Current technology is important in all facets of medicine, including medical billing. With HIPAA requirements, electronic medical records, and insurance processing continually changing it’s critical for your medical office to be current with this industry’s medical billing technology.
The right vendor will keep your cloud wispy and white, not dark and ominous
When our clients choose to outsource with ORI they are moving their business office from down the hall to down the street. For our out of state clients the move may be a greater distance, but with the cloud computing and workflow technology we offer, it could be across the county and the change would be the same. We make the transition smooth with tools that keep communications flowing and typically increase the access to medical billing information for our clients.
When Outsource Receivables was in the process of changing locations this summer, having cloud computing technology made all the difference. Staff were able to disconnect their workstation at 4 PM, and ORI was reconnected and fully operational the following morning. All of the tools required for daily workflow were accessible as long the high speed internet was there to access them.
The office move could have been much different if one had to hook up setup a network server and test all the new connections. Network services can also require on-site maintenance where ORI’s cloud environment is supported by a 24-7 IT team for administrative and trouble shooting functions.
The other major advantage of the move was the ability to leave the filing cabinets behind. There is just no need and no place in revenue cycle management for excess printed materials. Printed materials are a HIPAA security issue as well as an organizing hassle when keeping records in a stack in your file cabinet. All paper correspondence is scanned into our document imaging and workflow system called Imagize.
And once everyone was settled inside the new office environment we implemented our security system that only allows access to work areas with employee key cards or when escorted by management. This ensures that all information that is subject to HIPAA requirements is only accessible to our employees. This physical barrier removes many of the challenges of maintaining the privacy of patient health information.
When choosing your cloud service you need to vet out the options and ensure they meet your needs. There are many services to choose from that offer some level of cloud service, but not all of them measure up to the rigor we needed to ensure security and ease-of-use. Below is a list of both benefits and measurement criteria that will be helpful as you look for your own cloud service.
Benefits of medical billing cloud computing.
- Data security. Your medical billing and patient information is securely stored in-the-cloud for easy access to certified users.
- Up-to-date information. Because we’re all in-the-cloud together, you’ll be able to access important medical billing data quickly and with the confidence of knowing it’s up-to-date and accurate.
- Get paid faster. With technology tools like direct depositing and online payment portals, you’ll be able to receive payments faster.
- Multiple access points. You’re medical billing information isn’t tied to just one or two office computers. It’s available to you from multiple access points so you’re never far from your most important information.
- Ability to plan IT expenses. When looking for a cloud computing service, you’ll find most have a set monthly fee giving you peace-of-mind regarding your IT costs.
Required features of a cloud system.
- Regulatory compliance – In the medical industry, compliance with HIPAA regulations is critical. While many cloud services on the market offer good security, not all are HIPAA compliant. This needs to be the first question you ask in your search for a cloud service.
- High security – Be sure to know and understand the security features of your chosen cloud system. Redundant backups and secure encryption from the desktop to the cloud are two items to pay particular attention to.
- Easy access to support – Are support people at your beckand call or will you be placed on hold forever or worse yet, will you be required to send an email message and wait for a reply.
- Set monthly billing – Finding a program that bills a set amount monthly is useful when planning your overall budget for the year.
ORI’s mission is to lessen the complexity of healthcare reimbursement. Outsource Receivables Inc. chose ProCirrus as our cloud service provider to do just that – keep issue resolution in the hands of experts that have full control of the cloud environment. To find out more about their service click here.
Our medical billing and coding experts are committed to consistently delivering services above industry standards by focusing on technology and customer service while saving our client’s money and time so they are able to focus on their core competencies. The cloud solutions have evolved over the years to let ORI focus on core expertise while have experts in the background to manage the base technology. Our new office environment is just one more step in the direction of simplification focused on efficient workflows and reliable technology.
To learn more about the benefits of outsourcing to ORI, contact our experts today.