Meaningful Use Timeline
A brief definition for meaningful use in the context of current CMS guidelines and incentives might be to say meaningful use is the tool providers use to demonstrate their adoption of EHR technology. For eligible providers who might purchase and use our complete certified EHR product (Vālant Premium Psychiatric Suite 4), an understanding of the timelines involved for meaningful use can help inform the decision making processes for buying and implementing an EMR/EHR.
Outsourcing your medical billing
The decision of how to manage your practice's medical billing is a significant one, with many factors to consider. This helpful article, published by Software Advice, discusses the pros and cons of outsourcing a practice's medical billing versus keeping it in-house. The article compares the costs of both approaches, as well as the qualitative factors of each.
Choosing an EMR
So you have made the decision to join the wonderful world of electronic medical records (EMRs), also known as electronic health records (EHRs). Great! Now the question is how to go about choosing the right EMR for your psychiatric practice. To point you in the right direction, we have outlined five of the most important factors to consider when picking out a psychiatric EMR.
Billing BlueCross BlueShield
If you are a mental health provider practicing in Wisconsin and you are contracted with BlueCross BlueShield (BCBS), what do you do when and a patient walks into your office with their BCBS of Texas insurance card? Are you considered “in-network,” “contracted,” “participating,” or any other term that means the patient has chosen a doctor their insurance will recognize? If you bill their insurance, do you have to accept the allowed amount? Can you still send your insurance claims to the same BCBS office in Wisconsin that you always use?
E&M Codes Revisited
Here at Vālant, we frequently encounter the question, “Can I bill my services using an E&M code?” And here’s the short answer - If you are providing a service to your patient that is a medical evaluation, yes you can. The key to using E&M codes, regardless of your specialty, is documentation of your services. As the insurance industry likes to say, “If it’s not documented, it didn’t happen.” This mantra applies whether you’re considering guidelines from CMS, or private insurers. And so begins the long answer.
Q&A with Dr. David Lischner
I recently sat down with Dr. David Lischner, CEO of Vālant Medical Solutions, for a brief Q&A to learn more about the company. In that interview, I learned about his deep commitment to behavioral health care practitioners, Vālant’s unique personnel and support model, and its plans for the upcoming release of its certified Premium Psychiatric Suite.
ePrescribing 101
There is plenty of talk about ePrescribing these days, but do you feel informed? To kick off our blog, we thought we would bring you a simple, straightforward overview of electronic prescribing - including its benefits and financial incentives, and options you have should you choose this paperless route.
Best Practices for Mental Health Billing
Understanding the behavioral health billing process can be a daunting task. We have created the following guide as a best practices framework for psychiatrists and other mental health professionals. While this may go without saying, we will say it anyway: first and foremost, be knowledgeable of your state's laws and regulations regarding medical billing. Now, for the good stuff...
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