Genesis Chiropractic Software Webinar Teaches Three Key Practice Compliance Skills
Industry leaders unveil tested strategies in chiropractic practice management software to increase office compliance and save practice owners time and money in this short new webinar. Genesis Chiropractic’s new short webinar reveals three most effective methods to increase compliance in the office, thus saving chiropractors time and money. The webinar is available online, and can be watched or listened to on a computer here at any time. “Ninety healthcare providers were charged with compliance violations reaching $260 million in billing in May 2014. A growing number of practices are subjected to audits and penalties,” says Reuven Lirov, Chief Practice Growth Officer at Vericle. “Chiropractic practice owners too struggle to maintain compliant practices against a tangled web of regulations from insurance companies, the government, Medicare, and Medicaid.” Each of those unbilled visits would be marked as a “fail” in the audit, with a resulting penalty of $10,000 per line item. According to Lirov, mistakes and oversights in the office are a regular occurrence in most healthcare practices. “Chiropractic office practice managers face difficult problems posed by compliance issues such as the increased risk of audit failure, growing compliance complexity, and lack of time to learn and implement new procedures based upon new rules,” says Lirov. Lack of compliance is a serious issue that can lead to substantial loss of revenue and fines. For example, a chiropractic office might see 100 patients a day, or approximately 25,000 patients a year. Suppose just 0.4% of those visits (100 visits) are undocumented. Each of those unbilled visits would be marked as a “fail” in the audit, with a resulting penalty of $10,000 per line item — or $1 million in audit penalties. “Better compliance liberates chiropractic practice owners from worrying about fines and audits, and lets them get back to treating patients,” says Lirov. “Chiropractic practice management software helps practice owners stay compliant and grow. Our average clients have seen substantial growth in their practices including an average revenue growth of 186% and patient growth of 141%.” [vc_video title=”Dr. Greg Loman D.C. talks about compliance.” link=”https://youtu.be/i0slFN2U1GA”] “We’re in a compliance era in which we must really become compliant,” says Dr. Greg Loman D.C., an accomplished physician, a high volume practice owner, and a co-founder of Maximized Living. “In my opinion it is just necessary that you use Genesis Chiropractic Software by Billing Precision not just a for compliance but for just how amazing their product is.” Continuously increasing compliance requirements and lack of time do not excuse chiropractic practice owner during a practice audit. This short thirty minute webinar teaches the three most important practice management skills to save a chiropractic office and avoid audit failure penalties. The webinar includes a demonstration of Genesis chiropractic practice management software. It contains automated features to discover the most frequent documentation errors that lead to compliance issues, such as undocumented visits, unsigned notes, and late billing. The software is also browser-based, so it can be changed as the law changes without inconveniencing the practice owner. Click here to sign up for the free webinar and find out more information. About Genesis Chiropractic Software and Billing Precision, LLC Genesis Chiropractic Software by Billing Precision, LLC was designed by chiropractic business owners with both patient relationship management and practice profitability in mind. Genesis software provides a complete chiropractic practice management system that supports every role in a busy chiropractic practice, from the owner and practitioners to the front desk and back office. It automates the vast majority of standard tasks, including patient relationship management, revenue cycle management, compliance and office management. Its exclusive workflow functionality continuously improves productivity, control and predictability, fostering teamwork and time savings, which leads to greater profitability and practice growth. Visit https://genesischiropracticsoftware.com for more information.
Chiropractic Software Return on Investment
What’s Your ROI? Chiropractic Software Return on Investment with us is high in several categories. Getting down to the business of running a practice Can Dr. Ben’s practice get a handle on using ROI for business decisions? “ROI?” Carmen repeated. “Return on Investment is simple. How much are you investing, and what kind of return are you getting?” “But what’s the answer supposed to be?” Ben asked. “Are we going for 100%?” “It really doesn’t work that way.” Carmen frowned. “I know you went to chiropractic college, not business school, but still — didn’t you talk about this in practice management class or something?” “I never had a practice management class. I’m not sure that’s even a thing. And do you think you could help me with this without the condescension?” Carmen gave her husband a hug. “I don’t mean to be condescending. It’s just that this is a pretty basic concept. It’s hard for me to believe that you’ve never thought about it in your practice.” “Maybe it’s not as simple in a medical practice as it is in a pizza parlor,” suggested Ben. “Now who’s being condescending?” Carmen settled a pillow behind her back. “I don’t mean it that way,” protested Ben. “Listen, you know how much every pizza is going to bring in, right? They have prices. And the cost is predictable, too. You know how much the ingredients cost and you could probably figure out exactly how much a pizza costs and how much money it brings in. It’s not like that for us. We don’t know exactly how much each appointment will bring in or exactly what costs will be associated with a treatment plan, and we’re really not used to thinking in those terms.” “Well, let’s simplify it. You know your expenses, right? Some of those things you pay for are cost centers and some are profit centers. So you pay for electricity because you have to. You don’t get any higher revenue by buying more electricity. But you sell supplements and books at a profit, so buying more of those brings in more revenue, as long as you sell them all.” “Now we’re getting somewhere,” Ben said excitedly. “What about all the things that are somewhere in between? Practice management software, for example. We’ve made some investment there already, but I’m getting push-back from my partners. They see it as a cost that’s avoidable. And their whole concept of ROI is about reducing costs wherever we can.” Carmen shook her head. “That’s crazy. Return on investment is about measuring the return you get on your investment and making more investments on that basis, not on trying to stop making investments that pay off.” “And now we’re back full circle! I don’t think we really understand ROI.” “I’m beginning to believe you,” Carmen agreed. “What are you going to do about that?” Ben sighed. What was he going to do about that? Can Dr. Ben’s practice get a handle on using ROI for business decisions? Disclaimer: For HIPAA compliance, all characters appearing in this post are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons or actual events is purely coincidental.
Time to Worry? | ONC Certified Chiropractic Documentation
Can Genesis take away Dr. Ben’s worries? By Dr. Brian Capra “You could have called me!” Carmen spoke from the foot of the stairs. “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” said Dr. Ben, dropping his keys into the bowl on their hall table and closing the door behind him, “but things got away from me at work. Where’s our little guy?” “In bed,” Carmen said pointedly. “After he and I gave up on you and ate the dried-out, overcooked dinner that sat in the oven for an extra half-hour while we waited, I bathed him and read his story and put him to bed.” “I didn’t realize it was so late,” Ben protested. “I guess not. And you weren’t answering your phone–” “I was talking on my phone, and the office phone–” “Oh, I know about the office phone. I heard the message several times. It says what to do in case of a medical emergency, but not in case of worrying because you don’t show up for dinner and I don’t know where you are.” “I’m sorry,” Ben sighed. “Is there any dinner left?” “You mean the overcooked, dried-out dinner? Sure. Let me get you some.” Carmen stalked into the kitchen. Ben followed her. “I’m sorry I didn’t call and I’m sorry you were worried, but could we put that aside for a moment? I was actually looking forward to telling you that I think I found a solution for the ONC certification issue.” Carmen gave Ben a sidelong look. She fixed a plate and put it into the microwave. “Okay, tell me,” she said. “First of all, IRS code 179 allows me to deduct the entire cost of the software for this change. I haven’t hit $500,000 in deductions yet, so I can basically let Uncle Sam chip in on any added software costs.” “That’s great news!” Carmen set the plate in front of Ben and slid into the chair next to his. “Plus,” Ben continued, taking a bite, “since I’m already using Genesis software, which is certified, I’m not looking at starting over. They sent me an eBook that goes into detail on what I need to do.” “No more research?” Carmen asked, thinking of the time Ben had been spending searching for answers to all his questions about meaningful use certification. “None. They can help me identify the objectives I’ve already met or can meet quickly, so I can put my time and energy into working hard on the ones that need hard work.” “That sounds good.” Carmen was silent, watching Ben eat. “Better than that dinner.” “Dinner’s fine,” Ben assured her. “Dinner’s always great when you fix it. And I appreciate your ability to be happy for me even when you’re mad at me.” “I know this is a big deal for you,” Carmen acknowledged, “but you know you’re a big deal for me, and I was worried.” “And worry quickly becomes anger when you realize you’ve put in all that worrying time for nothing,” Ben laughed. “I’m not angry about the solution to my electronic health records issues, though, let me tell you. Just relieved. There’s still plenty of work to be done, but no more worrying.” Can Genesis take away Dr. Ben’s worries? Disclaimer: For HIPAA compliance, all characters appearing in this post are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons or actual events is purely coincidental.
ICD-10 Strikes Back
Believe it or not, there is a method to the madness of ICD-10. The system was developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a means of standardizing the categorization of diseases, signs and symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances, and external causes of injury or diseases. Officially known as the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, ICD is the standard international diagnostic tool for epidemiology, health management and clinical purposes. This system is designed to map health conditions to corresponding generic categories together with specific variations, assigning for these a designated code, up to six characters long. Thus, major categories are designed to include a set of similar diseases. ICD-6, adopted in 1949, was the first version of ICD that was deemed suitable for morbidity reporting. The combined code section for injuries and their associated accidents was split into two: a chapter for injuries, and a chapter for their external causes. With use for morbidity there was a need for coding mental conditions, and for the first time a section on mental disorders was added. Work on ICD-10 — the tenth revision of the system — began in 1983. It was officially copyrighted by WHO in 1990, though it wasn’t actually completed until 1992. It was then adopted relatively quickly by many countries of the world, starting with Australia in 1998. Today, ICD-10 is the most widely used statistical classification system for diseases in the world. For numerous reasons, but particularly due to the special interest groups that affect policy, the United States wasn’t able to get on board until August 2008. At that time, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed that ICD-10 be adopted in America — a move that was formalized in January 2009, establishing ICD-10 as the new national coding standard, with an implementation date of October 1, 2013. And if the prospect of changing over to ICD-10 wasn’t imposing enough, ICD-11 is “scheduled” to become the new standard in 2017 — though with the numerous delays in getting ICD-10 onto the books, it’s likely that ICD-11 will be pushed back for at least a few years.
Note-Worthy
Staff and Office personnel have to work together to make transition easier. Can Ben’s self-improvement plans cause trouble for his staff? Pam looked up as Ben bustled into the office. “You’re energetic today!” “I’m feeling inspired,” smiled Ben. “We’ve made some smart changes in the practice, and we have more coming up, so I think I’m ready to tackle changes in documentation.” “I’m impressed,” said Pam, “but I hope you’re not going to make too many changes. I feel like I’ve had just about all the change I can stand.” Ben was surprised. “I don’t think this is going to be a problem, Pam. We know that the new ICD-10 codes that go into effect in October are going to require more detailed documentation. I’m just going to get a handle on the new requirements.” “I understand that,” Pam sniffed, “but I feel like I have just gotten to where I can completely understand your notes and pick out the important keywords for coding. If I have to get used to a whole new system… well, if it’s not essential, I’d rather we didn’t make any more changes, that’s all.” Ben took a seat. “You know there are a lot more codes in the ICD-10 system than with ICD-9 codes–” “Don’t I know it! Almost 70,000 total.” “And one of the reasons there are so many more is that the codes have to be a lot more specific. If you don’t have very specific clinical documentation, it’ll be easy to get the codes wrong.” Pam said nothing. “If we have too many coding errors, or inaccurate documentation, it becomes a compliance issue.” Pam frowned. “I see what you’re saying. We could face non-payment issues, or even be audited. That would be a lot more trouble than getting used to a new style in documentation.” “Exactly.” Ben stood and stretched. “Tell you what, I’ll work on my handwriting and punctuation at the same time.” Pam laughed — or, thought Ben, maybe it was a snort. Either way, he was ready to get on top of the new demands for documentation. It felt good to have a clear goal. Can Ben’s self-improvement plans cause trouble for his staff? See our ICD-10 page for more information and more blogs on the diagnosis codes.
Play Time’s Over
By Kathleen Casbarro Clinicians need to keep coming coding changes in mind How can Ben get on track for the ICD-10 changeover when it comes to clinical documentation? “Ben!” called Carmen, “You’re going to be late for work!” Ben swung Jonathan down to the floor and settled him with crayons and paper. The time he spent with his son in the mornings helped him start his day in a great mood, but it was easy to lose track of time. “Thanks!” he said to his wife, taking the strong, hot coffee she offered. “You don’t have to go in to the restaurant at all today?” “I have an actual day off,” she beamed. “It’s kids’ clinic at your place today, isn’t it?” “Yes, it is, and I think it’s my favorite day of the month.” Ben’s chiropractic office provided monthly well kid checkups for patients, and it worked out best to bunch all those appointments together. “Unless we have an emergency, it’s all happy, healthy kids.” “You can just write ‘Great kid!’ on each chart and skip the paperwork,” Carmen said with a smile. Ben finished his coffee quickly and headed to the clinic, with Carmen’s words ringing in his ears. He had been focusing on getting billing and scheduling systems in place in preparation for the ICD-10 changeover in October, but he knew he was also going to have to make changes in his clinical documentation. What changes, though? Once again, Ben thought, he was facing a possible problem without knowing just what he was up against. He knew he did a good job with clinical documentation, but he also knew that the documentation would be key to success with ICD-10. There would be different codes for the two sides of the body, for various levels of severity of each condition, and more — and payment decisions would be riding on making the right choices. Ben added “clinical documentation” to his list of issues to think about. The list never seemed to get any shorter, but he felt fairly sure that he had no choice with this issue. How can Ben get on track for the ICD-10 changeover when it comes to clinical documentation?
PQRS | How These Four Letters Affect Your Practice | Webinar Q&A
Unless you are billing the right set of PQRS codes on 50 percent of your qualifying visits, then you will lose 2 percent of your allowed reimbursement in 2016 and forward. As a result, you may have concerns about the changes that this reporting system brings to your chiropractic clinic. To help you get the answers you need, we have compiled all questions that were asked during our recent webinar “PQRS | How These Four Letters Affect Your Practice,’ along with the presenter’s responses. Feel free to add any new questions in the comment section below. Q: Is Genesis powered by Vericle an eligible registry? A: Right now, the only way to submit a PQRS code to CMS is claim-based. Vericle is working on becoming a registry. It’s a very long process. Right now, we are working on Stage Two Meaningful Use. This is another way for users to avoid the 2016 penalty. Q: Does pain and medication measure have to be reported on every visit? A: Whatever measurements you choose to report, the documentation has to be in your chart. Q: What is Genesis powered by Vericle doing to maintain compliance with Medicare? A: In terms of compliance with Medicare, Vericle does keep up on the rules. In some cases, if you need a different secondary diagnosis when you’re submitting your claims to Medicare, Vericle is C-CHIT. Vericle completed EHR Meaningful Use Stage One and is preparing for Stage Two, which is Medicare compliant. PQRS codes have been available in the Vericle system.
ICD-10 | 100x More Complicated | Q&A
As your practice is preparing for the impending ICD-10 changes, you might have many questions concerning chiropractic billing procedures and software requirements. To help you get the answers you need, we have compiled all questions that were asked during our recent webinar ‘ICD-10 | 100 Times More Complicated,’ along with the presenter’s responses. Feel free to add any new questions in the comment section below. Q: I have a question about the top 50 ICD-9 codes we use, and doing the crosswalk to ICD-10. Where is the best resource for being able to do that? A: CMS GEMS would be one website that you can use; that’s CMS’s GEMS System, which is the General Equivalent System that they use — the General Equivalent Mapping System that they use to translate ICD-9 to ICD-10. Another good site for you is AAPC.com. Click on their ICD-10 link and they have a feature where you type in our ICD-9 and it returns the equivalent ICD-10 code. GEMS prompts you to choose the lateralities and origins, whereas AAPC is more one-to-one, but GEMS is really what most systems are basing their crosswalk from, and GEMS is built and maintained by CMS, the CDC, and AMA. Q: I’ve done all my conversions from ICD-9 to ICD-10 and I’ve done the left and right conversions. We’ve changed some of our chiropractic documentation so it’s more specific about mechanism of injury — the when, where, the why and the how. What else is there really to do? A: You really want to make sure that how the practice is supposed to document the guidelines for chiropractic documentation are clearly outlined in your policies and procedures manual. And that means adding in specificity and laterality. The manual should also have references as to where you seek the information; your reference point would be to CMS. Q: If I want to take a coding course to get certified, do I need to be certified on ICD-9 and ICD-10? A: Right now, you have to certify for both, but after October 1, you only have to certify for ICD-10. Q: Are you able to come out and help us train our staff? A: We can give you the tools that you need in order to train your practice. For chiropractic documentation, have them listen to our webinar in March, but they can also take external classes — specifically from the AAPC, because their classes on physician documentation are extraordinary. In terms of crosswalking, we will work with you. View our ICD-10 page that has a collection of information about ICD-10.
Chiropractic Notes | Clinics that use xDocs generate more revenue
If you are completing your chiropractic SOAP notes on paper you might wonder why you are still light years away from building your dream practice. Aside from stealing valuable time away from other income-producing activities, paper patient documentation has been shown to seriously hurt the profitability of a chiropractic clinic, especially in comparison to using digital xDocs. Granted, change can be scary and painful– even more so if you have to trade familiarity and convenience for complicated technological processes. But what if the transition to digital documentation with xDocs, in fact, made the whole patient documentation process simpler? With auto-populating forms that fill in patient demographics and can be completely customized to match your old paper forms, xDocs are easy to use from day one. Best of all, xDocs make EMR follow the chiropractor’s workflow so he is more likely to complete the SOAP note while he is still with the patient, then submit it at the end of the appointment with the click of a button instead of staying up late at night to catch up on paperwork. It goes without saying that faster submission of SOAP notes directly impacts the billing process and improves the cash flow at any chiropractic clinic. Moreover, spending more time treating your patients will increase your patient flow and as such also improve your clinic’s profitability. Not to mention that going digital will also earn you a meaningful use stimulus from the U.S. Government to encourage EMR/EHR transitions while making it easier to stay on top of any changes made by payers. In the end it’s all about commitment, though. If you don’t make a complete transition to xDocs and only use them with half of your patients or even less frequently, your results will suffer accordingly and produce a much smaller margin of billing improvement as obvious in the example below. Practice D was using xDocs for less than 12% of the visits and achieved no meaningful improvement in billing performance: With a 100 percent commitment to transition and use, however, you can potentially double your clinic’s billing performance in about three months’ time as clearly achieved in the example below. Practice A started using xDocs in May, in just three months their billing more than doubled: Ultimately, the potential uses of xDocs at your chiropractic clinic are almost limitless and include required PIP documentation, chiropractic intake forms, visit documentation, care plan tracking or any other special purpose from within Genesis’ cloud-based Vericle platform.
