Drs. L. Richard Van Meter and James M. Weiss run a mid-sized concierge practice in Newport Beach , Calif. When it came time to selecting an EHR, the practice chose AmazingCharts, an ONC/CCHIT-certified EHR specifically designed to meet the demands of family and internal medicine.
With the EHR decision out of the way, the practice looked for ways to streamline and integrate its existing billing processes. “We had 2 very distinct problems to overcome,” says Office Manager Kelly Latini. “First we were sending hardcopy information from our EHR to our current biller. To me, the process seemed antiquated and time consuming given that we were reconverting electronic information back into a paper format for our billing company to process. Second, our existing biller was providing us hardcopy reporting data on a monthly basis. The paper reports provided were limited and required me to reenter and format information for the doctor to analyze. There had to be a better way; we had to make a change.”
Kelly contacted AmazingCharts, which recommended PGM Billing. “I saw a demo of PGM’s cloud-based, fully integrated practice management system PGMonline and decided to move forward. It’s one of the best decisions the practice has ever made.”
Total Integration, Full Transparency
PGMonline and AmazingCharts integrate seamlessly. Each time a note is signed in Amazing Charts, an electronic superbill is generated, exported and uploaded over a secure HIPAA-compliant connection to PGM servers. PGM automatically imports each days billing into PGMonline where practices have instant access to billing data. “Not only do I have total transparency and visibility over our practice’s billing, I’m not managing stacks of reporting paperwork each month,” says Kelly. “PGMonline provides us a window into our financial operations. Since I can access the system through the Internet, I can pull up the reports and information I want, whenever and wherever I want. No more waiting for month’s end, sifting through piles of papers, and reformatting summary sheets for the doctor.”
360-Degree Service
In addition to seamless EHR integration, PGM manages the entire medical billing process. PGMonline scrubs claims for errors, submitting accurate claims to payors the first time. PGM’s back office staff monitor the status of claims, follow-up on denials and inaccurate reimbursement as well as manage all patient billing inquiries and requests.
“Once the note is signed and sent in our EHR, the entire medical billing process, from claim submission to patient inquiry, is managed for us” Kelly explains. “We have saved valuable practice time and money by switching to PGM.”
The efficiencies gained by switching to PGM had an immediate impact on practice performance. “Because most claims are submitted correctly the first time, were getting reimbursed more, faster,” Kelly says.
Kelly and her patients are also pleased with the improvement in customer service. “Our last vendor’s customer service was horrible. With PGM, I always work with the same customer service representative. She is dedicated to managing our billing and has a unique knowledge of how we operate our practice.”