Our favorite friends over at Physicians Practice.com recently make a good point that may point to some business for you.

In an article discussing how to cut office expenses, it advises to review vendor contracts. Is the health care provider getting the best deal? If not, shop around.

OK, you’re on notice. How are your rates? Competitive, bloated, cheap? It’s not easy staying competitive, but take some time over the weekend and be honest with yourself. What is your time worth? Can you undercut others to gain more business? Even more, keep your business so someone doesn’t undercut you?

Don’t work harder, work smarter.

The answer is almost always yes, even right after returning from one when scrambling to catch up.

We’re revisiting a May 11 blog topic because it’s prime vacation season and many of you feel trapped and frustrated. You want to get away for at least a few days, maybe even a whole week like normal people.

We have the solution.

Did you know ClaimTek Systems not only offers a support team from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. (West Coast time) weekdays plus email support 24/7, but we also provide Emergency Support Service (ESS) when you need our team to step in. Available only for accounts using the MedOffice and MedOffice Remote software, our ESS team can be there for you when you can’t yourself.

Give ClaimTek staffers a call now at 1-800-224-7450 to familiarize yourself with our Emergency Support Service so we’re ready if needed.

And then go buy a new swim suit. Don’t forget the sunscreen, too.

Well, it’s easy only if you’re not at my house where it’s 98 degrees outside and promising to be even hotter this week. And no, I don’t live in the desert or Deep South.

The 4th of July weekend is over, but let’s admit it — nobody’s motivated to bust a gut working in this heat or even during the summer. We always think of summer as an endless childhood vacation.

Let’s do a simple exercise to get back into the mental swing given that the bills don’t take a vacation from us. Let’s do 3 things to get back on track.

1. I will look over my prospective client list. How long has it been since you were pitching to new clients? If it has been more than 30 days, and it probably has, let’s restart the list. Make a top 10 you want to approach and hit them this week.

2. I will catch up any paperwork. Yes, we all let down around now, but that’s no excuse. Put in a few extra hours and have everything squared away. It lets you move on to new opportunities.

3. I will perform a software check. Are you up to date? Hey, if you take your car in for a checkup every three months, you need to ensure your computer and medical billing software are in tip top shape every three months. You’d be surprised what the results may be.

And if you need help with your software, ClaimTek Systems is ready to help. Give us a call at 1-800-224-7450 to ensure you’re ready to go.

I’ve been a diabetic for 17 years. Saw a diabetic counselor regularly, thought I was under control.

And then it went bad. Not hospital bad, but worrisome enough that I knew I had to start over in dealing with it. Ended up seeing a diabetic specialist and started taking insulin. And, things got better.

Some people would see this as a setback. I see it as yet another beginning. It doesn’t matter what happened in the past, only where I was going.

So the moral of this story (as I used to tell my children) is sometimes starting over isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes asking for help is a good thing. And always remembering there are better ways to do things is the right thing.

Taking this one step further, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been medical billing. Or how big you’ve become. It’s about where are you going.

So take a moment and think, “If I had to do it over again, would I do it the same way?” Most of us might chuckle over the mistakes we’ve made, vowing to avoid them, but overall probably doing it again.

Today’s homework assignment – think about your journey in the medical billing business and ask yourself what potholes could you avoid, what help could you use? And when you need someone to help, ClaimTek Systems is there. It could be more software help, marketing assistance, client acquisition – we’re here to help. So give us a call at 1-800-224-7450. A second opinion never hurts.

Have a beer.

OK, back to working on Monday. Someone sent me a note written by life coach Cheryl Richardson over working through dry spells. We all have them. You bang your hand against the wall. Try every trick up your sleeve. Repeat things that have worked before and . . . nothing.

Is it the recession? Is it you? That’s the hard question. The answer may even be a little of both.

So I read Cheryl’s advice several times, trying to see if there was some hidden meaning I’d read over. Nope, the usual stuff. Take a deep breath. Review everything. Have faith in yourself. Maybe be a little more flexible, but hold to core truths.

It’s not like a monsoon will come to wash away the drought in one moment, but we all know that the harder you work the luckier you get. So, if it seems like nothing’s going your way, keep on trucking. Something will.

OK, we’re kidding.

The federal government says you must have your tribute, uh taxes, paid by today. Did you make it? We hope so because G-men are not friendly.

But what about next year? ModernMedicine.com has some decent tips for not making the same mistakes twice. Not re-inventing the wheel, but it may trigger something you already knew to save money.

ModernMedicine.com

Today is April 1 — no fooling. If you haven’t readied for Uncle Sam, you better get to it.

Our biggest advice — find a great tax accountant. They usually more than pay for themselves through finding deductions often missed while also keeping you out of IRS problems. But, if you have to go it alone, here are a few simple things to remember.

Deduct your home office. It’s the square footage of the room(s) against the overall square footage of the house. So, if the room is 10 by 10 feet, that’s 100 square feet. If the house if 1,000 square feet, you have 10 percent deduction of home costs like electricity, water, taxes, insurance and trash. Often, I’ve found a home office is worth a few hundred dollars off my taxes. Be sure to take a photo of the room to show the IRS should you be audited.

Now this is a blog, not a book so we can’t go into the fine art of deductions, but remember everything you spent on your business is a deduction. Hopefully, you’ll get to keep some of your hard-earned money.

Don’t be paper thin, go digital

All we hear nowadays is electronic health records. EHRs are all the rage as the federal government tries to make everyone go digital by 2011.

But, don’t stop there. Your printer probably has a scanner and it can produce more money than if you created Benjamins straight from the printer.

The demand for digital records to be emailed is enormous. And, there’s a tremendous backlog of paper data that needs to be converted. You can charge by the page, the hour or the project, but there’s gold in that pile of papers.

Our Digistore Services you to run a business scanning, digitizing and archiving medical records. You can do it yourself or gain a consulting fee by teaching the medical staff to scan records in-house and storing them on CD or the Internet.

It’s a simple way to bolster your bottom line. Call the staff at ClaimTek Systems to discuss how to include this service to your arsenal of opportunities or click the link below.

Click here to see Digistore storage

Running your own business is hard in the best of times. But what about the worst of times? What happens if you get sick or injured and can’t run the business? If someone needs you for awhile? There are many things that can happen. Hey, you might even want to take a vacation.

What happens to your business?

ClaimTek Systems offers Emergency Support Service to help billing centers in such situations. We can handle your business while you’re gone to keep your clients satisfied.

This service is only available to those using our MedOffice and MedOffice Remote software. Give us a call. Help is only a phone call away.

Sometimes you have to switch roles.

Doctors are bleeding money. They may not even know it. They may go in shock upon discovery. But, you can cure them with ClaimTek Systems’ Business Survey.

Offer a free audit to a prospective client. Show him where his billing problems lie from improper coding to inaccurate claims submission. It only takes a few minutes and you’ll prove your worth right then and there.

There are two methods – Procedure Code Analysis (PCA) and Billing Cost Analysis (BCA). The PCA analyzes the doctor’s procedure codes. Our MD Code Review software can do it in minutes and save the practice hundreds of dollars.

The BCA compares the precise cost of the in-house billing operation to the national average. It shows health care providers where to save money while proving the worth of outsourcing billing. You can do this using ClaimTek’s MD Practice Analysis Wizard software.

OK, here’s an exercise to do on a rainy day that won’t break a sweat.

Often, we’re too busy to plan for success. That’s a fatal flaw. You need one hour a week (all at once) to think deep thoughts. Break it into 20-minutes segments and concentrate on these three areas.

1. What is the worst part of the job? I mean, the worst thing you believe is hampering your business. Then what can you really do to stop it? This alone will improve your productivity.

2. Where can you find new clients? Think either location or vocation. Then research 5 companies you can contract in the next week to gain business.

3. What are your technology needs? Is your software up to date? If not, why not? You’re only limiting yourself.

ClaimTek Systems can certainly help you with the software. Give us a call, see what’s new out there.

Not a bad way to spend an hour.

The hardest part of gaining new clients is getting in the door. You ask for 15 minutes, but many health care providers just don’t seem to have time for it.

So you have to offer them something worth their time. An analysis of the doctors’ medical billing that will show your worth.

A Procedure Code Analysis should be performed at least once annually. A typical PCA usually costs medical facilities hundreds of dollars! You can perform the PCA by using ClaimTek Systems’ MD Code Reviewer software.

A Billing Cost Analysis compares the precise cost of the doctor’s in-house billing operation to that of the national average. BCA helps doctors determine where to cut expenses and makes them aware of the savings and benefits of outsourcing their billing to an outside billing service. You perform the BCA by using our dynamic MD Practice Analysis Wizard software.

Show them the money, as they say, and they’ll show it to you.

Medical Economics.com has a great article on how offices and coders should work together to produce a win-win in increasing billables.

I urge you to read it. I urge you to print a copy to give to health care providers. But the key is summarizing the article because few doctors will take the time to read it.

The story essentially says, “Prioritize internal communication. Listen to your team. Provide feedback. Strategize together. “

Amen. It’s all about working together, but it takes two sides to work together. The doctor and his staff need to be on the same page before they can communicate with you. But you don’t want a three-sided conversation. You should attend staff meetings to update everyone on any changes or new trends. Those 20 minutes makes all the difference. You’re seen as a team member, not an outsider.

Medical Economics

It’s Monday so you don’t feel like working. Good thing someone invented coffee.

It’s August so it’s too hot to work. Good thing someone invented air conditioning.

It’s a recession so it seems like there’s no work. Good thing someone invented motivation.

OK, are we done saying we can’t get anything done today and move on to what we can do?

It’s summertime blues part of the year. You want to enjoy the good weather while it lasts and need a break before September returns many to the grind of school for kids.

continue reading "3 things to do today"

No matter how many years and thousands of forms you’ve completed, we all get stumped now and then. The question is where do you go for answers?

Certainly, ClaimTek Systems is always here to help. But let’s say it’s a simple code or something quick you just want to look up online. Do you have sites bookmarked?

MediLexicon is a super site. Medical dictionary, codes and news make it a one-stop shop.

Global RPH is all the abbreviations you ever care to see.

One of the real selling points to gaining a new client is selling yourself as an efficiency expert. You can fix some of their problems, which means saving them money.

The problem is we’ve all seen these guys come in, act important, grab a big fee and leave a bunch of dumb advice.

Like . . . this guy.