Electronic Health Records (EHRs) have revolutionized healthcare documentation, promising efficiency, improved patient care, and streamlined billing. However, in recent years, many healthcare providers have voiced a significant concern: EHR documentation focused on billing has become too prevalent, often at the expense of clinical care. This shift toward reimbursement-centric documentation has led to clinician burnout, reduced […]
In the healthcare revenue cycle, denials are inevitable — but how you manage them makes all the difference. A common discussion in this space centers around Denial Prevention vs. Denial Facilitation, two strategies that, while they may sound similar, have distinct purposes and outcomes. Understanding and effectively applying both can drastically improve your practice’s cash […]
Claim denials are a significant headache for healthcare providers, impacting revenue and administrative efficiency. While denials can stem from various issues, a large majority are rooted in documentation errors, particularly those related to demonstrating medical necessity. Defining Medical Necessity: The American Medical Association (AMA) defines medical necessity as healthcare services or products provided to a […]
Providers and coders should work together to maximize reimbursement by ensuring accurate coding, which is validated by thorough medical documentation. By focusing on ways to improve medical documentation for better reimbursement, providers can enhance patient care and ensure accurate reimbursement. Here are five ways to improve documentation, patient care, and reimbursement: 1. Avoid EHR Shortcuts […]
According to a research letter published in top journal, the attempt by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to alleviate the EHR documentation burden on physicians has not yielded the anticipated outcomes. At the beginning of 2021, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) revised the evaluation and management (E/M) coding requirements for outpatient […]
Five tips to ensure better documentation and, along with it, better patient care and improved reimbursement. Providers and coders need a cooperative relationship, working toward a common goal of complete coding and positive reimbursement results, as supported by medical documentation. Here are five tips to ensure better documentation and, along with it, better patient care […]