Embracing Healthy Longevity
Healthy longevity isn’t just a buzzword anymore; it’s a national focus backed by significant investments and collaborations across various sectors. With organizations like the National Academy of Sciences, AARP, and government agencies rallying behind the cause, the pursuit of a thriving, extended lifespan is gaining momentum. Recently, I had the privilege of sitting down with Dr. Eric Plasker, a prominent figure in the world of chiropractic care and longevity, to discuss the latest venture in promoting healthy longevity through a collaborative effort with Life University and Genesis. A Collaboration for Change: Dr. Plasker kicks off our conversation by highlighting the collaborative effort between the 100 Year Lifestyle and Life University, presenting a new seminar titled “Healthy Longevity and Chiropractic: From Birth to 100 Years and Beyond.” This seminar aims to delve into the importance of chiropractic care throughout all stages of life and how it contributes to healthy longevity. With a blend of informative sessions and practical implementation strategies, the seminar promises to empower chiropractors to lead the healthy longevity movement in their communities. Stories of Transformation: Throughout our discussion, Dr. Plasker shares compelling stories of individuals whose lives have been transformed through chiropractic care and lifestyle interventions. From a 60-year-old soccer player winning national championships to uncovering the root causes of health issues dating back to birth, these stories underscore the profound impact of proactive healthcare practices on longevity and well-being. Business Perspectives: Beyond the realm of healthcare, our conversation extends to the business side of promoting healthy longevity. Dr. Plasker emphasizes the importance of building lifetime relationships with patients and leveraging modern tools like Genesis software to streamline practice management. This collaboration isn’t just about delivering healthcare; it’s about amplifying the profession’s impact through purpose-driven partnerships. Authentic Collaboration for Impact: What sets this collaboration apart is its authenticity and shared vision for empowering individuals to live vibrant, fulfilling lives at every age. Dr. Plasker and I discuss the significance of aligning values and collaborating with like-minded partners to drive meaningful change. It’s not just about promoting services; it’s about fostering genuine connections and creating lasting impact in communities. Looking Ahead: As we wrap up our conversation, Dr. Plasker invites chiropractors and healthcare professionals to join the upcoming seminar in May, promising a transformative experience that will reshape both their practices and perspectives. With a focus on touching, moving, and inspiring participants, this seminar represents a pivotal moment in the journey towards healthy longevity and holistic well-being. Conclusion: The pursuit of healthy longevity is a collective endeavor that transcends individual disciplines and institutions. Through authentic collaboration, purpose-driven partnerships, and a commitment to lifelong well-being, we can pave the way for a future where every individual has the opportunity to thrive, from birth to 100 years and beyond. Join us on this journey towards a healthier, more vibrant world. Watch the full episode here.
WebExercises and Remote Therapeutic Monitoring
Welcome back, Genesis Nation! Today, we’re diving into a game-changing integration that is transforming the landscape of chiropractic care. We have the pleasure of hosting Dr. David Cruz, the mastermind behind Web Exercises, a platform designed to seamlessly integrate exercise prescription with chiropractic care. But that’s not all; we’re also exploring the exciting world of Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM), a potential game-changer for chiropractors seeking to validate and bill for their services remotely. The Birth of WebExercises: In our conversation with Dr. Cruz, we learned about the genesis of Web Exercises. It all started 15-16 years ago when Dr. Cruz, a self-proclaimed movement geek, recognized the powerful synergy between chiropractic care and exercise. The challenge was to find a way to engage patients beyond the confines of the chiropractic office. Enter Web Exercises – a platform that allows healthcare providers, including chiropractors, to create, send, and remotely monitor personalized exercise programs for their patients. The Integration with Genesis: The beauty of Web Exercises lies in its seamless integration with Genesis chiropractic software. Dr. Cruz demonstrated how chiropractors can effortlessly access and incorporate exercise programs into their patient documentation. With just a few clicks, exercises tailored to a patient’s specific needs and conditions can be added to their profile, ensuring continuity of care beyond the chiropractic office. Creating Tailored Exercise Programs: Dr. Cruz showcased the user-friendly interface of Web Exercises, making it easy for chiropractors to create personalized exercise programs. Whether addressing low back pain, neck issues, or postural concerns, the platform offers an extensive library of exercises searchable by keywords, body regions, equipment, and more. Additionally, pre-built protocols and evidence-based exercise recommendations further streamline the process. The Chiropractic Mirror Image Library: For chiropractors utilizing Chiropractic BioPhysics (CBP) or those seeking mirror image exercises, Web Exercises offers a specialized library. This feature enables chiropractors to choose exercises that align with CBP principles, ensuring a comprehensive approach to patient care. Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM): Dr. Cruz provided a sneak peek into the evolving landscape of Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM). This emerging trend allows healthcare providers, including chiropractors, to bill for creating, sending, and remotely monitoring patients’ musculoskeletal information. While the field is still navigating regulatory nuances, early signs indicate that RTM could become an industry standard, allowing chiropractors to be reimbursed for the valuable services they provide remotely. Conclusion: Our discussion with Dr. Cruz has shed light on the impactful intersection of chiropractic care and exercise prescription. Web Exercises, coupled with the potential of Remote Therapeutic Monitoring, opens new doors for chiropractors to enhance patient outcomes and streamline their practices. As we continue to explore the evolving landscape of healthcare, innovations like Web Exercises are paving the way for a future where movement truly matters in holistic patient care. Stay tuned for more updates and insights from Genesis Nation! Watch the full epsiode at https://bit.ly/48Qango
Straight-Through Billing
Medical billing complexity and massive volumes of daily claims render manual claims processes incapable of protecting both the provider and the payer from underpayments, overpayments, and billing compliance violations. Straight-Through Billing (STB) addresses complexity and volume processing problems by automating the majority of the claim flow and focusing the billing follow-up specialists on exceptions only. An STB process flags problems routes them for follow-up and enables online correction and resubmission. The STB methodology implements billing service transparency and focuses management on strategic process improvement opportunities. Straight-Through Billing integrates the billing process into the practice management workflow, automates the vast majority of transactions, focuses manual labor on exceptions, and establishes a process for continuous improvement. Remember: Straight-Through Billing offers a comprehensive approach to improving the billing process, integrating various components, and promoting continuous improvement. Practice Management Integration First, integrated practice management and billing workflow connects patient scheduling, medical record management, and billing into a single process. Every participant in the practice management workflow receives a unified and coherent picture of the practice workload, patient and provider location, resource availability, and cash flow. However, integrated with Electronic Health Records, practice management systems are more beneficial. Electronic health records (EHR) are digital formats of a patient’s chart. They contain all the information about a patient’s health. This includes medical history, allergies, immunizations, previous treatments, medication history, past diagnoses, history of substance abuse (if any), and so forth (Shah, 2021). Transaction Automation Transaction automation streamlines and expedites the billing process by automating claim validation, payer message reconciliation, and billing workflow management: Automated claim validation eliminates errors downstream and reduces processing time because it flags errors before submitting the claim to the payer. Automated claim message reconciliation eliminates the costly search for the original claim and standardizes message communication, eliminating the need to decipher the (often cryptic) payer’s message. Automated billing workflow management drives the follow-up discipline required for the resolution of claim denial and underpayment incidents, and it establishes a high degree of process transparency for all billing process participants, resulting in full and timely payments. Automated billing increases the net collection rate due to quick claim turnaround and efficient follow-up. Respond to your denials within 5-21 business days of receiving them, using our Daily Denial Email Alerts (Qureshi, 2022). Focus on Exceptions Focusing manual labor on exceptions requires timely exception identification, routing to follow-up personnel, online error correction, and rigorous follow-up tracking. Again, process transparency enables tracking exception follow-up as implemented in ClinicMind-like systems. Another significant benefit of automated medical billing is the ability to track and analyze financial data. With this, healthcare facilities can monitor their revenue cycles, identify growth opportunities, and generate detailed financial reports (Polo, 2023). Continuous Process Improvement Finally, a process for continuous improvement requires continuous observability of every process attribute and a modification methodology for both automated claim processing and manual exception follow-up tracking. Straight-Through Billing implements billing transparency by design because billing transparency is an integral attribute of every component of the STB process. It also enables businesses to streamline their billing operations, reduce errors, enhance efficiencies, and improve the customer experience (Ward, 2023). Straight-Through Billing Architecture The Straight-Through Billing systems architecture mirrors the architecture of general Straight-Through Processing (STP) systems developed for the financial services industry. Such systems require effective workflow management, a knowledge-based validation system, connectivity to all process participants (including online data reconciliation), and tracking of problem resolution. Therefore, a typical ClinicMind-like STB system has a three-tiered architecture: Back-end processing engine designed for a high-volume transaction processing environment Middle tier, using Java Servlet technology Front end, using an HTML-JavaScript, zero-footprint client Did You Know? The STB architecture is inspired by the systems used in the financial services industry, showcasing the transferability of advanced processing concepts across different domains. An STB system (e.g., ClinicMind) based on the methodology outlined here implements rich functionality, which allows the following to be automated: Computer-aided preferential patient scheduling Integrated electronic medical records Online computer-aided coding Real-time claim validation and patient eligibility testing Electronic claim submission Payment posting, reconciliation, and verification of meeting contractual obligations Monitoring of audit risk and billing compliance Tracking of denial appeal process Quantitative STB Management Straight-Through Billing methodology allows for quantitative management since the likelihood of the entire process failing can be estimated as the product of such items for each individual workflow step. A ClinicMind-like STB system tracks the percentage of clean claims (claims paid in full, and within the allocated time frame, without any manual intervention) and focuses the management on those process aspects that yield the greatest potential improvement. Thus, STB methodology focuses on exceptions at both the tactical and strategic management levels and can help to improve cash flow and reduce outstanding invoices by providing real-time visibility into billing and payment status (Mielnicki, 2022). Modern Insights and Research In the ever-evolving field of medical billing, staying ahead of the curve is crucial for achieving financial excellence in the healthcare industry. Let’s embark on an exhilarating journey into the future of medical billing, where the convergence of electronic health records (EHRs), artificial intelligence (AI), real-time analytics, and collaborative efforts reshapes the revenue cycle landscape. Brace yourself for a transformative exploration that revolutionizes processes, enhances data accuracy, maximizes financial outcomes, and ushers in an era of unparalleled efficiency and effectiveness in the dynamic realm of medical billing. 1- Role of Blockchain Technology in Billing Systems The seamless integration of electronic health records (EHRs) and billing systems is revolutionizing the field of medical billing. Gone are the days of fragmented medical records scattered across various healthcare organizations. With blockchain at the helm, a distributed EHR ecosystem emerges, ensuring a smooth flow of information between providers. By eliminating manual data entry and ensuring accurate documentation, this innovative technology guarantees accurate and secure documentation, eliminating errors and speeding up reimbursement processes (Cerchione et al., 2022). But that’s not all. Blockchain brings an unparalleled level of data integrity and security, employing cryptographic techniques to safeguard patient information from prying eyes.
No-Show Risk Management
When patients miss appointments, they interrupt the flow of patient care, impede clinic productivity, and signal an eroding patient loyalty. The rate of no-shows runs at 30% for the average family practice. A missed appointment amounts to missed billing revenue. Worse, if clinicians are part-time or full-time staff rather than contracted, they sit idle on the company clock, losing money with each passing minute. Finally, a missed appointment could be a symptom of a deserting patient, signaling a potential loss of long-term billing revenue. Most clinics lose an average of 20% of their revenue due to missed appointments. Lost revenue may not be the largest problem caused by no-shows. Other problems span health damage, patient liability risks, reduced accessibility, and impeded resident education. Rigorous no-show management methods using advanced technologies integrate scheduling and billing data, reduce no-show rates, and improve associated revenues by more than 50%. They also mention the comparable improvement of long-term patient loyalty (Hashim et al., 2001). No-Show Impact on the Clinic Figure 1. No-Show Impact (Hayhurst, AthenaHealth) A missed appointment poses five kinds of problems: Health damage – A patient’s health can be damaged due to interrupted continuity of care or a missed opportunity to solve an acute health problem. The doctor also loses an opportunity for a timely review of patient health, treatment progress, etc. Liability risk – A patient who misses an appointment and suffers an injury may have a viable cause for a lawsuit against the practice. To avoid such risk, the doctor must maintain evidence of giving clear directions and making reasonable efforts to ensure the patient’s compliance with the care program, including keeping follow-up appointments. Reduced accessibility – Other patients are postponed and don’t get access to care because of a no-show or canceled appointment. Impedance to medical education – A resident or intern misses an opportunity to learn and improve care skills. Loss of revenue – The clinic cannot make up revenue due to missed appointments. A financial impact arises from wasted resources, such as staff time, equipment, and facility utilization, that were allocated for the no-show patient. No-Show Frequency Distribution No-show rates average about 20%: 10% of clinics have less than 10% no-shows, 42% of clinics have 10%–20%, 34% of clinics have 20%–30%, and 14% of clinics have more than 30% no-shows (Izard, 2005). Further, the top 10 clinics regarding the lowest no-show rates range from 3%–9% for no-shows, while the bottom ten clinics reach 33%–57% (Moore et al. 2001). Common reasons behind No-show Forgetfulness: Patients may simply forget about their appointments due to a busy schedule, lack of reminder systems, or cognitive factors. Transportation issues: Lack of transportation or difficulty accessing reliable transportation can prevent patients from attending appointments. Fear or anxiety: Some patients may experience fear or anxiety related to medical procedures, test results, or hospital settings, leading them to avoid or cancel their appointments. Financial constraints: Financial limitations, such as the inability to afford healthcare services or medications, may result in patients skipping or postponing appointments. Illness or emergencies: Patients may have unexpected illnesses or emergencies that prevent them from attending their scheduled appointments. Lack of awareness or understanding: Patients may not fully comprehend the importance of their appointments or the consequences of missing them, particularly for follow-up care or chronic conditions. Language and cultural barriers: Language barriers or cultural differences can impede effective communication and understanding, leading to missed appointments. Long waiting times: Lengthy wait times at hospitals can discourage patients from attending appointments, particularly if they have competing priorities or other time constraints. Stigma or fear of judgment: Patients with certain medical conditions or mental health issues may experience stigma or fear of judgment, causing them to avoid seeking care or attending appointments. Personal or work-related conflicts: Conflicts arising from personal commitments, work schedules, or other obligations may interfere with appointment attendance (Marbouh et al., 2020). The image below shows common reasons for missed appointments (Saif et al., 2018). According to a study, among all patients, those who never have a no-show appointment have an attrition rate of slightly less than 19 percent. In contrast, almost 32 percent of patients with one or more no-shows do not return to the same practice within 18 months (Hayhurst, AthenaHealth). Three-Phase No-Show Management Strategy An effective no-show management strategy is based on tracking, rescheduling, and follow-up: Tracking Record all no-shows and reconcile them with billing daily. Record no-show reasons and follow-up notes in patient records. Review end-of-day reports daily. Rescheduling in real-time Allow patients to request appointments online using the Internet Overbook and use waiting lists. Fill new openings with walk-ins or patients from the waiting list. Follow-up Activate a sequence of reminder calls/emails to all patients ten days, two days, and one day before their appointments. Place follow-up calls to determine reasons for no-shows and reschedule the patients. Reminder calls for upcoming appointments and follow-up calls on recent no-shows are effective strategies for billing revenue protection because they reduce the number of no-shows and help early identification of incipient patient attrition and other patient-related problems (Hashim et al., 2001). Follow up with warning letters after one no-show. Dismiss patients from the practice after three no-shows. Reminder calls or emails before an appointment remains the most effective method to prevent missed appointments. Additionally, sending reminders via email and allowing patients to confirm online turns an office reminder into a patient’s action item, significantly outperforming the impact of a voice message or postcard. While recognizing the benefits of reminder calls, busy practice owners often neglect or postpone reminder and follow-up calls because of other office management priorities, such as personnel issues or billing. As with any other management initiative, a reminder call strategy must be implemented systematically and consistently to get results. Note that outsourcing reminder calls to calling services and using the Internet reduce the cost of reminders. Therefore, reaching all patients before their appointments makes good business sense. Ways to reduce No-shows Automation of appointment reminders: Implementing automated appointment reminders can significantly reduce