subject: Hipaa Compliant Medical Billing And Coding For The Healthcare Industry [print this page] With HIPAA compliant medical billing and coding services designed for the healthcare industry, medical professionals can submit medical bills and insurance claims at the right time and accurately, and in this manner, improve profitability. These services considerably reduce the managerial tasks of medical practitioners, saving time and effort, and enhancing productivity.
Besides maximizing reimbursements, 100% HIPAA compliant medical coding and billing services significantly reduce back office expenses. Practices can focus on treating their patients without being bogged down by tedious billing and claim processing procedures. The various benefits that HIPAA complaint medical billing services and medical coding services offer include:
Greater data confidentiality and security
Reduced chances of claim denial
Secure data storage and access facility with periodic data backup
Rapid turnaround time
Minimum paperwork in your practice
Regular technical evaluation and constant support
HIPAA was established in the year 1996 with the intention to enhance the portability and continuity of health insurance coverage, minimize expenses through improved efficiency, allow easy interchange of electronic data and ensure the privacy of personal health records. Medical billing and coding processes that do not adhere to security norms can be subject to penalties that vary from criminal prosecution by means of civil monetary penalties and omissions from the clinical programs.
At present, there is a wide range of eminent medical coding and billing service providers with state-of-art technology solutions to help organizations adhere to HIPAA norms. To ensure HIPAA compliance, the medical billing company has a pool of professionals to monitor and execute safety measures to protect against the unlawful disclosure of patient health information when it is transferred via the Internet.
Wide range of safety measures
To protect patient data from unauthorized access, HIPAA encourages the use of electronic processing and data transfer via router or modem. To ensure the security and privacy of patient medical records, medical billing companies have secure computers with features such as:
Firewall and antivirus software, which are updated on a daily basis
24 X 7 security personnel
File encryption software
Computers are password protected
Password protected email and FTP sites
Passwords to start Windows
Follows a system of random checking on a regular basis
Entire workforce is trained to maintain privacy, confidentiality and security
Minimum 128-bit encryption for all transferred files
No personnel are allowed to bring in any floppies, any electronic devices including laptops, PDA.
External drives such as floppy disk drives and USB ports are disabled to prevent illegal copying of documents
Comprehensive medical billing services include patient scheduling and reminders, patient enrollment (demographics and charges), insurance enrollment (for physicians and offices), insurance verification, insurance authorizations, coding and audits, billing and reconciling of accounts (payment posting), account analysis and denial management, AR management (insurance and patient) and financial management reporting. Similarly medical coding services include hospital / in-patient coding, emergency room e-code evaluation, medical coding audits, DRG/ICD-9-CM coding validations, CPT medical coding and more.
Security issues are very important when it comes to patient information, so find an experienced HIPAA compliant medical billing and coding company that provides quality service.
