Are you taking advantage of the power offered by practice management software? It could be easier and more cost effective than you think.

By Brian O'Neill

Over the past decade, the field of chiropractic and complementary medicine has advanced tremendously, from practitioners learning new techniques of care to the continued emergence of quantifiable evidence to support its findings. As a result, the entire discipline has grown in acceptance, popularity, and respect.

Over the same period, something else has evolved as well — the tools you can use to make your practice run smoother, more efficiently, and more profitably.

Nowhere is this more evident than when it comes to the new back-office technologies that support practices of all sizes.

Although some software solutions were once only affordable and practical for large offices, today these technologies make sense even for practices with few staff and modest budgets. As a result, now most doctors can benefit from powerful technology if they plan and choose wisely.

Still, though, too many chiropractors are continuing to run the back end of their practice “old school,” performing tasks manually on paper when they could be more efficient and cost effective by upgrading to a computerized approach. Consider the following examples.

Submitting claims electronically: It’s an electronic world, and if you want to get paid quickly and correctly, you need to submit claims electronically. You can enhance your practice with a clearing- house and practice management system that encompasses scheduling, billing, and accounts receivable.

Your system should allow you to easily and accurately enter your diagnosis and treatment. It can then produce a claim and send it to a clearinghouse that will flag any mistakes and then pass it on to the appropriate payer.

Handling your billing this way greatly reduces time and expenses (paper, stamps, etc.), as well as the time it takes for you to get paid. Remember that insurance companies love providers who work electronically because they, like you, are saving time and money by adapting to these new norms.

Eligibility checking: You already know that it’s critical to ensure that your patients have insurance, and that they understand what part of their bill they are responsible for. Advanced eligibility checking technology makes this easy.

The right program can authenticate insurance, and confirm how many visits a patient has remaining, before the patient even walks into your office. It is a lot easier for you to collect a direct payment before the patient leaves your office than it is to bill the insurance company later and then need to follow up. And remember, this is important even if you’ve seen the patient before, because you need to know how many visits he or she has remaining for insurance reimbursement.

Electronic remittance advice: Another technology that can save you time is the electronic remittance advice (ERA), also referred to as explanation of benefits (EOB). With some software packages, you can view the ERA electronically, but have to post

manually. With the right kind of software, you can integrate ERA with a clearinghouse for automatic posting.

This reduction in paper for both you and the payer typically lets you know what you’re going to be paid less than a week after you have submitted your claim. It’s even better if the payer can also send payment by electronic funds transfer (EFT) directly into your bank account.

Electronic health records: The U.S. government is encouraging a movement toward electronic health records (EHR) as a way to foster improvements in healthcare quality, safety, efficiency, and access. Having the right EHR system in place benefits both you and your patients.

In fact, part of the economic stimulus package passed by Congress in 2009 provides incentive payments for Medicare providers who adopt and use “certified” EHR systems beginning this year. If you see Medicare patients, you could be eligible for stimulus money — as much as $18,000 in the first year alone, and up to as much as $44,000 over five years.

Patient portal: All chiropractors should establish an online portal (i.e., a website) through which they can communicate directly with their patients. A modern website will allow your patients to schedule and change their appointments online — which is good for an independent practice with a small staff. The more you can do electronically, the more time you have to spend with patients and focus on what attracted you to the profession in the first place.

Many of these services, such as the clearinghouse, practice management system, and patient portal, are available to you at no cost. All you need is Internet access and, ideally, a Web- based solution that allows you to access it from wherever you are: at home, in the office, or on the road.

You’ll also want the right partner to get you up and running and support your needs on an ongoing basis. In making that choice, look for a company that provides everything you need under one umbrella.

It’s important that all the electronic components of your office are compatible. A full-service firm will give you one point of administrative contact and provide maximum cost savings for you and your practice. The right company will not only get you up and running today, but keep you current as technology continues to advance.

It is likely that you are already doing many of the things discussed. The question is whether you are doing them manually or electronically. Ask yourself: Which approach makes the most sense in terms of time and money? Which approach will best serve my patients? Which approach allows me to focus more time on my patients?

Just as you turn to quantifiable evidence to improve the clinical care you deliver, maybe it’s time to rethink your back office and rely on emerging best practices there as well.

Brian O’Neill is the president and founder of Office Ally, a company offering healthcare providers a full range of management services. The company currently works with more than 150,000 providers and 4,400 insurance carriers in all 50 states. He can be contacted through www.officeally.com.