When the patient attests to the fact that he/she received the
care billed for, you have additional confirmation that protects
you in both audits and collection proceedings. How do you get
this attestation? Have the patient sign out electronically, placing
his/her signature on a statement that says “I received the care
described here-in and I am responsible for paying for it.” In this
way, you not only document the charges in your SOAP notes,
scheduling and billing, but also have the patient as a witness
that you actually provided the services. Why is this important?
Because some insurance companies are claiming that doctors
have padded the bill charging for services they did not provide.
The patient’s electronic signature makes it much more difficult
for you to be falsely accused. The electronic sign out signature
also means that you win every collection case.
Government certified software, which qualifies you for the
Medicare stimulus incentive payments, includes another audit
protector, the EHR Audit Log. This Audit Log is a non-editable
report that records every entry, every access, every edit or
modification, and every deletion that you make in a patient
file. How does this protect you? The Audit Log proves that
your entries were made in a timely fashion and that you did
not “doctor” your notes.
EHR systems never forget an outstanding bill, whether it is
patient direct or insurance. EHR never lets a missed appointment
remain ignored. And EHR eliminates the time wasted going in
and out of filing cabinets empowering your staff to be productive
with recalls, collections, reactivation and practice building. Each
of these features maintains or increases your income. Nothing
falls through the cracks to be lost or forgotten.
Dr. Paul Bindell, a 1975 Palmer graduate, has been in
practice in Rockaway, NJ, since 1976. He has lectured
on chiropractic in Brazil and Israel and is a past Chairman of Public Relations for the Northern (NJ) Counties
Chiropractic Society. The Chiropractic Answer produced
by Dr. Bindell in the 1980’s was a cable television program, a newsletter, and a newspaper column. In 1991, Dr. Bindell and
his family began Life Systems Software so chiropractors would have
computer programs based on real practice. As a consultant, Dr. Bindell
is the expert in assisting the profession and individual chiropractors
to improve and succeed. Numerous articles have been written by Dr.
Bindell and have appeared in several chiropractic journals. Dr. Bindell
is available to speak to your group or organization and can be reached
by email at administration@LifeSystemsSoftware.com, or you can call
Life Systems Software at 800-543-3001. TAC
To learn more, circle #247 on The Action Card
