| Electronic medical billing makes life easier and | | | | providers instead of local client servers because |
| collections more successful in a medical practice. | | | | IT staff and equipment expenses aren't |
| Questions about medical bills can be answered | | | | necessary. Yet further reasons for choosing |
| before the bill becomes past due because of | | | | application service providers are because of |
| quicker response times. Complicated payment | | | | greater flexibility. The lack of equipment to install |
| procedure for insurance companies will no longer | | | | means the system is faster to implement, and |
| overwhelm a billing office. | | | | the training of necessary personnel can be done |
| The increased productivity in billing can be directly | | | | online. |
| linked to the different kinds of medical billing | | | | Electronic medical billing makes the billing process |
| software. Client server (CS) and application | | | | accurate and less susceptible to penalties. Built-in |
| service providers (ASP) make up two types. | | | | compliance protection prevents electronic billing |
| Management of a client server requires | | | | software from committing fraudulent billing or |
| configuration, back up, restoration, and upgrades | | | | coding practices or issuing duplicate bills. Federal |
| after it is initially installed. In addition it consists of | | | | and state enforcement agencies have brought |
| a central server and terminals linked to a local | | | | legal action against medical billing offices. For this |
| network. For these reasons client servers are | | | | reason the compliance protection feature is crucial |
| usually more expensive. | | | | in the event that a post-payment audit triggers |
| Application service providers assure the latest in | | | | suspicion and causes a penalty to be accessed. |
| technology. The central server is located with the | | | | Proper billing procedures and post payment audits |
| vendor, and data is exchanged via the internet. | | | | are much easier. |
| This minimizes time needed for troubleshooting | | | | Since technology often becomes outdated every |
| and downtime. Electronic medical billing training can | | | | three years the replacement costs of a client |
| also be conducted online. The vendor is | | | | server needs to be considered. There are tax |
| responsible for managing the technology, | | | | advantages to purchasing the client server |
| recovery, restoration, installations, and upgrades. | | | | equipment, but these may be offset by the |
| Post-payment audits by insurance investigators | | | | reduced front end cash flow. An application |
| are less frequent with electronic medical billing. | | | | service provider will charge a monthly service fee, |
| Increased cash flows come with more accurate | | | | but this is small compared to the sizable upfront |
| and easy billing. Cost and productivity savings, | | | | investment needed to purchase a client server. |
| including fewer clerical errors reduced office | | | | Electronic medical billing is a cost effective way to |
| workload, and improved coding come with | | | | increase cash flow and guarantee billing compliance. |
| electronic billing. And electronic billing software | | | | Once you have decided on electronic billing, the |
| offers benefits such as compliance requirements, | | | | next step is to choose which methods best suits |
| financial and work flow controls, and accurate | | | | your office. Both client servers and application |
| procedure coding for patients. | | | | service providers are a great way to get |
| Many medical offices choose application service | | | | electronic billing onto your office. |