Greetings DCs!

Summer is here and a slowing economy is affecting almost everyone.  During a slower period we tend to worry about cash flow, making payroll and how we are going to pay the bills. Now more than ever you need to be doing the free marketing events. Visit the Chamber of Commerce meetings, other networking breakfasts, lunches. Be the race doctor, or local sports event such as boxing, etc. Get out there and get more new patients without dropping the cash on expensive marketing!

Now is a great time to deal with business planning. How can we do better in the next 12 months. Kathy helps us explain one way below with unbilled services. Of course if you start billing more, you need to back it up with documentation. We are always willing to help on the patient notes side of things.

Please contact us anytime at: info@quick-charts.com.

Have a great June!

Thank you!

Midwest Software

In this month’s issue you will find:

Giving it Away….What Services Should You Be Billing, But Aren’t?

             Article by Kathy Mills Chang

There is a fine line that exists between the charity of giving and the lack of value placed on your services.  In this day of limited or lack of insurance coverage for more and more of our services, we certainly have to think more about it now than ever before.  However, in my years of service in this chiropractic industry, the one truth that resonates most loudly in my ears is:  “What patients pay for, they value.  What they get for free, they’ll take for granted, and then demand as a right”. 

As I talk to doctors around the country in seminar and one on one, I find that the biggest concern is how to blend proper and accurate coding with affordability for the patient.  Doctors want to code and document correctly.  But the biggest deficiency I find when auditing charts is that the services rendered and documented in the daily notes are not congruent with the codes chosen for that day.  Everything must jive, from the proper diagnosis to the correct linking of the procedure code to the diagnosis code. And for those patients who are uninsured or underinsured, check out a great cash discount network, like HealthNet USA. It’s the best way to go.

These are three examples of codes that many doctors are performing and not charging for. 

1)       Extra spinal manipulation, 98943

When the Chiropractic Manipulative Treatment (CMT) codes were implemented in 1997, four codes entered into our world.  The coding authorities that created these codes felt it was important that spinal manipulation was not the only service represented in chiropractic coding.  Extra spinal manipulation was also  introduced and  includes five regions:   

1.          Head:  includes head and TMJ but not the atlanto-occipital joint
2.          Lower extremities: includes the hip, leg, knee, ankle, and foot
3.         Upper extremities: includes the shoulder, arm, elbow, wrist, and hand.
4.         Rib cage: anterior ribs, including the costosternal junction
5.         Abdomen
   

When performed on the same date as a manipulation, there are some companies that still require the -51 modifier to indicate that it’s been performed along with the spinal adjustment.  There is a work value crossover since the spinal and extra spinal manipulations are in the same code family.

For entire article please click here

Miracles Account Management

Software Solutions to Help Manage Your Practice

Miracles Account Management (established in 1994) is located in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Specializing in providing medical business office software, our goal is to help clinics become as efficient as possible.  A proud reseller of Medisoft Practice Management Software, ChiroQuick Charts (Soapnotes), Physician EMR, and Zirmed Electronic Claims Solutions; Miracles currently serves 800 practices in the USA and continues to grow each year.  

As a company, Miracles is built around the idea that support is a key ingredient in the success of software products.  Whether an office is transitioning from old to new software or making more minor adjustments to stay up-to-date with critical changes in the medical billing industry, our team of specialists can guide an office through the selection process with ease.  In addition, we offer exclusive value-added support packages that are customizable based on both the complexity of a software purchase and the medical practice size. 

Key value objects for Miracles include:

•             Guidance to the right software for a practice
•             Excellent pricing on all products and services
•             Reliable technical support
•             Exclusive value-added technical support packages
•             Outstanding customer service

By always putting the customer’s needs first, we help medical offices achieve their goals in financial management, administrative support, strategic planning and patient information management.

To learn more about Miracles software products and support options e-mail John at john@medicalaccountmanagement.com, visit us at www.miraclessoftware.com or call toll-free 877-252-2949.

Listen For Success  by Perry Nickelston, DC

Dale Carnegie, author of How to Win Friends and Influence People, wrote, “You can make more friends in two weeks by becoming a good listener than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.”

Carnegie recognized that people who are self-absorbed and talk about themselves all the time rarely develop strong relationships with others. Your success as a doctor, business person, and entrepreneur depends on your ability to establish relationships. It is essential you understand the importance of listening and develop this skill to maximize the impact of your communication style.

Successful people understand the value of becoming a good listener. To be a good listener, you have to want to hear. But you also need some skills to help you.

There are five strategies to help you become a better listener.

For the full article, please visit Chiro Economics.

www.quick-charts.com