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What are Medical Information
Services?
Medical Information Services for
providers of medical care can no longer
be defined in a single phrase.
Medical
practice management today is complicated
by a number of industry practices, among
them: managed care, third party
regulations and the role of patient
treatment histories. The complexity of
the basic medical practice demands a
comprehensive software system. One that
combines advanced technology with
detailed knowledge of today’s
requirements. A system that provides
management consulting services together
with responsive technical support. All of
this is needed to help practitioners cope
with the ever increasing administrative
and patient management tasks.
Accordingly,
McGrath Group Management provides to its
practices and practitioners, a
comprehensive and integrated medical,
clinical and practice management service
to address the myriad of practice and
billing complexities facing medical
groups today.
Benefits of implementing a medical information system
We
believe that any billing service or
computer system should provide a number
of benefits to a medical practice. The
benefits include (at minimum):
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substantial
reduction in errors in
calculation of charges, totals
and discounts, (getting it right
the first time saves money and
speeds payments); |
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ability
to evaluate participation with
managed care plans, HMOs and PPOs
(without data, how do you know
which plans to stay with?); |
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the
calculation of collection ratios
for monitoring A/R (let’s
you compare your rates to the
national / regional averages); |
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up
to date account aging information
(you need to know how you’ve
done in the past, as well as how
you are doing today); |
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open
item accounting (what you are
being reimbursed for specific
services from specific carriers
is crucial to evaluating what
plans in which to enroll); |
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electronic
claims filing to reduce payment
delays and improve cash flow; |
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patient
recalls for periodic tests for
improving patient care; and, |
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use
of the information in the
computer system to link with the
clinical/patient history
management and decision support
needs of a contemporary medical
practice. |
What to look for in a medical information system
Further,
we anticipate that you are looking at
various options with regard to the
billing and practice management support
needs of your practice. Whether you are
considering outsourcing these services
or, performing these services in-house
with a purchased proprietary computer
system, at minimum full service billing
and technical support should include the
following major components:
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Comprehensive
State-of-the-Art Billing :
All
systems should provide
state-of-the-art billing
capabilities. Basic billing is
limited to tracking charges and
receipts, and is little more than
an accounts receivable system.
However, today's systems should
be capable of managing the
billing cycles business
management, in-office bill
collection, and other tools for
your benefit. |
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Enhanced
Patient Service Capabilities
: In addition to billing, the
system should be used to record
appointments and collect useful
management information regarding
the scope and nature of your
services, etc. The package would
include a number of tools to
survey patient demographics and
transaction activities. Such
systems include user defined data
that can be attached to the
medical records.You should be
able to include such information
on reports and select patients
according to the data items you
have defined for decision and
clinical support needs of the
practice now and in the future. |
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Assist in
Treatment Management :
An extension to the appointment
scheduling is the ability to
track and record the types of
services to be provided as part
of a continuing treatment plan or
periodic requirement.There may be
a number of billing and charge
implications to the service
tracking, as well as, clinical
and service management needs,
etc. For example, patients may
receive a set fee for a number of
services or pay installments
against the charges, etc. Your
system must meet these
requirements as well. |
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Clinical/Patient
History Management :
At some point in time in the
future your system should also
have the capability of
interfacing with systems or be
adjunct to the billing system to
provide patient chart and
conditions record history
management for complete total
quality care management. |
Accordingly,
we would suggest that any medical
information service and practice
management services not only anticipate
what you need now, but should also be
expected to have intimate knowledge
regarding these and future changing
information systems and communications
requirements of any emerging or for any
practice/network in the future.
Any
medical information and support service
company should also provide additional
technical support in other areas of
practice management, as appropriate.In
today's environment in dealing with
managed care and expectations of
patients, the technical support
requirements of your medical information
service company should extend in other
areas and have intimate knowledge of
those areas to provide additional
technical support to you.
We
believe that McGrath Group Management is
more than just a billing service company.
We are a medical information service
company that understands not only the
billing and information systems needs,
but, the emerging and existing practice
management needs of your practitioners
and practices, as well.
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