Evaluating Chiropractic Software: Practice Management Expertise

In 2012 & 2013, ECLIPSE once again topped independent surveys by multiple state chiropractic associations. You can read about one of those surveys here. The other was conducted by the North Carolina Chiropractic Association (NCCA) earlier this year. According to the survey, ECLIPSE was the top system preferred (of 21 systems listed). And, according to the NCCA, “ECLIPSE was strongly recommended by 71% of the people surveyed.” (That percentage includes the entire survey group – not just ECLIPSE users. And, for the record, we’re not based in those states.)

So, how does this happen? One factor that few doctors recognize is unparalleled practice management expertise, which we seem to provide as a natural part of “technical support” to clients on a routine basis.  Everyone tends to forget that when you buy software, there’s so much more to it than pre-sales hype and testimonials.  So here are just a few actual examples of the type of scenarios our HELP Desk handles daily.  Please note the variety:

Case #1: Using CMT Codes 98940, 98941 & 98942

This past January, a doctor called our HELP Desk, upset because all his ChiroCare claims were being rejected. He indicated that he was “losing thousands of dollars every week.” He further noted that he is the “chief insurance person for…” a large, well-known Midwest-based practice management firm.  At our request, he provided his clinical documentation. It was immediately apparent that he was improperly documenting & coding his visits. We subsequently confirmed this directly with ChiroCare and provided him with our findings and a solution within two days. We not only explained exactly what he was doing wrong, we explained how to do it right. And this is a doctor who gets paid as an “expert” to provide practice management advice on this specific subject to our colleagues.

This past week, a doctor in MO requested help interpreting his Medicare appeal & denial. He apparently doesn’t have many Medicare patients and was unfamiliar with how to document the 98941 code submitted on his claims. We explained how to document & use CMT (his diagnoses documented 1 region — lumbar) along with Medicare P.A.R.T. We also gave the doctor some relevant links to read on the ACA website.

Case #2 Chiropractic / Physical Therapy Services

An RN called from a client office, gravely concerned that her office would be audited for “committing fraud.” She further noted that she had worked for Medicare’s investigational division, had issued audits as part of her job, and had testified in court.  This all came out while she argued her position – which was that a key provider degree type used in her office needed to be added to ECLIPSE for claim submission. We simply provided the CMS ANSI documentation to the effect that she was mistaken and helped her get her claims out in a timely manner.

Case #3: HIPAA Violation

A doctor called the HELP Desk after a patient had been accidentally deleted from the computer system. It seemed to be a simple problem. And he didn’t realize that he could have set user permissions to avoid it. But it turned out to be a bevy of HIPAA violations. Staff had sat a patient (let’s call him John) in front of one of their computer workstations. And the current user was logged in and apparently had permission to do anything. John, who has Trisomy 21, promptly deleted another patient. And the office was blissfully unaware of the potential violations. Just a decade ago, practice management consultants across the USA were basing many of their seminars on HIPAA. We advised this doctor about proper office procedures, HIPAA requirements, creation of a HIPAA Compliance Manual & appointment of a HIPAA Compliance Officer.

Case #4 OSWESTRY

This past week, it became apparent during a conversation that a doctor was unfamiliar with the OSWESTRY formula. We explained the formula and how the scoring of an OSWESTRY form works in detail. (OSWESTRY forms in ECLIPSE are scored automatically.)

Case #5 What does the HELP Desk know, anyway?

Years ago, a doctor in Binghamton, NY called the HELP Desk with questions about Medicare changes in that part of NY. The HELP Desk Director called Mike for a quick explanation (the changes were brand new) and relayed them to the doctor. Hours later, Mike got another call from the #2 at Markson Management Systems (MMS) with the same question. (At that time MMS was one of the largest chiropractic specific practice management firms nationwide.) Curious, Mike asked why. As it turns out, the doctor didn’t believe the “computer guys” and sought an answer from the consultants she paid thousands of dollars to annually for advice. To this day, she has no clue that both responses ultimately came from the same person!

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