It just so happens one impacts the other.
The following Power Your Practice article explains the tie:
Though electronic medical record software has helped practices streamline workflows, automate healthcare revenue cycle processes, and better manage patient care, health IT systems cannot revolutionize the healthcare industry on their own. Medical professionals must also make a greater effort to engage patients and make them more active participants in their health.
The reason this is important is that patient engagement is proven to reduce costs and improve quality of care – both of which will benefit your [orthopedic surgery] healthcare revenue cycle in the long-term. Here’s how:
Empowered patients are more likely to follow treatment plans than those who are apathetic – and patients who do so tend to get better faster. Patients who fail to adhere to their specified treatment plans, on the other hand, have a higher likelihood of being readmitted to due to infections and other complications. This can end up costing your practice more money or result in a delay in payment, as the care costs might not be covered by the patient’s insurance.
In order to improve care, healthcare organizations can also provide:
Educational resources: Practices can make materials available online through an online portal, for example, or physicians can send email newsletters to patients with pertinent information. These resources help make patients more aware of their health condition and educate them on how to treat it. Both are low cost solutions that can increase awareness and reduce readmissions.
Self-service options: Making check-in kiosks available in the waiting room can significantly benefit patient engagement, as it gives patients a more participatory role in the healthcare process. Check-in kiosks also allow patients to view their billing statements and make payments. This makes it easier for patients to pay their bills and also frees up staff for other tasks.
The above recommendations from Power Your Practice will help, but gaining alignment for the total health of your orthopedic surgery practice also is integrally tied to your orthopedic surgery revenue cycle management. To fully manage costs and increase levels of reimbursement requires special expertise in orthopedic surgery coding, billing, collections.
revMD.com is respected as the industry insider, with a unique niche specialization that recovers every dollar due and builds profitable Orthopedic Surgery practices. Coders are dedicated to accuracy, quality control and have an advanced focus on legal compliance.
revMD.com’s proven results in Orthopedic Surgery medical coding, billing and collections includes greater levels of reimbursement for in-office joint injections and supplies, fracture care and splint/cast applications and supplies. revMD.com has special expertise in Complex NCCI edits and anatomical modifiers, unleashing your practice’s true revenue potential.
revMD.com is the results-proven alternative for healthcare revenue cycle management, with a niche specialization in Orthopedic Surgery medical coding and billing that generates unprecedented results and builds profitable medical practices. Leveraging a history of industry wide success spanning 25 years, revMD.com partners with medical practices throughout the U.S. to optimize revenue for hospital based and practice based physicians. For more information, visit www.revmd.com.
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