Emergency services and self-pay patients- something that emergency service providers do not like to hear used in conjunction with one another. But unfortunately, due to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act enacted in 1986 and the ever rising cost of medical care and unemployment rates in the US, this is a trend that continues to rise.

People of all ages love to be surprised, but not with the surprise of unexpected medical bills. We all have been to the doctor for a procedure or even had to go to the emergency room with the expectation of receiving some type of bill for the services provided.

Recent studies have shown that by the year 2020, the United States might reach almost 20% of our gross domestic product (the total monetary value of all final goods and services produced and sold on the market typically within a year), making us the largest healthcare spender of any nation in the world. The expanded Medicaid and private insurance coverage are expected to increase demand for health care significantly, particularly for prescription drugs and physician and clinical services.

Aggravations and annoyances-no matter what your occupation is, we all have them. Dealing with these aggravations time and time again, day after day could mentally break you down. But instead of letting the annoyances and aggravations tear you down and hate your profession, turn them into workable solutions to help better your productivity.

Is hitching a ride after calling 911 becoming a thing of the past?! The idea is pretty simple, providing an easy three digit number for people to call in order to receive help during a life-threatening emergency. However, did you know that there is no national 9-1-1 system?

We have all been there before; reviewing an extensive OP report/procedure note only to realize (typically after a great deal of time is spent researching) there is no CPT code that fits the service provided. Now it is time to use the dreaded unlisted code to report the procedure performed. Just simply hearing “unlisted procedure code” will make a coder/biller/provider cringe when it comes to having to apply it to services performed.

It’s common nowadays that whenever someone feels their throat getting scratchy, a runny nose, or cough. They call up the doctor to schedule a visit, hoping to get some antibiotics before it gets worse. However, more and more frequently, signs are being posted in immediate care centers, doctor’s office, etc. that not everything requires to be prescribed antibiotics.

Computers and artificial intelligence (AI) have had a tremendous impact in all aspects of our daily lives. One major area impacted by the computer and its existence is the medical field.

So many questions...is it benign or malignant, is wound closure included, does the size of the lesion matter, can I report more than one excision at a time? Coding excisions of lesions may seem complicated but if you follow these 5 steps below it should be a breeze. 

The past couple years the number of scam and robo-calls regarding health insurance and private health information has been increasing, but as of 2019, these types of calls are becoming an epidemic. While the government has always warned to never give out private personal information over the phone to anyone claiming you have outstanding bills or expiring health benefits, recently most commercial and non-commercial health insurance provides now have pop-ups on their website warning their customers of such calls and scams.

Being the bearer of bad news, someone must take on that roll. That role in healthcare is the act of collecting patient payments from services provided. Listed below are a few of the tips author Chris Selb in his article “5 Steps to Improve Patient Payments”. These tips aim to increase the percentage of patient payments being received.