In This Issue:                                                                                                                   March 2007 

---

Reports of the Month

Each month Rock-Solid Intelligence features a report from Home Infusion Reports that give you critical business information from the data you already have.  

   

A/R Aging with Patient and Invoice Counts

 

Most aging reports focus on dollars and dates.  Often to fine tune and balance your reimbursement staff, you also need to know the number of invoices and patients your staff is dealing with.  The collection process to follow up on 200 $200 invoices from 125 patients is much different than following up on 4 $10,000 invoices.  If we are not careful, our collections staff can get into a tailspin trying to keep up.  When this happens, they often start and end the day feeling like the workload is insurmountable.  To improve staff productivity and balance their workload, manage your A/R by dollars, date and invoice and patient counts by payer type.

Sample A/R Aging with Patient and Invoice Counts

A/R Aging showing Credit Balances by Invoice

Another condition in your A/R that get in the way of your staff productivity is the existence of a large number of credit balances.  Credit Balances understate your A/R and need to be dealt with in a timely manner for many reasons. Often patients with positive and credit balances at the same time hide this problem.  The sample report below will help you see the credit balances so you can deal with them.

Sample A/R showing Credit Balances by Invoice

---

NHIA Listserv Lessons
The NHIA Listserv is a members-only resource for home infusion providers to get quick answers to any question or concern they have from their peers across the country. Each month Rock-Pond Solutions selects a listserv thread and summarizes it here for you.

 

Medicare Billing Split between MD Office & Home IV Pharmacy

I have had an inquiry of the following and would appreciate your feedback: An oncology group has approached a home infusion pharmacy to provide the pump, supplies and nursing coverage for their chemotherapy patients. They prepare the drug and bill Medicare for the drug and an administration fee. Can the IV pharmacy bill Medicare for the pump and supplies with the physician billing for the other items?

Learn from the NHIA member responses.

 

These and other questions are posed, discussed and answered every day on the NHIA listserv. The listserv is a member benefit you should take advantage of.  If you are not a NHIA member, Rock-Pond Solutions recommends you join today.

---

Partner Connections

We are pleased to offer some great experience and advice directly from our Rock-Solid partners. 

Is Noridian Getting The Job Done? By Caleb Dixon, RemitDATA

Effective October 2006, Noridian took over processing claims for Region D. This was responsibility was previously held by Cigna.  This is part 2 in a series analyzing the facts regarding DSO and Denial Rates following the DMERC to MAC change. This article takes a look into Region D.  Read more.

 A Systemic Approach to Purchasing Negotiations 2: By David Franklin, Advanced Care Consulting Services

In the February issue David Franklin presented the purchasing function from a systemic approach, and ended with a number of concepts to be understood before entering into any negotiations. This month puts these theories into action with several tactics designed to produce positive results.  Read more.

 

Glycosylated Hemoglobin: By HHLA Clinical Staff

 

The glycosyated hemoglobin (HbA1c) test gives a patient and their doctor a picture of their long term diabetes management success. HbA1c is a simple lab test that shows the average amount of sugar that has been in the body over a the last three months.  Since HbA1c is not affected by short term changes it is the most accurate picture of a patients overall diabetes control. Read more.

 

The Pharmacist's Awareness of "Drug Induced Disease": By Roger Klotz, Care Partners Consultant Pharmacists, LLC

 

Pharmacists must be keenly aware of the risks associated with certain parenteral therapies and other drugs administered to more acute patients. Understanding the risks associated with parenteral therapies and the diseases that created the need for their administration must become a critical part of the patient’s care plan. Read more.

 

Using Denial Tracking to Improve Cash Flow and Staff Productivity: By Linda Payne, Reimbursement Concepts, LLC

Denial information is like a "vital sign" of the health of your system setup, operations and reimbursement processes. Without proper checks and follow up, this information is easily lost and the source problems go unchecked. 

Read more.

 

Drug of the Month – Daptomycin (Cubicin®) : By Willis Triplett

Home Infusion Therapy has long been centered on certain core therapies. Antibiotic and analgesic therapies and parenteral and enteral nutrition have long been mainstays of the industry, but not many drugs have been added to the armamentarium lately. One drug that does lend itself to home infusion therapy is Daptomycin (Cubiicn). 
Read more.

---

TechnologyTip of the Month

Each month Rock-Solid Intelligence shares a technology tip or software program that has made our work a little easier.

 

A reporting approach to data conversion audits 

 

Implementing a new system is like changing a tire on a moving vehicle.  There is a lot of data in the old system that has to get into the new system and at the end of the day someone has to guarantee that it all got moved.  Although some data is converted with data conversion programs, most data is entered into the new system the old fashion way. 

 

When you enter data into the new system, make sure and enter key identifiers like inventory numbers, patient ID's, etc. as cross reference to the old system.  Then use a reporting product like Crystal Reports to analyze the data in both systems to find gaps.  

 

 

Rock-Solid Intelligence is sponsored by:
The following companies are recognized industry leaders and financial sponsors of Rock-Solid Intelligence.  Take a minute to click on their logo to find out how their producs and services will make a difference in your business.