Those of us who work in medicine all know this classic adage: “If you didn’t write it down, it never happened.” We typically think about this as it relates to documentation of care in the medical record, but it can apply to charge capture too.
Charge capture software solutions offer a way to not only “write down” charges, but to reference and reconcile them later. I’d be lying if I told you that this is a particularly exciting topic, but like most good business processes, reconciliation is essential (and will ultimately improve your practice’s bottom line).
For providers seeing patients in the hospital, days can be a blur. Factor in multiple facilities and transferring calls, and things get even more complicated. If your practice is only tracking charges on paper, providers need to record the charges at the bedside (or after they’re done seeing patients – and that’s if they remember everyone they saw). Then, those pieces of paper need to get turned into the billing department.
This process leaves a number of gaps.
- What if a patient or a charge is forgotten?
- What if the piece of paper gets lost between the hospital and the car?
- What if the provider forgets to turn the paperwork in or just doesn’t get around to it?
- What if the handwriting is illegible?
- What if the charges go missing from the billing office?
- What if the provider needs to reconcile the work done in the hospital?
You see what I mean. One of the major keys to eliminating gaps? Reconciliation. Here are four ways that charge capture software solutions support reconciliation:
Provider Insight
Providers should have a quick and easy way to ensure that they’ve entered all the necessary charges at the end of the day. Ideally, they can do so with one glace at a patient list. This helps prevent missed charges right in the moment. More broadly, providers should also have an easy way to access their productivity for a specified period of time. They did the work. They should have access to the data.
Productivity Tracking
From the administrative side, administrators should have easy ways to keep track of charges and provider productivity so that they can alert the team when something is missing and solve the problem right away. The best charge capture solutions feature real-time, interactive reporting features and dashboards for simple monitoring.
Charge Transfer Reconciliation
Charges got submitted… but did they make it to the practice management or billing software? Even in the age of software interfaces and automatic transfers, things can get lost. Having a way to reconcile what was submitted with what was actually billed for is essential.
Trend Tracking
Finally, having a charge capture solution that works the same way across multiple systems of care allows for an easy way to track trends in things like high-risk diagnoses, procedures performed, and even readmissions.
This can help your practice plan proactively. Seeing an increase in readmissions of patients with diabetic foot ulcers? Perhaps it’s time to add some wound care services in the clinic. Emergency procedure rates increasing? Might be time to think about hiring another physician. Good charge capture solutions allow you to retrieve this data in real time, so your practice has the information to pivot when needed.
HybridChart EVOLVE is a complete rounding solution that includes intuitive, easy-to-use charge capture and charge reconciliation features, like interactive reports and dashboards. Visit our charge capture page today to learn more. If you like what you see, you can even get started today using our Jump Right In™ trial program.
Meet EVOLVE by HybridChart – Our fourth generation software platform.
Take control of your entire workflow through a user-friendly solution created by a physician. Medical software too often fails to address the specific needs of providers. Rounding at one or more hospitals presents a unique challenge. There is the need for effective team collaboration and easy charge capture. Census management means true collaboration among provider and staff. Rounding at multiple facilities just got way easier.
Covering on-call now has the luxury of essential information for clean hand-offs.Charge capture takes less than five seconds. Diagnoses are easy to find and follow the patient. Customized charge menus make it easy to enter the correct charge. Don’t let billing for your work slow you down. Charge in real-time and focus on caring for the patient.
HybridChart has numerous levels of safeguards against missed charges. The Charge Checker feature will scan every day of an admission and assure there are charges. Using the Charge Matrix you have visibility of all charges from multiple providers per day for any given patient.
Most practices see a revenue increase of 8-10% after using HybridChart – attributed to capturing every charge for every patient. Charges are complex enough with just the diagnosis codes and charge codes. To make your charges accurate HybridChart allows you to easily adjust the Date of Service and assign Secondary Billers such as nurse-practitioners and physician assistants. Modifiers can be built into specific Billing Modules or choose from a customized list managed by your practice. Seamlessly navigate our Charge Capture workflow and save time without losing accuracy.
An automated charge capture system may be the most profitable investment that you can make in your practice today.
You can instantly boost your revenue by 10% using our modern, high-tech and easy-to-implement charge capture system.
Smarter Rounding and Workflow Software for Doctors
At HybridChart, we provide technology that connects your healthcare team, increases efficiencies, AND improves your bottom line. HybridChart’s cloud-based software adapts to your practice’s unique workflow and will improve your profitability and patient outcomes by utilizing our 5 features:census management, charge capture, secure messaging, discharge management, and data analytics.
NEVER miss another charge and get PAID for the work you do!
If you are interested in taking your medical practice to the next level and want to employ the best hospital charge capture practice available in the industry, come visit our website at www.hybridchart.com, or call us at 1-877-684-0608 for a demo today!
