As I was scanning the web, like I always do, looking for information on optometric billing, I came across a letter from the Massachussettes Society of Optometrists to its constituent members ( You can view the letter for yourself by clicking here).
This letter was written in 2007 and outlined the basics of the PQRI program for Optometrists, such as yourselves, in order to make it easier to understand the program and also the procedures one should take when submitting claims containing PQRI codes to Medicare. The funny thing about this letter is that the person writing it and the group he or she represents believe that PQRI coding will be the future of billing; and I quote "This process is voluntary through the end of the year. However, in the future, such reporting is expected to be required by all insurers as they each implement pay-for-performance programs. Please become familiar with these billing-and-coding methods now!"
Now, it is not that I don't believe in paying someone based on their performance but can it be speculated that paying a physician, a specialist at that, based on their performance is a slippery slope in terms of the quality of medical care that one receives?
Here is an example of my thought process. As an optometric billier myself, I know that many high volume optometrists are forced to code their claims after the exam and other procedures have been performed, rather during the time that services are being rendered, because it is necessary in order to save time. On average, this process can add 1-2 hours to a normal work day. Now factor in PQRI reporting and you are adding another 30 minutes or so to that entire process.
The added work of PQRI coding forces a physician to have to do one of two things. Either decrease the amount of patients that he sees in a day or decrease the amount of time he spends with each patient. Most physicians are forced to do the latter because adding 5 or so more patients to the work day only incrementally increases the amount of added work at the end of the day but it substantially increases the over all gross profit for the work day. In other words, added requirements raise the cost of healthcare because they inversely affect the quality of healthcare rather increase the quality of healthcare as programs such as PQRI have been intended to do.
I want to be very clear that I AM NOT SAYING THAT OPTOMETRISTS ARE BECOMING GREEDY. In fact, that is not even close to the truth. I am saying, however, that if PQRI reporting is to be the future of optometric billing one should make sure that their patient's quality of care does not suffer as a result. There are many ways to do this and one of the most fantastic is to consider outsourcing your optometric billing functions. Why? Because outsourcing is a low cost alternative to hiring an in house person or persons to perform the same functions. Also, it allows those that are members of your group or practice to focus solely on maintaining a high standard of care and it alleviates the overall workload on what I am sure is an already, much too busy staff. Remember, "Anything that you spend money on to save time saves people, and people time is the most expensive part of any practice".
As for PQRI, if you are an optometrist and you are not participating as of yet, this is the last year you can do so and receive incentive payments in return. For more information, visit the cms website at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/pqri/ and http://www.massoptom.org/images/customer-files/PQRI_Overview.pdf. I am sure your local Optometric Society will have information as well. You can also contact RLR Consulting by clicking here. Any one of these sources can help to steer you in the right direction.
By the way, do you really think PQRI should be the future of Optometric Billing? Post your comments and let the world know what you think!
____________________________________________________________________
Andrew Roy owns and operates RLR Consulting which specializes in Optometric Billing. For more information, please visit their website at: optometricbilling.rlrbillingsolutions.com
opticXpress is an optometric billing company that provides a clearinghouse, billing service and software strictly for optometrists.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Optometric Billing Issues
All over the country we constantly run into optometrists that are concerned with thier billing. The purpose of this post is to entice new visitors to sign up and comment! We want to know what issues you, as optometrists, face every day when it comes to your optometric billing.
Remember, this blog is being monitored by optometrists and optometric billing companies alike, so something you post as an issue in your office just may be resolved by one of the contributing members to this blog.
Happy Posting!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Optometric Billing....How I See It.
We here at RLR Consulting see optometrists as a rather un-represented profession in terms of the amount of software and services designed just for them. For example, if you were to Google the keyword "optometric billing", ther are only three companies in the first 10 listings that are committed solely to the art and practice of optometric billing. Of those three, only one is actually committed to helping the optometric field achieve more independence in terms of the software they can choose or the people they decide to outsource thier billing services too.
Now, one might ask why this is important. Let me ask you a question: If your child has an do take him to your family physician or do you take him to the pediatrician? Most likely, your answer will be. "the pediatrician". Why is this? Because, we tend to place more trust and respect in those that specialize in a service for a particular need. We want to take our child to a doctor that specializes in caring for children because we want our child to have the best care and likewise, an optometrist, or any other physician for that matter, should choose a billing service or software company that specializes in serving optometrists because they stand to offer the best service and have the most knowledge about optometry and the way and optometrist's office functions.
One of the things that I learned early on in my medical billing career was that today too many individuals are going to medical billing and coding schools because they were lured by the promise of fast money and the ability to work from home and be thier own boss. However, once they were enrolled and began learning, they soon realized that it wasn't cheap to attend these schools. Also, they were not really given the ability to specialize in any one field of medical billing. They received an expensive, broad knowledge, quick education but they were not really given the tools that they needed to succeed in thier own business. As a result, too many of these graduates went out and started thier own billing business without knowing just how difficult it was going to be to even get a doctor to agree to give them the responsibility of maintaining thier cash flow, let alone get business to begin with. Consequently, those that were good enough salesmen to sign doctors as clients ended up charging way too much money for a service that is supposed to save the doctor money to begin with. Also, and I have seen this way too often, they were fired or their contracts were canceled within one year after beginning to service the account because they just didn't know squat about billing, let alone the type of doctor they were billing for. Consequently, it has made it that much more difficult to even get business as a medical biller, let alone and optometric biller, because of the bad experiences many doctors have had and shared with their colleagues.
A valuable lesson can and should be learned from this example. IT IS IMPORTANT TO CHOOSE A BILLER BASED ON THIER EXPERIENCE AND TO LOOK FOR SOMEONE WITH KNOWLEDGE OF THE PARTICULAR MEDICAL FIELD THAT YOU, AS A DOCTOR, PRACTICE IN. By doing this and commiting yourself to this idealogy early on, one can reap the benefits of a rewarding relationship with the biller or service that you outsource to. You will be able to communicate with them openly, question thier methods as to why they perform a certain billing function in a particular way, and feel comfortable with the fact that every answer you receive from them comes from a wealth of knowledge that that individual possess based on thier experience in the field.
This brings me back to my original point and the mantra that I live by here in my office. We decided long ago to focus solely on Optometry as our chosen field of billing. Not because it is lucrative or easy but because it is an un-represented field of professionals among the medical billing and practice management realm. Sure there are plenty of people out there that offer billing and management services that CAN BE USED by an optometrist but how many of them have been DESIGNED FOR AN OPTOMETRIST?
If you are an Optometrist reading this, whether it be in a blog, in a journal or in some online article database, you should ask yourself, "Am I receiving the best level of customer service that I can receive from my biller?" "Am I even sure that the person or service I hired and entrusted my cash flow too has the correct knowledge to really even be considered the best for the job?" "Is my practice receiving the best level of care that it can be receiving or should I hire a specialist that knows my needs and my wants and is willing to help me fulfill my desires?"
This is just the business I am in, the career I have chosen, THE WAY I SEE IT, the question remains, is this how you want it to be seen as a professional that I represent?*
______________________________________________________________
Andrew Roy owns and operates RLR Consulting which is a medical billing firm that specializes in Optometric Billing. You can find out more about RLR Consulting by visiting their websites: www.rlrbillingsolutions.com or www.optometricbilling.rlrbillingsolutions.com. You can also subscribe to RLR's blog and news feed to stay current on thing are happening in the billing field and optometric billing field as well.
Now, one might ask why this is important. Let me ask you a question: If your child has an do take him to your family physician or do you take him to the pediatrician? Most likely, your answer will be. "the pediatrician". Why is this? Because, we tend to place more trust and respect in those that specialize in a service for a particular need. We want to take our child to a doctor that specializes in caring for children because we want our child to have the best care and likewise, an optometrist, or any other physician for that matter, should choose a billing service or software company that specializes in serving optometrists because they stand to offer the best service and have the most knowledge about optometry and the way and optometrist's office functions.
One of the things that I learned early on in my medical billing career was that today too many individuals are going to medical billing and coding schools because they were lured by the promise of fast money and the ability to work from home and be thier own boss. However, once they were enrolled and began learning, they soon realized that it wasn't cheap to attend these schools. Also, they were not really given the ability to specialize in any one field of medical billing. They received an expensive, broad knowledge, quick education but they were not really given the tools that they needed to succeed in thier own business. As a result, too many of these graduates went out and started thier own billing business without knowing just how difficult it was going to be to even get a doctor to agree to give them the responsibility of maintaining thier cash flow, let alone get business to begin with. Consequently, those that were good enough salesmen to sign doctors as clients ended up charging way too much money for a service that is supposed to save the doctor money to begin with. Also, and I have seen this way too often, they were fired or their contracts were canceled within one year after beginning to service the account because they just didn't know squat about billing, let alone the type of doctor they were billing for. Consequently, it has made it that much more difficult to even get business as a medical biller, let alone and optometric biller, because of the bad experiences many doctors have had and shared with their colleagues.
A valuable lesson can and should be learned from this example. IT IS IMPORTANT TO CHOOSE A BILLER BASED ON THIER EXPERIENCE AND TO LOOK FOR SOMEONE WITH KNOWLEDGE OF THE PARTICULAR MEDICAL FIELD THAT YOU, AS A DOCTOR, PRACTICE IN. By doing this and commiting yourself to this idealogy early on, one can reap the benefits of a rewarding relationship with the biller or service that you outsource to. You will be able to communicate with them openly, question thier methods as to why they perform a certain billing function in a particular way, and feel comfortable with the fact that every answer you receive from them comes from a wealth of knowledge that that individual possess based on thier experience in the field.
This brings me back to my original point and the mantra that I live by here in my office. We decided long ago to focus solely on Optometry as our chosen field of billing. Not because it is lucrative or easy but because it is an un-represented field of professionals among the medical billing and practice management realm. Sure there are plenty of people out there that offer billing and management services that CAN BE USED by an optometrist but how many of them have been DESIGNED FOR AN OPTOMETRIST?
If you are an Optometrist reading this, whether it be in a blog, in a journal or in some online article database, you should ask yourself, "Am I receiving the best level of customer service that I can receive from my biller?" "Am I even sure that the person or service I hired and entrusted my cash flow too has the correct knowledge to really even be considered the best for the job?" "Is my practice receiving the best level of care that it can be receiving or should I hire a specialist that knows my needs and my wants and is willing to help me fulfill my desires?"
This is just the business I am in, the career I have chosen, THE WAY I SEE IT, the question remains, is this how you want it to be seen as a professional that I represent?*
______________________________________________________________
Andrew Roy owns and operates RLR Consulting which is a medical billing firm that specializes in Optometric Billing. You can find out more about RLR Consulting by visiting their websites: www.rlrbillingsolutions.com or www.optometricbilling.rlrbillingsolutions.com. You can also subscribe to RLR's blog and news feed to stay current on thing are happening in the billing field and optometric billing field as well.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Optometric Billing- What We Are Up Too!
RLR Consulting Announces New
Optometric Billing Website
""RLR Consulting has re-vamped their Optometric Billing Website:Optometric Billing Website
www.optometricbilling.rlrbillingsolutions.com. MORE CHANGES STILL TO COME!""
RLR Consulting, of Vineland, NJ announces today that they have updated their Optometric
Billing website. The updates are part of a new marketing campaign set to begin in June of
2009 aimed at creating brand recognition for their name and new software created
specifically for optometrists and optometric billing professionals.
The official name of this software has not yet been released but all indications are that it will
be released as two separate types of software one for just claim and patient management
and the other will be a full optometric office management solution. Both pieces of software
are guaranteed to be compliant with the government's EMR and EHR guidelines and will be
offered to clients FREE FOR LIFE!
More information about RLR Consulting, their Optometric Billing services and this exciting
new software can be found on their website at www.optometricbilling.rlrbillingsolutions.com
in the coming weeks and months. Also, information about government EMR and EHR
guideline implementation can be found there as well, so be sure to check the website often
for these exciting and important updates!
http://www.optometricbilling.rlrbillingsolutions.com
Welcome!
Hello out there! This is the first official post on the Optometric Billing Spot. It is my intention that this blog become a popular place for interested individuals and corporations to come and voice their opinions and concerns about this field of medical billing. Over time I also hope that this site will become a valuable resource of information concerning anything and everything that relates to the Optometric Billing Field.
First things first though, let me introduce you to myself and my organization.
My name is Andrew Roy and I own and Operate RLR Consulting. I inherited the business from my father after he died in 2005 and continued his time honored tradition of focusing on niche markets in business. Ever since its inception in the early 1990's, RLR Consulting has specialized in Optometric Billing and now, almost 20 years later, we have a website dedicated to optometric billing, a website dedicated to medical billing news, our own software, and this blog! I truly hope that everyone that comes across this will enjoy it and find it useful.
For more information about RLR Consulting and our services, please visit:
The RLR Consulting Medical Billing Home Page and,
The RLR Consulting Optometric Billing Home Page .
And please, don't forget to bookmark this page, subscribe to our feed and contribute to our content as well. We look forward to hearing from you, TODAY AND IN THE FUTURE!
First things first though, let me introduce you to myself and my organization.
My name is Andrew Roy and I own and Operate RLR Consulting. I inherited the business from my father after he died in 2005 and continued his time honored tradition of focusing on niche markets in business. Ever since its inception in the early 1990's, RLR Consulting has specialized in Optometric Billing and now, almost 20 years later, we have a website dedicated to optometric billing, a website dedicated to medical billing news, our own software, and this blog! I truly hope that everyone that comes across this will enjoy it and find it useful.
For more information about RLR Consulting and our services, please visit:
The RLR Consulting Medical Billing Home Page and,
The RLR Consulting Optometric Billing Home Page .
And please, don't forget to bookmark this page, subscribe to our feed and contribute to our content as well. We look forward to hearing from you, TODAY AND IN THE FUTURE!
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