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Efficiency in the daily workflow continues to be a focus for practicing physicians, who wish to save time and increase productivity without sacrificing quality of care.
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Efficiency in the daily workflow (thanks to one of the history’s most influential quotes: “time is money”) continues to be a focus for practicing physicians, who wish to save time and increase productivity without sacrificing quality of care.
One solution: Streamline charge capture so that it is mobile, simple to use, and secure.
Mobile charge capture describes the process by which billing information is captured with a user-friendly mobile application on-the-go, during hospital or nursing home rounds.
Despite the availability of multiple electronic methods of charge capture, physician-friendly, SIMPLE charge capture solutions are still hard to find.
THE PROBLEM WITH TRADITIONAL PAPER METHODS FOR CHARGE CAPTURE
Research has already demonstrated the inefficiency and error-prone quality of paper charting compared the electronic medical records or electronic health records system. Thus, the same reasoning can be applied for mobile charge capture. Especially with physicians who continue to take note of medical charges, diagnosis, and procedures via paper-in-the-pocket method.
Furthermore, the following issues lead to missed charges and loss of productivity for medical practices and hospitals:
INCORRECT DIAGNOSIS OR ICD-10 CODES.
The diagnosis is often handwritten on a paper or card without any relevant code. Billing staff has to spend time reading the notes to code the diagnosis to its highest specificity.
CHARGES ARE OFTEN MISSED AND BILLING SHEETS GET LOST.
As patients are being admitted and discharged at a rapid pace, it is hard for a physician to keep track of all patients seen and billed on a daily basis. Hospital and medical practices lose estimated $30,000/year/physician for missed charges.
Physicians are not turning in rounding sheets in a timely manner
It takes physicians 2 to 3 days to admit rounding sheets
BILLERS CAN MISS CHARGES TO ENTER IN BILLING SOFTWARE
Usually, medical practice administrators have little clue for which chargers are missed and/or lost
SO WHY NOT TRANSITION TO A MOBILE CHARGE CAPTURE THAT EFFECTIVELY STREAMLINES?
Physicians who have switched to various mobile charge capture platforms have reported:
- Upwards of $30,000 in savings for the first year alone by preventing lost charges and inaccurate coding from human error.
- Streamlined communication as billers, and staff have access to facesheets, documents, and charges, all on a platform instead of a paper lost in the depths of a pocket.
- Accuracy and specificity of ICD-10 coding since mobile charge capture aids in refining and documenting codes properly. Thus reducing denials, and ensuring maximization of productivity.
- But most importantly, time and money saved. Anywhere between thirty minutes to an hour of time wasted in capturing billing charges can approximate to $52,000 in annual cost.
YET SAVINGS ARE NOT ENOUGH: SIMPLICITY AND USER EXPERIENCE REMAINS TO BE AN ELUSIVE GOAL
Dr. Pamela Moore from Physicians Practice magazine articulated best in her “Improving Charge Capture” article when she quotes: “Of course, the greatest form [of charge capture] in the world won’t help unless the physician hands them in. To some extent, charge capture is really about the discipline of the physician”.
Unfortunately, older EMR based software or charge capture applications from the 1990’s and 2000’s are clumsy and time-consuming.In addition, charge capture continues to be a physician’s responsibility.
The following describes essential mobile charge capture features needed to help physicians effortlessly address such issues in all medical settings:
Information is money!
Thus quick and simplified access to ICD and CPT codes, demographics, and patient information in a moment’s notice is pertinent
Security is key!
Especially when it comes to sharing healthcare information. Saving time in communication and provider access through a single, secure platform is significantly safer than sharing it via traditional or non-compliant methods.
Real-time is is the most efficient method regardless of where you are!
Inputting new information while sharing what is relevant, in real-time with back office staff and billers, regardless of where you are, is one of the most essential features needed to streamline information transfer.
These features singlehandedly speed up the revenue cycle and turns 3-4 days of charge handling wait time into a few seconds.
THE ACTUAL TIME & MONEY TO GET STARTED & KEEP GOING
The key question all physicians ask themselves remains the same: Will investing in an effective mobile charge capture be worth transitioning out of my current charge capture system?
Our answer: Absolutely YES.
Mobile charge capture is an easy enough transition for your practice once you realize its impact on practice revenue. By eliminating lost and missed charges, sharing real-time information between physicians and billers, and ensuring that both ICD-10 and CPT coding is compliant with latest regulations — mobile charge capture helps you maximize your revenue and run your practice as efficiently and compliant as possible.
To get started with DocCharge, a simple, physician-friendly mobile application, get in touch with us today.
About DocCharge
DocCharge: Be productive again! Practice analytics, mobile charge capture, HIPAA compliant messaging, and tools for billers.
DocCharge is a mobile physician productivity platform enabling physicians and clinicians to save time by efficiently capture patient billings, communicate with back office and maximize revenue by avoiding lost charges using real-time analytics on a mobile device. Designed by a physician for fellow physicians, residents/fellows, and mid-level providers, DocCharge maximizes one’s productivity. Practice Administrators and outsourced billing companies find the application very intuitive, thus improving practice efficiency and revenue.
DocCharge is transforming healthcare data into useful and actionable insights, thereby allowing partner subscribers to focus their resources on the core business of providing high quality patient care. For more information, visit www.DocCharge.com, email: contact@DocCharge.com.
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