Medical transcription is the process of transcribing the audio files recorded by the physicians and other healthcare professionals into electronic records. This is also called healthcare documentation. Like in all professions healthcare documentation specialists also need to abide by certain rules and regulations. For this, they need to update their knowledge of the regulations that are to be followed as per the government rules along with the language skills and medical terminology. Importance of Understanding the Rules: There are different allied health services like medical transcription, medical coding and medical billing that are being practiced by different in-house and outsourced employees and all these services deal with sensitive patient information. In order to secure such sensitive patient information, some regulations and legislations have been brought into effect. Providers who offer these services are required to adhere to such rules and regulations, failing...

Medical practice rules and regulations have made it compulsory for all the doctors and health practices to adopt electronic health records. With the emergence of new technologies, new techniques and methods of maintaining electronic health records are emerging. One of these new methods is the electronic health records going the mobile way. The EHR solutions that work on the mobile platform and are connected with cloud technology have numerous benefits that ultimately increase the practice’s regulatory compliance. Here are some of the benefits of mobile EHR solutions . Complete records maintenance: If the cloud technology is used with mobile or tablet devices, it brings in the benefit of maintaining records with accurate and complete information as the mobile devices can be handed out to the patients to fill their medical history on their own. Complete medical history and charts availability: It is well-known that a healthcare provider’s decision on the kind of care and...

It’s a strange thing that a big medical process or procedure is given a small code. According to the World Health Organization’s guidelines, all the medical conditions have to be categorized and given codes that are useful in the process of medical billing and also play a crucial role in understanding and analyzing the various health ailments, treatments and how these can be used to better the healthcare services. The process of representing the various medical conditions in alphanumeric codes is called medical coding and the people who are in the medical coding jobs are medical coders. There are thousands of medical codes that are used to represent all kinds of diagnoses, conditions and treatments. The ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases) is a set of codes given by the WHO that are used by physicians and different healthcare providers. Among these thousands of codes, there are some codes that are a bit weird and crazy. Such codes are very rarely or in some insta...

You are blessed with another beautiful year filled with opportunities to make it a grand one  Another year has gone by. The year we all worked hard together and celebrated together. We have stepped into the New Year with lots of hope and lots of experience we gained throughout these years. Let’s make the most of this New Year with few tips that take us farther and make us achieve more than before. Be thankful: First of all, be thankful to the almighty that you have seen today’s sunshine. We are blessed that we have successfully faced and come through the obstacles and challenges thrown by life.  Improve thoughts and increase positivity: Improve your life with better thoughts and increase positivity within you and in people surrounding you. Start something that you always wanted to do and makes you feel good, but couldn’t do. Continue it for at least a month and see the kind of positive energy it brings. Some things you can try are – reading a good ...

There are numerous challenges faced by the healthcare industry in adopting Electronic health records .  Though many facilities feel that shifting to electronic health records is a burden because of various costs and challenges faced due to the information technology related administrative issues, it is becoming compulsory for all to make that move. Here we shall see few factors that are likely to affect the use of EHRs: Physician dissatisfaction: It is common to see that many physicians are not satisfied with the EHR systems. This could be due to various reasons like the administrative load on the physicians while maintaining EHRs and the reduction in the time the physicians are able to spend with the patients for providing quality and better service. Government rules and goals: The EHR policy requirements may change owing to change in the administration and may bring a lot of changes in the EHR vendors and their services. Security concerns: Enormous importance ...

It’s that part of the year, when we look forward to our holidays, cherish the moments of the past year, and anticipate that the New Year will bring more joys to our lives. For most of us, it is also that part of the year when we think very hard and make some fantastic New Year resolutions. But, why do we make these resolutions? When we want to change something in us, want to do something new but have been procrastinating for a long time, we find the New Year time as the best suitable time to do that. We feel that the New Year brings positive vibes with it and helps us achieve what we want to. But, do we really stick to our resolutions and complete what we want to? The answer would be a big NO for many of us. Here are some tips to avoid the failure of keeping our promises to ourselves. Do away with procrastination: Starting something new is a big problem for many. Keep long distance from the habit of procrastination that makes you lethargic and a big FAILURE. Start straightaw...

Who doesn’t want to be known as the best in the industry? Everyone in the field of medical coding wants to achieve the maximum number of certifications that prove his or her excellence in the various specialties of medical coding. The AAPC conducts a number of exams for various specialties to test the expertise of medical coders who want to prove their experience and depth of their knowledge in their chosen field. One of these tests is the Certified Professional Coder (CPC) exam. The AAPC provides numerous preparation materials for the exam. However, it is not possible for everyone to afford those materials as they are little expensive. So, here are few tips to follow that will ensure you clear the CPC exam. Learn the CPT manual: In the CPC exam, the majority of the questions are from the CPT manual. Hence it is advisable that you focus your efforts on CPT manual and know everything about it completely. Since CPC exam can be attempted by those who have experience in medical c...

Accounts receivables management is a significant aspect of the revenue cycle management process for any healthcare provider. It is estimated that over 200 million medical claims are denied in the US for various reasons every year. One of the main setbacks in the revenue cycle management process is that most of the denied claims are not followed up properly which leads to losses for the facility. To minimize the claims denials and revenue loss, it is necessary that this process is handed over to a professional RCM services provider, who is solely into the business of dealing with the generation of accurate bills, submission of insurance claims and doing the follow up of denied claims. Avontix provides the best RCM services in Hyderabad for its clients in the US by using the latest software and technology. Why outsource your RCM? There are many reasons that support outsourcing the RCM services to companies like Avontix. It is more economical to outsource than building own ...

The one thing that is the most decisive these days for a healthcare practice’s success is its revenue cycle management. Many healthcare providers are facing financial troubles due to increased supervision costs and decreasing reimbursements for the services provided. With a little care, lot of revenue that is lost due to avoidable flaws can be generated by accommodating few revenue cycle management practices. These are some of the RCM practices that facilitate in eliminating the hindrances that lead to revenue loss and thereby improve collections. Patient’s payment analysis: To keep the revenue cycle of the healthcare provider on track, it is necessary that a comprehensive analysis of the payment capability of the patient is done at the early stages itself. It is better if the payment analysis is done before any service is provided and the insurance coverage, eligibility for the services etc. are verified. Coding review: It is utmost significant for any practice to code...

With the growing need for providers who can give the best health care with lower costs and high quality, the ASCs will surely see a rise in their numbers. Currently, there are around 5500 ASCs that are providing surgical services that do not require hospital admission. The ASCs either provide services in multiple specialties or restrict themselves to one specialty. Like all other practices, ASCs also need to adopt electronic health records (EHR). Let us see how EHR can be implemented in ASCs. A strong reason behind the implementation of EHRs in hospitals and physician setup is the Meaningful Use which is meant to - improve quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare provided and improve the ways the patient data is stored and shared. However, many physicians and hospital administrations feel that EHRs have a negative impact on their daily activities as maintaining EHRs takes up a lot of time and increases the costs incurred on staff and technological upgrades. Apart from ...

The technological developments in the healthcare management industry have facilitated and increased the outsourcing of medical coding and RCM among many healthcare facilities. The healthcare facilities need not bother about from where the support for their RCM and medical coding jobs is coming from. What they need to think about is only if these service providers have the latest technology, training and subject expertise. These days most of the outsourcing companies are well equipped with high-speed internet connectivity, coding and RCM software with security features that make the importance of the location of the service provider negligible. The lower reimbursement rates and diminishing margins are forcing the different healthcare facilities to think for ways to reduce costs. One of the best ways for hospitals and other facilities to minimize costs is outsourcing their medical coding jobs along with their revenue cycle management. The significant task for a hospital is to ...

Anger is one emotion that if left uncontrolled, can take a toll on both our health and relationships. Anger is normal and even healthy to an extent, but when it is out of control, it starts controlling you. When we lose temper and anger is at its heights it causes all kinds of troubles – physical, emotional and lastly social. How anger affect us Anger increases heart-rate and blood pressure, increases breathing rate and effects metabolism as well. Anger, if not managed properly may lead to various illnesses and health issues like decreased immunity, insomnia, high blood pressure, digestive problems, migraines, heart-related ailments etc. Managing anger Though we all know that uncontrollable anger is not good, we many times fail in managing it when the situation arises. Although we get to repeated hear from elders and doctors that we should not get angry, we are not often told how to do deal with it when the emotion bursts.  Here, let us try to figure out...

How often do you find yourself saying this? “I am so busy with work, where is the time for family and friends??”    We complain that relationships are becoming mundane and mechanical and we don’t care for one another as we should be doing. The question is, is it true that we don’t have time? We all have only 24 hours a day, but if you keenly notice, it’s it depends on the way we think and in our attitude towards work and life. While productive people use their 24 hours in a productive way and make time for everything, the rest of us complain that 24 hours are never enough and we cannot seem to accommodate all our activities!! Let us see how some tiny habits can improve our quality of living and relationships... Family first: Considering most of our day time is spent at workplace and for travel, there is little time left for our personal life. The point to ponder is, how effectively are we using it? Are we spending as much time as we should with our family ...

In our earlier article, we have seen some of the specialty certifications in medical coding that prove the proficiency of medical coders in a specific area of specialization. In this article, we shall see some more medical coding specialty certifications that one can earn. CPCD (Certified Professional Coder in Dermatology Credential) – The coders who have sufficient experience in dermatology medical coding jobs can appear for this credential. This exam tests the ability read and comprehend the operative notes so as to apply the correct codes related to ICD-10-CM, CPT, HCPCS level II and modifier coding. The exam also covers the evaluation and management of the Documentation Guidelines) and rules and regulations of Medicare billing. Also, this exam requires that the coders should have adequate knowledge regarding the codes related to the procedures performed by the dermatologists. CEDC (Certified Emergency Department Coder Credential) – For this credential, those p...

For any healthcare provider, the practice depends on its medical billing team so that it generates appropriate revenues for the services rendered by it. The issues and challenges faced in medical billing can affect the collections of the healthcare provider and which result negatively on the growth of the practice. It is important to understand the various medical billing challenges and finding out solutions for them in order to get proper revenues for the services that have been provided. Patient Information: Accurate patient information related to insurance and personal details has to be collected by the medical billing team without which situations may arise where the medical claims are rejected or denied and that result in losses in collections to the healthcare provider for the services provided. It is a part of medical billing jobs to ask appropriate questions in order to gather accurate and complete information. It is not just important to collect information, but...

Medical transcription (MT) is a process which documents, in an electronic mode, the notes, procedures and records of a patient’s treatment dictated by a medical practitioner or physician. This work is done by medical transcriptionists who are specifically trained to transcribe the oral dictation of a physician.  A medical transcriptionist is also known as Medical Language Specialist.  An MT converts a physician’s audio file into a text document that can be printed or retained in electronic mode for further use. Medical transcription plays a critical role in the health care industry as it helps to store all the medical records of patients in easily accessible mode and it is readily available for the review of an authorized medical practitioner as and when required. These records become the digital archives which can be further used for healthcare industry research as well. With the ever-growing healthcare industry, there is always bright future for medical transcription ...

Electronic health records have become necessary for all kinds of healthcare providers as the US government provides incentives for those who adopt EHRs and penalties for those who have not yet adopted the EHRs. If facilities do not adopt EHR solutions or implement it effectively, they may not be qualified for the incentive programs. Many benefits of adopting EHR solutions can be availed only when the implementation is done correctly. For this, it is better for healthcare facilities to assess themselves for their readiness to adopt electronic health records. Given here are some points that need to be considered while switching from paper-based records to electronic health records. Financial matters: It is the first and foremost thing to do a cost-benefit analysis for the process of adopting electronic health records. It should be determined if any funds have been accommodated in the budget for the new system to be introduced in the organization. Administrative issues: Ther...

The information technology use has grown in almost all the industries and one of those industries is the healthcare industry. Even in the healthcare industry, most of the jobs are being greatly influenced by the information technology. Medical billing jobs are no exception to this. As the medical billing industry is moving towards a paperless world, more and more fields are using the technology for various purposes. One of them is using electronic payer systems. Many health insurance payers are providing electronic solutions for various insurance related matters like claim submission, reimbursement etc. There are many advantages of using these systems which are increasing their use by insurance companies. Claim submission: Claims can be submitted electronically which facilitates quick submission process and no stock of paper claims. This reduces submission process time and costs to process the paper claims. Claim Status: The electronic solutions also provide solutions...

Anyone who is in the field of medical coding aspires to gain at least a couple of certifications that show his or her expertise. After a couple of years in the medical coding jobs, one can understand the nuances that have to be mastered to continue in the field along with the certifications that add value to their experience. Like any exam, the medical coding certifications also require proper preparation to be able to clear them. Though you may feel that you are already experienced in the field and have been dealing with these things for years, there will be still room for preparation.Here are few tips to help you clear your certification exams: Get hold of the right book: If you are attempting the AAPC credentials, then you have to follow the American Medical Association’s CPT version. It is even better if you can get the American Medical Association’s Professional Edition of CPT for its color and pictures. Bookmark: Forget the strategy you followed in the early yea...

There are two probabilities of results when we do something. One is we succeed, the other is we do not succeed. The second one is usually referred to as a failure. Generally, failure is given a negative image, but failures can be good for us when we take them in a positive way and learn from their teachings. As the saying goes – failure is the stepping stone to success, failure should be recognized as a process of learning and try not to fear failure. It is not something we can avoid and it should be accepted gracefully when encountered. If we dread failure too much, we will lack the courage to start something new or take an initiative. If that happens, we cannot make any progress in our lives. We can overcome the fear of failure and make it our stepping stone to success by doing these: Accepting failure: The first thing we have to do is accepting that failure is a part of the process. When the going is tough, we have to understand that it is not the end of the road. We ha...

Insurance eligibility verification is a very important process that has to be performed most diligently to avoid any unpaid medical bills or medical claim rejections and denials. It is not a simple process of cross-checking or double-checking the data. With hundreds of insurance providers with plans that are updated frequently, it is an onerous task to check the insurance eligibility of a patient. This coupled with the fact that most of the healthcare facilities lack manpower and time to verify the details, causes many insurance claim denials. One of the best possible ways to mitigate this risk is to outsource the medical billing responsibility of a healthcare facility to companies like Avontix that provide the best medical billing services in Hyderabad. When a healthcare facility partners with a medical billing company , it saves its time, manpower energy and money. Healthcare facilities in the USA should opt for offshore medical billing companies because they are affor...

The maintenance of electronic health records has become mandatory for each and every healthcare provider, and though it needs extra efforts from the physicians, the EHRs are very helpful to both physicians and patients. What the patients need is detailed instructions regarding the procedure to access and view their own records in times of need. From a survey* conducted on patients and medical professionals, some interesting facts about their opinions on the EHRs have come up. Professionals’ Perspective: More than 100 medical professionals were surveyed for this purpose and the results of the survey give the following key points: Providing care: About 86% of the people surveyed feel that the EHRs make it easier to provide service and care to patients. An interesting thing to note here is that only 6% of them feel it gets difficult to work with EHRs and 8% say it does not make any difference. Sharing data: Again around 85% of the medical professionals feel that th...

Medical coding is more than just coding and medical coders are the heroes of the health information management (HIM) industry. Of course, medical coders enter various codes into different systems by reading the physicians’ charts and other electronic medical records (EMRs). But to do this, medical coders have to learn different systems for different providers with minor differences. Medical coding jobs require that the coders know all the coding guidelines as they have to work in association with billing staff, clinicians, sometimes other coders, and the administrative staff of the healthcare facility. There are a good number of companies that provide ample opportunities to the enthusiasts in medical coding in Hyderabad . Medical coding jobs require multiple skills of auditors, detectives and last but not the least, the students. Medical coders are auditors of documentation and charges of accounts and they are detectives who interpret the most illegible handwriting of the ...