Medisoft Support has always been an issue. When I was an office manager at a local Ophthalmologist's office I actually spent 8 hours on hold with Medisoft waiting for someone to answer. I had many, many other days that went by with 2-3 hours on hold. Thank goodness it was an 800 #. We even tried to call using everyone of our phone lines, thinking that if we filled their queue, we would have to be next in line, all to no avail, there was still an interminable wait!
Other times we would get a Medisoft reseller on the phone, only to find out that there was quite a fee before we even got our problems solved. So, I turned to online resources for Medisoft Support. Much time was spent searching the internet and any printed resources available. Even though all of this was trial and error, I learned a great deal and usually was able to solve our own problems.
It seems that the same problem exists for alot of the practices using Medisoft. There are limited and sometimes very expensive Medisoft support options available. Here are some of the resources I have found useful. First and foremost is the program itself. If you have version 11 or higher, the help menus have been greatly improved. If you use the help button next to the save and cancel buttons you will be sent directly to the section of the manual that you are working in right now. For example, if you are editing a patient case and you click on the help button on the right hand side, it will take you to the "Case" section of the help menu. It then has hyperlinks (underlined in blue) to send you to the individual tabs.
Alot of the information in the help area of Medisoft actually tells you where on the CMS claim form the specific field is used. If not, bring up the help area, search for "clickable cms" and you will get a form that does just that...... Click on the box in the cms form and it will tell you where in the program to put information to print on this form and send electronically.
If you are sending electronically, then you have the option to get help from the module you are using. When you click through to send your claims, before you choose "Send Primary Claims" there is a help button on the right of the two columns. This is fantastic if you have gotten a rejection from an insurance carrier, since it is listed by loop and segment.
When all of that just doesn't work, try www.medisoft.com/kb for the Medisoft Support page and their knowledge base. This used to be a little easier to search, but with some clever word combinations you can usually find what you are looking for. If you have an error message in your Medisoft, be sure to enter it exactly.
Although I have gone through courses for Medisoft, I still depend on my training manuals for some of the trickier tasks and things I just can't keep in my head. Sometimes you just don't use parts of the program enough times to remember specific steps or tricks. So I refer to my Medisoft Manuals. I like to bookmark and highlight and having it right there on the shelf is quick. For Medisoft Manuals, training DVD's and even some one-to-one help go to www.maxremote.com/medisofttraining.htm These videos and manuals follow the same format that Medisoft uses to train their resellers. The manuals have tabs to quickly go to specific sections and the DVD's have chapters as well.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Medisoft - New Electronic Claims Solutions
McKesson Corp. has announced this month that they will no longer be producing or supporting their Direct Modules for Claim submission to Medicare and other carriers. These modules will be replaced with a new product for direct claim submission. This "new" product was formerly known as SendClaim. Now a part of McKesson Corp. and rebranded as Revenue Management Direct it is full of enhancements that should be used and appreciated by almost all practices that currently use direct modules.
A quick look at the product shows that it is Claim Submission and ERA posting put together. You will no longer have to buy 2 products to get the complete claims management. The software requires a "connection" for each payor at a 1 time, relatively low fee. Initial purchase of the software includes 1 connection of your choice. This can also be programmed to connect to any insurance carrier that wants an ANSI file submission.
This comes at a time when Medicare is proposing a cut of 27% across the board and may seem to be just another extra cost. However, McKesson Corp is giving you the module for free this year, a savings of $900.00 and throwing in an extra 20% off Medicare v15, up to $400.00 if you are more than 2 versions back.
In an economic time when it is important to not have any interruption in cash flow and to increase cash flow, this product will do both. Since it is a built on the Direct Module basis, but enhanced by integration of Send Claim it should be a smooth transistion as far as software. But this product can help you to increase office productivity and therefore, cash flow. The Reports are much more organized and the ERA posting features give a better preview of what will be posted and the ability to change what will be posted. Even the choice to post some entries and hold or hand post others.
For those Medisoft users who are going through a clearinghouse, including Relay Health, Send Claim has been integrated into a product called Revenue Management Advanced. This one includes the same functionality with an added choice of receiving advanced Global edits. Besides the usual HIPAA edits, you can recieve information such as does the diagnosis call for a different E&M code, perhaps even a higher level of reimbursement. Primary Care and Internal Medicine specialists usually benefit the most from these type of edits but any practice can use this feature.
All in All I think McKesson is providing some quality enhancements to 2 very good products already being used by their customers. If you would like more information please contact me at treo@mbanepa.com with a subject line of RM Questions.
While this is a new combination of existing software, there will be a transitional period learning the new interface but we expect very little or no interruption of cash flow. This is one more thing that has made version 15 one of the better releases from Medisoft, especially in the last few years. We are looking forward to more good things from McKesson Corp.
A quick look at the product shows that it is Claim Submission and ERA posting put together. You will no longer have to buy 2 products to get the complete claims management. The software requires a "connection" for each payor at a 1 time, relatively low fee. Initial purchase of the software includes 1 connection of your choice. This can also be programmed to connect to any insurance carrier that wants an ANSI file submission.
This comes at a time when Medicare is proposing a cut of 27% across the board and may seem to be just another extra cost. However, McKesson Corp is giving you the module for free this year, a savings of $900.00 and throwing in an extra 20% off Medicare v15, up to $400.00 if you are more than 2 versions back.
In an economic time when it is important to not have any interruption in cash flow and to increase cash flow, this product will do both. Since it is a built on the Direct Module basis, but enhanced by integration of Send Claim it should be a smooth transistion as far as software. But this product can help you to increase office productivity and therefore, cash flow. The Reports are much more organized and the ERA posting features give a better preview of what will be posted and the ability to change what will be posted. Even the choice to post some entries and hold or hand post others.
For those Medisoft users who are going through a clearinghouse, including Relay Health, Send Claim has been integrated into a product called Revenue Management Advanced. This one includes the same functionality with an added choice of receiving advanced Global edits. Besides the usual HIPAA edits, you can recieve information such as does the diagnosis call for a different E&M code, perhaps even a higher level of reimbursement. Primary Care and Internal Medicine specialists usually benefit the most from these type of edits but any practice can use this feature.
All in All I think McKesson is providing some quality enhancements to 2 very good products already being used by their customers. If you would like more information please contact me at treo@mbanepa.com with a subject line of RM Questions.
While this is a new combination of existing software, there will be a transitional period learning the new interface but we expect very little or no interruption of cash flow. This is one more thing that has made version 15 one of the better releases from Medisoft, especially in the last few years. We are looking forward to more good things from McKesson Corp.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Tools for Medical Billing
Sure you can make money at home being a Medical Biller. There are lots of courses, at your local community college or even online. Beware of scams. Be sure you are getting support as well as materials and that these are up to date. In the past 3 years there have been many changes in the HIPAA laws that affect Medical Billers. Most of the courses teach Coding, but you should have some Practice management info such as how to read insurance EOB's, basic patient accounting and claim rejection troubleshooting and possibly some work in one of the popular Medical Billing Software programs. Schools and Colleges can get the current Medisoft program for their computers for about $700.00. If you are learning Medisoft, be sure it is at least version 11. Anything older is not HIPAA compliant.
If you are well on your way to becoming a Medical Biller then you should begin to signup for some newsletters. Medicare (http://www.cms.gov/) has some great web training tools and you don't have to have a doctors sign-in for them. They give you small (15-20 question) tests for many specialties. These usually cover the most common billing mistakes and reasons for rejections. Their newsletters can sometimes be overwhelming but are definitely a good idea - be sure to get the newsletters for your state. MedicalCoding.net is another good place to browse and gather some good info. If you think you might have a job with a certain specialty look for websites devoted to those.
You may even want to join a medical billing community online. Remember all of these things are free. Don't join anything that has a cost associated with it until you are sure that is what you are going to need to work for the specific practice that hires you.
So now you've completed your course at a local school or online, you got current info coming in with newsletters and website access. Hopefully you've had access to some of the software you will be using. Put it all together in a Resume or post online to start getting some business. If you haven't had any Medical office experience, it may be a good idea to sign up with a temp agency and get some experience. But you won't want to go into an office and try to take over their Medical Billing all at once. Let some of the others there share their knowledge with you. No matter how current and accurate and thorough your training is, you will never know all that a Biller of 10 or more years knows. Experience is "hands down" the best teacher in the Medical Billing profession.
If you've got a practice to bill for from home, FANTASTIC! We are very proud of you, and sooooo excited! Do you have your software? Do you have a current coding manual? A good black and white printer? Here comes the next big commitment.
Are you going to send paper claims to the insurance carriers or send them electronically? Of course Auto and Worker's Comp are still going paper in every state, for the most part. Texas has some laws regarding Electronic Workers Comp Claims but I don't think they are pushing it too much. Medicare IS pushing Electronic Claims. There is free software to send claims to Medicare, but that means double entry into the claims system and into your patient accounting software so you can track patient balances and coinsurances. Most of the Medical Billing software out there has a way to create a file and send it to a clearinghouse. A clearinghouse takes all your claims and seperates them by insurance and sends them to the individual carriers. That way you send 1 file and can submit claims to dozens of insurances at 1 time.
Clearinghouses are really the only choice if you going to send claims to multiple insurances, but they are also a good choice for sending claims to a few insurances. For example, a doctor who specializes in geriatric medicine will more than likely have 85-95% of his patient's under Medicare. So you could send directly to them, but if you send through a clearinghouse your claims will be double checked for errors, missing fields and other problems even before they go to the insurance carrier. You get rejection notices the same day or next day and can correct these and resubmit. Greatly improving cash flow and lessening tracking of your claims.
Before you sign up with a clearinghouse, be sure they work with your Software. They should help you with the doctor's contracts, since you have to tell each insurance how you will be sending claims and authorizing the clearinghouse to do be an intermediary. Also be sure you will be able to get the support you need if you just can't get a claim to go through or there are software problems. Many clearinghouses charge a monthly fee, per claim fee or package deal. Some require you to pay a setup fee or buy additional software. Be sure that they are able to send claims to the insurances that you will be submitting to.
That covers the basic steps to get you going. Happy Billing!
If you are well on your way to becoming a Medical Biller then you should begin to signup for some newsletters. Medicare (http://www.cms.gov/) has some great web training tools and you don't have to have a doctors sign-in for them. They give you small (15-20 question) tests for many specialties. These usually cover the most common billing mistakes and reasons for rejections. Their newsletters can sometimes be overwhelming but are definitely a good idea - be sure to get the newsletters for your state. MedicalCoding.net is another good place to browse and gather some good info. If you think you might have a job with a certain specialty look for websites devoted to those.
You may even want to join a medical billing community online. Remember all of these things are free. Don't join anything that has a cost associated with it until you are sure that is what you are going to need to work for the specific practice that hires you.
So now you've completed your course at a local school or online, you got current info coming in with newsletters and website access. Hopefully you've had access to some of the software you will be using. Put it all together in a Resume or post online to start getting some business. If you haven't had any Medical office experience, it may be a good idea to sign up with a temp agency and get some experience. But you won't want to go into an office and try to take over their Medical Billing all at once. Let some of the others there share their knowledge with you. No matter how current and accurate and thorough your training is, you will never know all that a Biller of 10 or more years knows. Experience is "hands down" the best teacher in the Medical Billing profession.
If you've got a practice to bill for from home, FANTASTIC! We are very proud of you, and sooooo excited! Do you have your software? Do you have a current coding manual? A good black and white printer? Here comes the next big commitment.
Are you going to send paper claims to the insurance carriers or send them electronically? Of course Auto and Worker's Comp are still going paper in every state, for the most part. Texas has some laws regarding Electronic Workers Comp Claims but I don't think they are pushing it too much. Medicare IS pushing Electronic Claims. There is free software to send claims to Medicare, but that means double entry into the claims system and into your patient accounting software so you can track patient balances and coinsurances. Most of the Medical Billing software out there has a way to create a file and send it to a clearinghouse. A clearinghouse takes all your claims and seperates them by insurance and sends them to the individual carriers. That way you send 1 file and can submit claims to dozens of insurances at 1 time.
Clearinghouses are really the only choice if you going to send claims to multiple insurances, but they are also a good choice for sending claims to a few insurances. For example, a doctor who specializes in geriatric medicine will more than likely have 85-95% of his patient's under Medicare. So you could send directly to them, but if you send through a clearinghouse your claims will be double checked for errors, missing fields and other problems even before they go to the insurance carrier. You get rejection notices the same day or next day and can correct these and resubmit. Greatly improving cash flow and lessening tracking of your claims.
Before you sign up with a clearinghouse, be sure they work with your Software. They should help you with the doctor's contracts, since you have to tell each insurance how you will be sending claims and authorizing the clearinghouse to do be an intermediary. Also be sure you will be able to get the support you need if you just can't get a claim to go through or there are software problems. Many clearinghouses charge a monthly fee, per claim fee or package deal. Some require you to pay a setup fee or buy additional software. Be sure that they are able to send claims to the insurances that you will be submitting to.
That covers the basic steps to get you going. Happy Billing!
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