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Article Archive RAC Updates: Assessing Your RAC Risk
Sue Kay The adage “no news is good news” definitely does not apply to physician offices when it comes to the RAC (Recovery Audit Contractors) program. For the past several years (during the 3-year demonstration program and during the past year of national expansion), RACs have primarily been focused on hospitals and not individual physician offices. This false sense of security has caused many office managers to put RAC preparations on the back burner. Download this article Revenue Cycle Management: Ten Tips to Maximize Revenue
Carol Hoppe, CPC, CCS-P Healthcare is one of few industries where services are not paid for when they are received. Typically, one party (such as a doctor or hospital) provides services to a second party (a patient), but a third party (a health insurance carrier) is often involved in facilitating financial reimbursement for the services provided. Download this article Updates on Key Issues Facing Your Practice
Sue Kay Updates on key information in the following areas: Meaningful Use, EHR Certification and Medicare's Proposed 21.3% cut. Download this article. Strategies for Developing Effective Vacation, Time-Off and Holiday Policies Sue Kay  How should you handle vacation requests, paid-time off, time off without pay and holidays not only during the summer months but year-round as well? Here are some tips and suggestions for handling these issues efficiently, effectively and correctly. Download this article.
Revenue Cycle Management: The Patient Componenet 4 Tips for Improving Patient Collections Sue Kay  In the past, a discussion of how to improve practice billing and collection procedures primarily focused on the back office and the practice’s insurance billing/collection processes. Over the past few years, we have seen a dramatic shift toward increased patient payment responsibility as evidenced by the following statistics. Download this article. Medicare - Resources, Resources, Resources Sue Kay  Many of you have heard the saying “It’s not what you know; it’s who you know.” From a Medicare perspective, that saying could be “It’s not what you know; it’s where to find it,” (especially as “it” continually changes).
At our recent Client Appreciation Seminar in Chattanooga, TN, InHealth’s Senior Consultant Mary Kustermann demonstrated that she’s an expert when it comes to “where” to find information about Medicare Coding and Billing requirements. Download this article. Improve Your Practice's Financial Health: Focus on the Four P's in a Pod (Patients, Payers, Payments and Productivity) Sue Kay  In today’s article, we will discuss credentialing and contracting with managed care companies to achieve the right payer mix for your practice’s better financial health. The right patient mix boils down to knowing critical data on what we call the “Four Ps in a Pod: Payers, Payments, Physician Productivity and Patients.” Download this article Conducting a Practice Financial Analysis: Three Critical Calculations Duane Sheldon and Sue Kay
Financial health can be as symptomatic as your physical health. Identifying the symptoms and treating them early can help your practice avoid a major financial illness in the future. Download this article CMS Defines (sort of) "Meaningful Use" Sue Kay 
During the last week of December, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) announced a proposed rule that moves us closer toward a final definition of the term “meaningful use” of Electronic Health Records (EHRs). Download this article
Leigh Ann Rodgers  Like so many people, I was juggling lots of balls in the air at once… two young children, a business, a house to manage, volunteer work to do, not to mention tennis, my Bunco group and Book Club, and on and on. I would start the day running and often fall in bed after midnight with only half of my to-do list checked off. "Next week things will settle down," I’d tell myself, only to discover that next week was just as busy. I was always looking forward to that time when things would slow down – but that time never arrived. Sound familiar? I bet it does because I rarely meet people who aren’t stressed and overwhelmed trying to get everything done. Download this article
Send the Right Message to Your Patients: 6 Tips for Proper Front Desk Phone Protocol
Sue Kay Sheryl J. Cherico You have decided to make a major purchase! A new computer. Congratulations! Now what? Do you know what to get? Where to get it? What to buy? Are you going to leave this decision to the Salesperson in the store? Let’s get educated! Download this article. Thinking About Outsourcing? Five Tips for Picking the Right Outsourcing Partner Sue Kay If you are considering the possibility of outsourcing some of your practice’s functions, you’ve probably made a list of some of the things you are looking for in a vendor. Here are five factors you should consider. Download this article..
5 Key Benefits of Outsourcing Sue Kay When most people think of outsourcing, they automatically think of a reduction in personnel costs as the key benefit. While a reduction in costs is often the driving force and is typically achieved, it frequently is not the most important benefit achieved through outsourcing. Download this article.
"Red Flags" Rule: Medicare Compliance Sue Kay The November 1, 2009 deadline for complying with the FTC’s (Federal Trade Commission) “Red Flags” Rule is just around the corner. In this article, you will find the basic information you need to know about the “Red Flags” Rule and resources that will help you efficiently implement an appropriate compliance plan. Download this article. Six Key Facts About ICD-10 Sue Kay Take a look at some of the key facts that we’ve compiled for you along with links to valuable resources that will help you prepare for ICD-10 in the most “efficient” manner possible. Download this article
Sue Kay What do you do when the RACs identify an improper Medicare payment? Here are the steps, timelines and deadlines you need to follow in the appeals process. Download this article
Sue Kay The Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program is in full swing and the audits are starting. What do you do when a RAC requests your practice’s medical records? Here’s what you need to know and how to proceed. Download this article
Are You Ready for RAC: A Step-by-Step Guide Sue Kay As a practice manager, you have so many responsibilities critical to the efficient, effective AND profitable running of your medical practice. Add to the mix the tough economic times we are facing (unlike any other in recent memory), and your job can be downright overwhelming. And on top of it all – here comes RAC! Download this article
Five Critical Benchmarks for the Efficient Medical Practice Sue Kay Running an efficient, effective and profitable medical practice has never been more challenging. We've boiled all of your practice responsibilities down to five key benchmarks that you can put in place in your practice to make it run as efficiently as possible. Download this article
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In order to keep your medical practice financially sound, you must be able to collect financial data and understand what this data is telling you about your current collection rate and your future collection rate. 
We’ve all heard the adage “bad first impressions are hard to overcome.” That is definitely true when it comes to your medical practice. How you answer the phone and how you handle patient inquiries says a lot about your practice. Does your front-desk phone etiquette send the message “We’d be honored to have you as a patient” or “We couldn’t be bothered”? 
Efficiency in Practice, an InHealth company 5076 Winters Chapel Road Atlanta, GA 30360
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