare at her husband. “Did you make those numbers up?” “No,” said Ben, “I have them stored right here on my phone.” He showed her the note. “I’m not sure why I’m saving these numbers, but I guess they seem to explain the reason this is such a big deal. It’s not just about changing a few numbers. Things for which we’ve been using just one code will now need to be divided up into a lot of different codes depending on lots of new criteria, including which side of the body is involved and how the patient got the injury — there’s a special code for turtle bites, and I am not making that up.” Carmen cupped Ben’s face with her hands, leaving his cheeks dusted with flour. “You’re a great chiropractor and you can do this. I’m just saying, accept that it’s a big deal. It’s complicated, it’s urgent, and it requires an investment.” She suddenly sniffed the air, whirled, and pulled the pizza out of the oven. “See,” Ben said, “you caught that just at the right moment — because you know your onions when it comes to pizza.” He hoped his knowledge of chiropractic would be enough to bring his practice through the reporting changes successfully. Sometimes it seemed as though the business side of the practice was overwhelming. What makes the ICD-10 changeover so challenging? Go to our ICD-10 page to see everything we have on ICD-10 diagnosis codes.
6 Steps to Performing Ultimate Teacher Appreciation Days, and Helping More Teachers in Your Community!
Chris Burfield Is A Top Notch Chiropractic Marketer Who Has Helped Hundreds Of Chiropractors Get More New Patients Through Teacher Appreciation Days! “We made over $20,000 doing just a few teacher appreciation programs. It’s the easiest thing we’ve ever done.” – Dr. Jeremy “I am taking the next two weeks off because my schedule is already SOOOO FULL…” – Dr. Tim Many chiropractors have approached their local schools and tried to set up special events for the teachers, few have succeeded. Until now! Mr. Chris Burfield has the answer. Burfield says there are 6 major steps to performing the Ultimate Teacher Appreciation Day. Here they are in order: Step #1: Gather the necessary materials. First you will need food (since you are going to cater the teachers lunch), and a massage chair (a fold up chair will work just fine). You will also need stress surveys, a clip board, pens, your appointment book, business cards, a map with directions to your office, new patient intake forms, and patient education handouts. Also, you might want to bring information about what they should expect on their first visit. This helps to prepare them, as well as, cut down on missed appointments (some people have anxiety about visiting chiropractic offices). Step #2: Arrive 30-45 minutes early. This allows you to get the schedule of who will be getting trigger point therapy that day. (You will drop the schedule off in advance so that teachers can schedule their trigger point therapy, in 10 min increments.) You will need to arrive early so that you can set up your area. Step #3: Meet and greet. Always, always, always greet each teacher with a smile and a firm hand shake. Don’t forget to make good eye contact. Confidence is always a factor. Never let them see you sweat. Just be laid-back, cool, and professional. Have the teachers fill out a stress survey, and then go over it with them. Ask them questions like, “How long have you had these symptoms?”, “How often do you have them?”, “What does it feel like?”, and “Are you doing anything about it?” Once they tell you all about it, follow up with something like this, “Hmmm. Ok. Well I am really curious to see what I find here.” This will let the person know you are looking for something associated with their health problems. Step #4: Perform the trigger point therapy. Make sure you apply enough pressure to make them feel the tenderness in their body. Remember, this is not a massage. This is trigger point therapy. There is a difference. One of your purposes, is to make them aware of the health problems they have, and offer an opportunity to visit your office. So when you find those major tender points ask them, “Mary, do you feel that?” “Is that sore or tender?” When she says, “Yes.” respond by saying something like this, “Mary, that’s not normal. You shouldn’t have those painful knots. You shouldn’t be feeling anything but pressure.” At this point you might bring up her stress survey and say something like, “Something is causing your headaches, and I think I may have found the problem. I need to do a further examination to know for sure.” Step #5: Make your offer. Try saying something like this, “Here’s the deal. We are working with your school, and because of that we are able to offer you a free exam in our office. Everything has been taken care of in advance, so it won’t cost you a dime to have your problem evaluated. Our office wants to do something special and nice for teachers. Is there any reason why you wouldn’t want to take advantage of this today?” Step #6: Schedule the appointment. Use this layout for scheduling so that you cut down on confusion, “What time works best for you? Mornings or afternoons?” “What day works best for you? Monday or Tuesday?” If the person replies, “Monday afternoons.” You can say something like, “I have a 4 o’clock or a 5 o’clock. Which one works best for you?” Give them a new patient packet that has all of your information and their new patient intake forms and move on to the next one. If you enjoyed the above information and want to hear more about how to set up and perform successful Teacher Appreciation Days in your area then click on the link below and get instant access to the entire Genesis Chiropractic Software Webinar with Chris Burfield.
4 Steps to Starting Your Own Radio Show and Creating a Consistent Stream of New Patients!
If you are looking for a method of marketing that will consistently bring you streams of qualified new patients, then radio might be the solution to your problems! For the last decade, radio has been that answer for Dr. Allen Minor. Dr. Allen Miner is a very successful chiropractor in Albuquerque NM. He has built not only 1, but 4 successful chiropractic clinics by harnessing the power of RADIO! He has generated thousands of patients, and millions of dollars, through the years, with his very successful radio show “An Ounce of Prevention”. According to Dr. Miner there are 4 critical steps to starting your own radio show. Below is a brief description of each step: 1) The first step, of course, is for you to find your future radio home. What station do you want to have your show on? This is completely up to you and will be different from chiropractor to chiropractor. You want to find a station that you resonate with. Spend some time listening to all the radio stations in your area, both AM and FM. Ask your patients which station they listen to, and if they ever listen to radio shows. Once you find a few radio stations you are interested in, move on to step #2. 2) The second step is to make a phone call to the radio station, or stations, on your list. Ask them if they have room in their schedule for a 30 minute to 1 hour radio show. If they do, schedule a time with them to come in and talk about price and times that are available for your show. 3) Step 3, negotiate the cost of your show. Prices can range greatly from radio station to radio station, but smaller stations usually have lower rates. Not only are the rates lower, but smaller radio stations usually have a more loyal following, so just remember that when you are looking. Also, remember, price is always negotiable. An average show may cost you around $1,000 an hour, that’s not bad. As Dr. Allen states, “We have about 30 people call our office after every show.” 4) The forth and final step after you have achieved all the above, is to create the format for your show. You definitely have the last say about what happens on your show, but you will need a producer to ensure everything flows smoothly. Most radio stations can provide you with a producer, and you can negotiate that into the price. For more detailed information on how to start your own radio show, including what days and times are the best, what topics are the most popular, how to close your show so that you maximize new patient appointments in your office, and much much more – click the link below and listen to our one-on-one interview with Dr. Allen Miner himself!
Welcome New Network Members in July 2013
Seventy new members joined Genesis Chiropractic Software and Billing Network in July! There is strength in numbers due to the shared knowledge – we call it the “Billing Network Effect,” as the chiropractic billing performance of each of the member practices improves in step with the total volume of processed claims. We invite you to join us in welcoming our new team members – see their names and practice websites below. Please welcome the following new Genesis network members: Kyle Peacock, Mark Wolfman, Janelle Wolfman, Kelsi A Peacock of Trinity Chiropractic, Naples, Florida: http://www.maximizedlivingnaples.com/ Lani Luangrath of Greenway Chiropractic, Raleigh, North Carolina: http://www.maximizedlivingdrbarnes.com/ Andrew Fox of Twin City Chiropractic, Salem, North Carolina: http://www.twincityhealth.com/ Chris Schwanke of Keen Family Chiropractic, Austin, Texas: http://www.maximizedlivingdrkeen.com/ Joann Melendez of Planet Chiropractic, Romeoville, Illinois: http://www.maximizedlivingdrmajors.com/ Gary Lee, David Mateos, Stefanie Vasconez of Optimum Spine And Health Clinics, Salt Lake City, Utah: https://plus.google.com/115928190019251948138/about?gl=us&hl=en Dr. Shane Walker, Ryan Mijares, Tatiana Gutierrrez, Roger Casillas, Ryan Garcia of Nueva Vida Centro Quiropractico, Medelin, Columbia – South America Katie Brunson of Hooten Family Chiropractic, Dallas, Texas Mark Pendergrass of Marble City Chiropractic, Knoxville, Tennessee: http://www.marblecitychiropractic.com Dr Zev Mellman, Aymara Gomez, Marnio Toussaint, Hassan Halabi, Andre Pruna of Mellman Family Chiropractic, Pembroke Pines, Florida: Lindsey Hogan of Discover Chiropractic, Denver, Colorado Zabeth Kim of Dr. Matthew Stuart Green D.C., Oakland, California Melissa Welfel of Ozanne Family Chiropractic, Fayetteville, Arizona: Tim Christopherson, Ashley Harper, Cheri Pavlik of New Paradigm, Chattanooga, Tennessee Emily Plasker of Callen Chiropractic, Denver, Colorado: http://www.callenchiropractic.com/ Vicki Fisher of Greenwood Family Chiropractic, Greenwood, Indiana: http://greenwoodfamilychiropractic.com/ Joanne Rafacz of Clermont Chiropractic Life Center, Clermont, Florida: Jill Delong of Cornerstone Chiropractic, Norman, Oklahoma: http://www.maximizedlivingdrdelong.com/ Phil Scheets, Krystle Scott, Colleen Knoedler of Complete Care Chiropractic & Wellness Center, Medford, New Jersey: http://www.mtlaurelchiro.com/ Leah of Greenleaf Chiropractic, Wichita, Kansas: http://www.greenleafchiro.com/ Christine Kearney of The Balanced Spine, Issaquah, Washington: http://www.thebalancedspine.com/ Sharon Whitt of Paris Chiropractic, Rockville, Maryland: http://www.parischiro.com/ Lindsay Roberts of Holland Family Chiropractic Center, Richmond, Virginia: http://www.hollandfamilychiropractic.com/ Michael Underhill, Camellia Vistica, Rosanne Limuaco, Nicole Marie, Nara Rosen, Jeff Batie of 180 Chiropractic, Beaverton, Oregon: http://180chiropractic.org/ Megan Green of Providence Health Center, Charlotte, North Carolina: Lauren Mahon of Jersey Shore Institute Of Health & Wellness, Manasquan, New Jersey: http://www.jerseyshorehealth.com/ Kristine Braica of Central Jersey Spine & Wellness, Freehold, New Jersey: http://www.freeholdchiropractor.com/ Michael Major of Judge Family Chiropractic, St. Charles, Illinois: http://www.maximizedlivingjudgechiro.com/ Jenni Lundy of Patriot Family Chiropractic, Omaha, Nebraska: Dr Nick of Mckernan Chiropractic, Shelby Township, Mississippi: http://www.mckernanchiropractic.com/ Margaret Avey of Symmetry Spine & Wellness Center, Alameda, California: http://www.symmetryhealthcenter.com Rob Rowland of Align Health And Wellness, Brentwood, Tennessee: http://www.myalignhealth.com/ Heidi Hermosillo, Quinn Will of Maynard Family Chiropractic, Tulsa, Oklahoma: Loni Olstad of Focused On You Chiropractic, Round Rock, Texas: http://focusedonyouchiropractic.com/ Sarah Shepherd of Zenaptic Chiropractic, Vancouver, Washington: http://www.zenapticchiropractic.com/ Jonathan Rojjanasrirat of Pacific Spine & Joint Medical Group, Daly City, California: Liz Carla Ellis of Diehl Chiropractic, Hutchinson, Kansas: K. Mcqueen, Christopher Holmes of PSS Injury Wellness, Atlanta, Georgia: http://pssinjurycenter.com/ Suzanne Smith of Cornerstone Chiropractic, Charlotte, North Carolina: http://www.maximizedlivingdrernst.com/ Dr Erin Zovath, Zachary Zovath of Bold City Chiropractic, Jacksonville, Florida: http://www.boldcitychiropractic.com Nicole Roncone of Shuemake Family Chiropractic, Centennial, Colorado: http://www.maximizedlivingdrshuemake.com/ Sarah Hudson, Brandon Trujillo of Ideal Spine Health Center, Eagle, Indiana: http://www.idealspinehealth.com/ Donna Buckley, Jena Burlison of Dr Glen R Burford DC, Collierville, Tennessee: http://www.burfordspinalrehab.com/ Janine Privett of Cascade Family Chiropractic, Colorado Springs, Colorado: Michelle Cavanagh of Milonas Chiropractic, Naperville, Illinois: Monica Gilbert of Maximized Chiropractic, Bismarck, North Dakota: http://www.facebook.com/maxchiro Heather Molina, Christina Velasquez, Kimberly Flores of North Dallas Chiropractic Center, Dallas, Texas: http://ndallaschiropractic.com/ Katelyn French of Living Well Chiropractic, Hendersonville, Tennessee: http://livingwellchiro.net/ Brittney Henegar of Victory Chiropractic And Wellness, Knoxville, Tennessee: http://www.victoryhealthcenter.com/ Joel Fenske of Erik N. Okeson, Lakeville, Minnesota Maria Lipop of Health Sprout, Woodstock, Georgia: http://www.healthsprout.com/ Shannon Duville of Exodus Chiropractic Charlotte, Huntersville, North Carolina: Kayla Campbell of New Life Chiropractic, Lees Summit, Montana: http://maximizedlivingdrcampbell.com/ Joann Gudim of True Health Chiropractic, North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: http://www.true-health-chiropractic.com/ Dr. Joseph Pollack, Dr. Ryan Mullen, Dr. Marshall Dispenza, Carmen Jimenez of Proactive Chiropractic, Rockville, Maryland: http://www.prochiromed.com/ Megan Hastings of Ultimate Health Chiropractic, Britton, South Dakota Emily Perez of Dr. Derek D. Ferguson, Whippany, New Jersey Dr Jonathan Stevens of Family Healing Chiropractic, Charlotte, North Carolina: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Family-Healing-Chiropractic/33259082603 Rose Meyer of Carolina Chiropractic Of Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina. See what Dr. Troy Dreiling has to say about the network effect. Hear what Dr. Chris Zaino has to say about the network effect.
6 reasons to implement complete chiropractic patient life cycle management in 2013
Let’s face it– humans are fallible and the staff at your chiropractic office will always perform with a certain margin of error. So, if you are looking for a way to increase your practice’s profitability in 2013 you should consider using complete chiropractic patient life cycle management software to help take your practice from good to great. This in turn will keep your patients happier, resulting in improved patient relations, higher PVA and more referrals. Here are 6 vital reasons to use complete patient life cycle management software: Improve patient compliance: Tired of no-shows? Put the power of a schedule tracker to good use by collecting actionable data, such as no-show rates, reschedule success rates, average patient referral rates, and average visits per patient. The workflow management system tracks appointments and generates automated reminders that go right to patients’ phones via text, email, or a phone call. It also reminds staff about follow-ups in a timely manner so that no patient will be left behind. Reduce audit risks: The workflow system opens and tracks tickets for outstanding balance alerts, claim validations, real-time payments, and audit flags. The backlog of outstanding tickets serves as a proxy for an audit risk metric. A practice with a zero audit risk backlog is better prepared for an audit. Avoid patient billing errors: Billing errors make your practice look unprofessional in your patients’ eyes, no matter how great your spinal adjustments are. The Invoice and Patient Billing Tracker enables systematic billing quality assurance as each quality assurance task is mapped to an individual ticket. Improve patient education: Built-in illustrations and animations help break down complicated terminology so patients receive a more understandable analysis. As icing on the cake, a workflow management system can help schedule and track both patient education sessions and patients’ compliance, making sure that patients complete any prescribed exercise routines. Improve clinic teamwork: Workflow management included in best-of-breed software platforms improve transparency and task accountability. These systems are integrated with all aspects of the patient life-cycle including: scheduling, documentation, patient education, billing and analytics. Task management systems ensure that nothing fall between the cracks and everyone’s performance is visible and measurable. Strengthen patient relationships: Well integrated automated systems all but eliminate human error. The chiropractic software you choose to use in your practice should include a workflow task management system to measure patient participation, improve communication and foster execution of tasks. That means even when someone on your staff drops the ball or gets sick, your practice will continue to run smoothly thanks to system alerts and work tasks, that will be pushed to a workbench at high priority until the task is addressed. Needless to say, by using complete chiropractic life cycle management software you will sleep better, knowing that patients aren’t falling through the cracks, compliance risks are addressed, diagnosis and procedure codes are properly matched, claims submitted are clean, unpaid or underpaid claims are quickly identified and each staff member’s performance is transparent. All this so you and your staff can focus on the most important part of your practice, the patient!
Audit Proof Chiropractic SOAP Note Software and EMR/EHR
I have been in the chiropractic software and billing industry for a long time. Managing a business that develops software to help doctors get paid on time and protect their earnings from an audit is one thing. When your income is tied to your clients income, like it is for many of my clients, that is another thing. I have both perspectives. If a doctor does not get paid I don’t either. If they get audited, and lose, we all lose. A lot is said by software vendors out there about their SOAP notes. They are the “best”, the “fastest”, “bullet proof”. I question how many of them have tried to get a claim appeal won with the notes their systems generates. I can say lots of things if I were just selling software one time but clients of mine buy, or do not buy, every day. When doctors using other software lose and appeal or get audited is their first call to the software vendor? I think not. I would like to share real world experience when it comes to audits and SOAP notes, not hot air that will not help you at all, let alone make you bullet proof. First understand that the biggest money maker (most profitable) for insurance companies today is not higher premiums like you might think. It is Audits. A 13:1 ROI has been reported. If I spent $1 on marketing and got $13 back I would be dumping all of my money into whatever gave me that return. So here is my prediction. You, and your bullet proof notes, are going to get audited. That goes for me too by the way. I made this prediction 7 years ago before doctors really knew what an audit was. The frequency and scope of audits has since skyrocketed and broadened dramatically. So it is coming to a head. Insurance companies are actively building technology, processes, and gathering the man power to efficiently audit everyone and become even more profitable doing it. Here is what will happen, if you ask me. Technology There will be automated technology that scans EVERY SOAP note to look for weak points. Of course that means every insurance company would need a digital copy of every note for every visit. Have you heard of some insurance companies requesting notes on all visits? I have. Sophisticated systems are being built and have been around for years to profile what codes you bill and what you charge. Wouldn’t it be nice if the government mandated that every doctor have an electronic health record? Even better if there was government regulated certification so all the systems worked the same way right? That would really help patients so much. Process More on the levels of audits in a bit. I am already hearing reports in some states where every doctor who billed a specific carrier got an audit letter. Man Power Insurance companies are hiring outside independent contractors to conduct the audits. This gives them basically an unlimited number of auditors. They share a % of the money collected in the audit with these contractors. They are outsourcing claims processing, note review, and appeal processing to India and other countries at a fraction of the cost you would pay to defend against them. All the stars are aligning. Every claim, every note, audited in real time. There is one final automation that will happen and is actually happening already on some level. The technology will “pluck” providers and spoon feed them to audit teams. The audit team will on lower levels be more computers. The computers will generate threatening letters. Some doctors will pay just to avoid the hassle. With this in mind your question should be “How do I minimize the chance that when the technology scans my profile, I do not look like easy pickings”. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brian_Capra
Dr. Troy Dreiling on Building a Successful Practice
Listen to Dr. Troy Dreiling on Building a Successful Chiropractic Practice https://youtu.be/cn370UIhLwA Dr. Troy Dreiling knows that Genesis Chiropractic Software offers a leading-edge chiropractic office profitability management solution. Its all-in-one Internet-based system includes accountable and transparent billing service, state-of-art touch-screen SOAP notes, advanced patient scheduling, and real-time monitoring for compliance and audit exposure. Billing Precision’s unique value stems from its ability to level the playing field with payers and get chiropractors paid in full and on time by capitalizing on modern Internet technology and billing network effect.
Audit Compliance for Chiropractic Offices – Billing Precision
Billing Precision’s Genesis Chiropractic Billing Software includes Audit Compliance for Chiropractic Offices. How? With built-in insurance claim scrubbers that prevent mistakes that trigger an audit. You’re also warned during your documentation if your CPT codes don’t match up well with the ICD-10 Diagnosis codes. https://youtu.be/tqi_QkjxkoA
Client Testimonial – Dr. Kemper Stanton, DC
Dr. Kemper Stanton, DC “Billing Precision has been extremely vital to my practice. This system has allowed my office to be more efficient. Most importantly it allows me to spend more time serving patients. Opening a new office, I had heard the stories of lack of payment or delayed payments from payers. Billing Precision took that worry off my shoulders. Claims are handled very professionally and my collections represent it. Not only is the system great, but the technical support from account managers and billing teams is second to none. I have been very satisfied with all the services that Billing Precision offers.” ~ Dr. Kemper Stanton, D.C. Chiropractic Billing Precision offers a leading-edge chiropractic office profitability management solution. Its all-in-one Internet-based system includes accountable and transparent billing service, state-of-art touch-screen SOAP notes, advanced patient scheduling, and real-time monitoring for compliance and audit exposure. Billing Precision’s unique value stems from its ability to level the playing field with payers and get chiropractors paid in full and on time by capitalizing on modern Internet technology and billing network effect.
Automate Care Plan Payments
Did you know that by having people touch their money in your office it creates an exit door to your practice? Think about it…. Clients who pay-per-visit who do not consistently come in. Clients stop coming in after their insurance benefits ran out. Low number of clients who re-new their block of care or pre-paid plans What can you do to remove the purchase decisions? Have a compliant care plan. Offer payment options. Automate the way ALL payments are being collected. We have the solution for you! Imagine if all of your payments were collected automatically and posted into the patient ledger! Now it’s possible with the latest integration between Billing Precision and Cash Practice. The Auto-Debit System is fully integrated with your Billing Precision software. By implementing an automated way to collect money in your practice, you can save up to 40 hours of payroll each month ($400/month if you pay your staff $10/hour). Now your staff’s time will be freed up and ready for more new patients, follow up/ recalls, and planning future marketing activities. What else can you expect? Piece of mind with knowing what your future income will be. The Auto-Debit System® has reports that will give you a snapshot for what your expected future monthly income is in an easy-to-read graph. Imagine a Practice Full of Clients who Pay, Stay & Refer! Become a member of Cash Practice today! Yours in health, Billing Precision & Cash Practice®
