Author Archives: Jamil Ahmad

Medical billing and coding on electronic medical systems improves turnover

In a do-more environment, physicians and health care providers could only achieve their performance targets when the bills for their services are settled at their maximum. The ratio for payment denial for some physicians is as high as 40 percent, which means that they are not able to receive a major part of their earnings. [...]

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Bearing the cost of ICD-10 transition

Transitioning to ICD-10 can be daunting in many ways; the cost affiliated with the implementation process is escalating. Health care providers, payers, clearinghouses, and billing services are gasping in the transition marathon, flustered in meeting top-down government-enforced healthcare reforms. CMS has clearly stated that there would be no further extensions or grace period of the [...]

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Health Information Exchange (HIE): Connectivity, Integration and Interoperability

The formation of a universally connected healthcare network has stirred a technology driven revolution in the United States. The network has been structured so that patients may have greater access to their health information, as well as increased connectivity with physicians, pharmacies, and clinics. To realize it, an influx of EMR, EHR, e-Prescription and other [...]

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EHRs and Revenue Cycle Management (RCM)

Transition to HIPAA 5010 electronic transaction standards and implementation of ICD-10 codes are meant to refine newly deployed electronic health record systems for improving healthcare service quality and cost management. Thus far it seems to be a win-win for everyone following the government led healthcare reforms for mutual benefits, but is it that simple to [...]

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ACO Formation – First Round Begins

With the advent of this year, the formation of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) has stirred up interests of many in healthcare administration. Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)are defined as ‘a set of providers associated with a defined population of patients, accountable for the quality and cost of care delivered to that population’. The ACO has significant [...]

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Advantages to an Electronic Health Record (EHR)

When it comes to “the highest attainable standard of health”, there is a consensus that adopting EHR technology is a step in the right direction. It is true that change can be difficult to adopt, but as soon healthcare practioners are exposed to phenomenal EHR advantages, it becomes difficult to continue with old practices. There [...]

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Best Practices for Improving Operational Performance of Healthcare Providers

Technology has raised performance metrics for everyone and healthcare providers are no exception. It has equally affected medical practitioners who now greatly depend on health information technology for most of the clinical tasks. However, these fully computerized healthcare facilities have raised the bar for quality and the operational performance of employees. Organizations are encouraging healthcare [...]

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Legally protecting providers who use EHRs is the goal of a House Bill

Dubbed as Safeguarding Access for Every Medicare Patient Act, the new legislation gives legal protection to covered Medicare and Medicaid providers who use certified EHR technology. Besides monetary incentives, providers are ensured that this government initiative will legally protect them. “HR3239 is a two-pronged attack against rising health care costs: It provides legal protection to [...]

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HIPAA 5010 Implementation: Timeline, Levels and Testing Readiness

It has been eight years since the HIPAA 4010 transaction standards were implemented in 2003. Since then, the industry has asked for more than 500 changes to correct errors and fulfill new requirements. The new regulations are a systematic approach to reform the health system with a pristine timeline. The regulations were introduced in 2009 [...]

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