Simplifying and optimizing your podiatry billing processes directly translates to maximizing your reimbursements, but ensuring proper compensation often requires a little finesse and quite a bit of time. Time that you, as a practice providing exceptional care and tailored treatment, might not have to spare.
A Step Above Health Management Systems is here to solve that problem. This blog post dives into some of the key strategies we recommend for streamlining your billing practices and driving more efficient reimbursement for your hard work.
Increase Your Billing Efficiency
A multi-pronged approach often achieves the best billing results.
- Invest in User-Friendly Technology: Consider implementing a podiatry-specific electronic health record (EHR) system that can integrate with existing billing functions. These systems automate many tasks, reduce errors, and improve overall efficiency.
- Stay Current on Coding: As we’ve said before, healthcare coding practices evolve regularly, so review and update your understanding of Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes specific to podiatry services. The American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) offers valuable resources for staying up-to-date on coding best practices.
- Prioritize Comprehensive Documentation: Clear and detailed documentation of all services rendered directly impacts coding accuracy and claim success. Ensure your notes capture all relevant details about the patient’s condition, treatment provided, and time spent.
- Optimizing Reimbursement: A Step Above Health Management Systems lives up to its name in the literal sense. Below are a couple of ways we go above and beyond the norm to get you the most efficient and effective reimbursement possible.
- Insurance Verification: It’s important to verify a patient’s insurance eligibility and coverage benefits before initiating treatment. This reduces claim denials and helps patients understand their financial obligations upfront.
- Appealing Denials: Don’t automatically accept a claim denial as final. Review the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from the insurance company to identify the specific reason for denial and submit an appeal addressing those concerns. Track the appeal process and follow up with the insurance provider within 30 days.
We can help you avoid billing errors. A Step Above Health Management Systems provides specialized podiatric medical billing services to clients nationwide. Let our firm provide your practice with a plan customized to manage all your billing needs. Please call us at (877) 448-6233 to learn how our solution can save you money and help streamline your billing process.
It’s well known that Medicare doesn’t cover “routine” foot care. This extends to many commonly performed podiatric services such as corn and callus removal and general nail maintenance (cutting, trimming, debridement, etc.). However, there are times when patients have systemic conditions that necessitate what might typically be deemed routine foot care to avoid serious medical complications. Trying to get reimbursed in these scenarios can prove challenging.
Below are some tips for successfully getting exceptions to the rules:
- Supportive devices and orthopedic shoes are not usually covered, even if a patient has been diagnosed with flat feet. But, if the shoes are an integral part of a covered treatment (i.e., part of a leg brace), they should qualify.
- Patients with certain systemic vascular, metabolic, or neurological conditions may also be eligible for so-called routine foot care when it can be demonstrated that a professional’s absence of such care could pose a serious medical threat—i.e., poor circulation.
- If you submit a claim for “routine care” for a Medicare patient with complicated conditions, remember to include the name of the M.D. or D.O. who diagnosed the condition and the date the patient last saw that practitioner.
- Don’t just list the complicating condition and expect coverage. Carefully document convincing evidence that having a non-professional perform the routine service you are billing for would be hazardous to the patient.
- Don’t submit a separate claim for non-covered care required for a covered procedure. If, for example, you need to trim a toenail to get better access for a covered surgical procedure, it should be included in the claim for the covered service.
We can help you avoid billing errors. A Step Above Health Management Systems provides specialized podiatric medical billing services to clients nationwide. Let our firm provide your practice with a plan customized to manage all your billing needs. Please call us at (877) 448-6233 to learn how our solution can save you money and help streamline your billing process.
For podiatrists, juggling patient care with the intricacies of medical billing can be an arduous ordeal. And while outsourcing billing might seem like a straightforward solution, choosing the right partner is still crucial. Mistakes are widespread: In 2016, Becker’s Hospital Review, a trade publication that concentrates on the US medical industry, found that 80% of American medical bills had some type of error in them.
A multi-specialty billing company might handle a wide variety of practices, but as generalists, they might lack the podiatry-specific experience needed to avoid mistakes while determining what your practice can benefit from the most.
Here’s why specializing your billing with a podiatry-specific team gives your practice an edge:
1. Medicare Management
Podiatry billing for Medicare isn’t a one-size-fits-all process. Each jurisdiction works with different Local Coverage Determinations (LCDs). Multi-specialty companies might lack the focus and expertise to stay ahead of these ever-evolving guidelines. Podiatry-specific billing teams, however, have mastered the details of each jurisdiction, ensuring accurate coding and compliance, preventing claim denials, and keeping your revenue flowing smoothly.
2. Specialized Knowledge
From diabetic care to reconstructive surgery, podiatry covers a wide array of conditions and treatments. A multi-specialty team might struggle with the specialized vocabulary, codes, or nuances of each podiatric procedure. Podiatry billing experts, on the other hand, have the advantage of experience and familiarity. They understand the differences that can help them ensure accurate coding and optimal reimbursement for every service you provide. It helps to have more than twenty years of experience, too!
3. Regulatory Compliance
The healthcare landscape has many regulations, and podiatry is no exception. Strong laws, anti-kickback statutes, and HIPAA privacy rules create a complex web to navigate. Podiatry billing specialists know the dos and don’ts of every podiatry-specific regulation, which means they’re well-versed in keeping your practice safe from costly audits or penalties.
4. Collaboration
Outsourcing shouldn’t feel like handing off your practice. A good billing partner should be an extension of your team, not a distant stranger. Podiatry-specific billing companies understand the unique workflow and communication needs of podiatrists. They collaborate seamlessly with your staff, ensuring timely claims submission, efficient communication, and clear reporting. Meanwhile, you stay focused on your patients, knowing your billing is in expert hands.
We can help you avoid billing errors. A Step Above Health Management Systems provides specialized podiatric medical billing services to clients nationwide. Let our firm provide your practice with a plan customized to manage all your billing needs. Please contact us at (877) 448-6233 to learn how our solution can save you money and help streamline your billing process.
You’ve heard the old saying, “Time is money.” As the year comes to an end, now is a good time to evaluate your practice and find ways to run it more efficiently. This will translate into a better hourly rate, happier staff, and better care for your patients.
Below are five tips to consider:
1. Maximize EHR Usage—although designed to save time and paper, electronic health records can be time-consuming to master. Use the slower holiday season to make sure your staff is up to speed on how to utilize all that EHR has to offer. Many programs provide template functions for everyday, repetitive tasks, saving valuable minutes every day.
2. Find or Develop Patient Education Handouts—ingrown toenails, bunions, and diabetic foot care are just a few of the areas that podiatrists deal with multiple times a week or even a day. Printing physical sheets or adding digital ones to your website will enable patients to have written information about their condition to reinforce the instructions they’ve received in the office. This can decrease the number of post-appointment calls your staff has to field.
3. Clarify Payment Policies—pretend you’re a patient and see your waiting area through their eyes. Are there signs posted that clearly state that co-pays are due when services are rendered? Do you offer credit/debit cards or other electronic payment options? Are patients billed for missed appointments? If you could reduce even by 50% the amount of time spent chasing payments, imagine how many hours that would save.
4. Consider a Scribe—hiring a person to input patient data during appointments electronically may seem like an extravagance, but consider the advantages: You get to be fully focused on your patient, which in turn increases their satisfaction with your practice. As a practitioner, you are also free of the task of having to enter notes for every patient after a visit. It’s a cost that could pay for itself many times over.
5. Set SMART Goals for 2024—these are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely goals that you want to happen for your practice, your staff, and yourself. Involve your staff in determining areas that need to be more efficient. Once goals are written down, offer incentives to keep everyone motivated and working together for better practice in the upcoming year.
We can help you avoid billing errors. A Step Above Health Management Systems provides specialized podiatric medical billing services to clients nationwide. Let our firm provide your practice with a plan customized to manage all your billing needs. Please call us at (877) 448-6233 to learn how our solution can save you money and help streamline your billing process.
