Saturday, January 28, 2012
Therabill and WebPT
Therabill has finished an integration with WebPT. For those Physical Therapists out there using WebPT as your documentation software and who are looking for a billing solution, you can now feed your claims from WebPT seamlessly into Therabill. You can then use Therabill to create your electronic insurance claims and track payments.
Friday, January 6, 2012
My Experience with the 5010
The 5010 conversion deadline was on 1/1/2012. Therabill is now sending only electronic insurance claims in ASC X12 5010 format. It was more work than I expected to prepare for it. Mainly all of the testing that was required. I realize that the clearinghouses and the insurance carriers have it much harder than the software vendors.
The only glitches that are happening are strictly due to insurance companies (delayed acknowledgment and sometimes sending back error messages that don't make any sense.. ahem.. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois). Other than that, the Therabill 5010 conversion has been flawless.
I have heard many horror stories from people who are using other billing software (not mentioning any names). After hearing these horror stories, it makes me feel good about all of the extra work I did to prepare and make it as easy as possible on Therabill members. I recently realized from talking to several Therabill members that a lot of members don't even realize that a big conversion took place. A lot of Therabill members do not even know what 5010 is. To me, that is an accomplishment.
The only glitches that are happening are strictly due to insurance companies (delayed acknowledgment and sometimes sending back error messages that don't make any sense.. ahem.. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois). Other than that, the Therabill 5010 conversion has been flawless.
I have heard many horror stories from people who are using other billing software (not mentioning any names). After hearing these horror stories, it makes me feel good about all of the extra work I did to prepare and make it as easy as possible on Therabill members. I recently realized from talking to several Therabill members that a lot of members don't even realize that a big conversion took place. A lot of Therabill members do not even know what 5010 is. To me, that is an accomplishment.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Therabill Frequently Asked Questions
The Frequently Asked Questions board in Therabill is going public. Therabill has a FAQ board where members can go and ask questions about how to use Therabill. The questions are normally answered within 30 minutes (often sooner). I thought that some of the content in the FAQ might be beneficial to the public as a whole. Therefore, I have created a WordPress site to publish some of the questions and the replies that were given. This site is located at www.therapist-billing.com.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Search ICD-9 and HCPCS by Profession.
Therabill is creating a public code search tool. After testing, this will be incorporated directly into Therabill. In addition to searching and browsing codes, using analytics from Therabill, you can view what codes are being used by specific therapy profession. For example, a mental health counselor can view HCPCS codes that other mental health counselors are using in Therabill.
Friday, December 2, 2011
5010 Deadline Extended - Therabill is already 5010 compliant
CMS has announced that the deadline for compliance with the new 5010 EDI transaction standards has been extended from January 1st, 2011 to March 31, 2011 due to many complaints that many software companies, clearinghouses and even Medicaid will not be able to make the original deadline of 1/1/2012.
Therabill would like to announce that Therabill is 5010 ready. Therabill has made all of the needed changes such as requiring a physical street address and 9 digit zip code on the software side. We have also fully tested our 5010 transactions with several clearinghouses. We will begin submitting 5010 electronic claims on 1/1/2012. Therabill will always go above and beyond to make sure there is no interruption of service to our members who faithfully use our software.
Therabill would like to announce that Therabill is 5010 ready. Therabill has made all of the needed changes such as requiring a physical street address and 9 digit zip code on the software side. We have also fully tested our 5010 transactions with several clearinghouses. We will begin submitting 5010 electronic claims on 1/1/2012. Therabill will always go above and beyond to make sure there is no interruption of service to our members who faithfully use our software.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
In Response to : It's All Too Complicated
I am writing in response to Dr. Dan Quinn, a Berkely Therapist, who is blogging on finding a simple to use practice management solution. In his post on October 20th, 2011 (http://therapybridge.net/?p=325), Dr. Quinn makes a list of items that he would want available in a practice management tool.
I agree with Dr. Quinn 100% that most software out there is WAY TOO COMPLICATED!. I have my Ph.D. in Bioinformatics. Before I started Therabill, I tried setting my wife up with software and I could NOT figure out how to use any of it... it was way too complicated!!
I am not going to go through Dr. Quinn's list of necessities and address them. I do want to say that Therabill does have features meet all of those needs though. I want to address his last point (point 6).
6. Cuts directly to the chase, and doesn’t do a bunch of other stuff that makes screens complicated and navigation ponderous.
Any therapist is going to have a very difficult time finding software that does only what they need it to do and nothing else. The only way to get this would be to hire a developer to create your own personalized software. Depending on your needs, you might be able to whip something up. But if you are wanting something like electronic claims submission, then don't expect it in a couple of weeks. The guidelines for 837 files (electronic claims) cost over $500.00 and is about 700 pages long. It will take more than a couple of weeks to read it and understand it (and longer to code it). You mentioned that you wanted web based, now you will be getting a dedicated server (I wouldn't recommend web hosting to hold your private patient information). Dedicated servers cost around $150 - $300 per month). If you are going to have a good coder, think $80.00 - $120.00 per hour... well, you can see where this goes. It gets VERY expensive.
The reason you are not going to find commercial software that does ONLY what you need it do it is because different providers have different needs. Provider A may say I need software that does {A,B,C,D,E}, Provider B may say I need software that does {A,C,E,F,G}, Provider C may say I need software that does {C,E,I,K}... and so on. Commercial software takes the very high cost of creating the and maintaining the software and tries to spread it over many users (and then try to come out with a profit). Therefore, we have to meet as many providers needs as possible.
I am firmly confident that Therabill has solved the "complicated" issue. Therabill was designed by therapists. One of the things my members always tell me is that it is "so easy to use".
Dr. Quinn, I invite you to come take a look at Therabill (www.therabill.com). We can schedule a phone conference, where I will walk you through the site and show you how things work (I do offer this to any new member of Therabill too). If you do not want a phone conference, I suggest you take a look at our Quick Guide Video
I agree with Dr. Quinn 100% that most software out there is WAY TOO COMPLICATED!. I have my Ph.D. in Bioinformatics. Before I started Therabill, I tried setting my wife up with software and I could NOT figure out how to use any of it... it was way too complicated!!
I am not going to go through Dr. Quinn's list of necessities and address them. I do want to say that Therabill does have features meet all of those needs though. I want to address his last point (point 6).
6. Cuts directly to the chase, and doesn’t do a bunch of other stuff that makes screens complicated and navigation ponderous.
Any therapist is going to have a very difficult time finding software that does only what they need it to do and nothing else. The only way to get this would be to hire a developer to create your own personalized software. Depending on your needs, you might be able to whip something up. But if you are wanting something like electronic claims submission, then don't expect it in a couple of weeks. The guidelines for 837 files (electronic claims) cost over $500.00 and is about 700 pages long. It will take more than a couple of weeks to read it and understand it (and longer to code it). You mentioned that you wanted web based, now you will be getting a dedicated server (I wouldn't recommend web hosting to hold your private patient information). Dedicated servers cost around $150 - $300 per month). If you are going to have a good coder, think $80.00 - $120.00 per hour... well, you can see where this goes. It gets VERY expensive.
The reason you are not going to find commercial software that does ONLY what you need it do it is because different providers have different needs. Provider A may say I need software that does {A,B,C,D,E}, Provider B may say I need software that does {A,C,E,F,G}, Provider C may say I need software that does {C,E,I,K}... and so on. Commercial software takes the very high cost of creating the and maintaining the software and tries to spread it over many users (and then try to come out with a profit). Therefore, we have to meet as many providers needs as possible.
I am firmly confident that Therabill has solved the "complicated" issue. Therabill was designed by therapists. One of the things my members always tell me is that it is "so easy to use".
Dr. Quinn, I invite you to come take a look at Therabill (www.therabill.com). We can schedule a phone conference, where I will walk you through the site and show you how things work (I do offer this to any new member of Therabill too). If you do not want a phone conference, I suggest you take a look at our Quick Guide Video
Sunday, October 9, 2011
A New Therabill Design
As an engineer, I have never been known for my artistic skills. I can make things work, but I can't make them look good. Over the past week, I have spent countless hours updating the design of the Therabill public web pages. Last night, with bloodshot eyes, I finished the new design. I think it looks good and contains a lot more information. For example, the informational page on submitting electronic insurance claims contains a lot more information. I have also sprinkled video demonstrations though out the various pages. All of the video demonstrations are available from within the Therabill Instructional Video Library.
I have also included a nice page of links to therapy resources. If you know of any great therapy resources, let me know. If you are the webmaster of a therapy web site, please reciprocate with a link to Therabill.
I have also included a nice page of links to therapy resources. If you know of any great therapy resources, let me know. If you are the webmaster of a therapy web site, please reciprocate with a link to Therabill.
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