Proclivity
I know you are wondering…what does that word even mean. Well, before you pick up your phone and google it, let me define it for you. It is “a tendency to choose or do something regularly; an inclination or predisposition toward a particular thing.” I believe we all have proclivities in our life. Some more than others. I will admit that I have some proclivities in my life. I choose do to certain things regularly or have an inclination toward particular things. Sometimes our proclivities can lead to neurosis regarding certain things. Whether we realize it or not. In the business world we have to at times analyze our systems to ensure that we are not stuck doing the same thing all the time just because it is how we have done it for many years. Change is difficult and can be hard at times. In the years that I have been in business we have had to change some things to make processes better or to meet customer needs. I remember our most difficult change was in software. We had been using the same software since we began…more than 15 years. We came to a realization that the software was not meeting our needs or our customers. The one way to make everyone’s life turn upside down is to change software. Many of you have experienced this. It is not fun. Looking back it was the best decision we have ever made. After the initial shock of learning a new software, we found the new software was better than we had anticipated and met ours and our clients needs so much better. If we had insisted on staying the status quo we would have missed out on the opportunity to grow. Proclivities can keep us from changing which in turn stagnates us from growing. Sometimes the business model stops being productive and needs to be retooled. In your medical practice, analyze your processes and change those that are not meeting your needs and your patient’s needs. Don’t get stuck in your own proclivities.
The Road Less Traveled
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost
I don’t know why this came to mind. We have all at some point in our lives have taken the road less traveled. I am not sure what would persuade us to take this road. Why would we take the road less traveled? It is typically not the most attractive choice. It is overgrown with the weeds of worry and doubt. I guess it could be that we are trying to access our adventurous side or possibly we are trying to appeal to our desire to just be different. I know in my life I have taken the road less traveled more for the adventure. I think many of us don’t take this road out of fear….fear of the unknown. The unknown can be very frightening but can also be very rewarding. I know when I started Mediclaim Services I was very unsure of the unknown. It was definitely a path down the road less traveled. I had been employed most of my life by companies. I had always had a desire to be self employed but could not find the niche that would make this dream possible. One day, it just occurred to me that this venture could be a profitable and challenging venture. I had no experience owning my own company or experience in the medical billing field. I decided that I was going to accept the challenge and learn as much as I could in this new venture. I began to read and study the different aspects of medical billing. I began to realize that medical billing isn’t just about codes and making sure that insurance companies reimbursed providers for their work. It was about taking care of people. People are what makes this venture so great. Yes, there are times when people make it the worst part of what we do, but I don’t typically focus on that. I focus on trying to ensure that those we encounter are impacted positively by what we do. The road less traveled is always a challenge, but if we allow it, it can be very rewarding. As Mr. Frost stated, taking the road less traveled has made all the difference in my life. It can for you too.
Have You Considered The Cost
Luke 14:28 (MSG) “Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn’t first sit down and and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it.” Many times in our lives whether it be building something or starting a new venture of some kind, we are aware that there are costs associated with this new project or venture. If we are wise, we will consider these costs before embarking on this new adventure. What costs should we consider? I believe there are four costs that we must consider before starting a new adventure. First and foremost, the monetary cost has to be considered. Can I afford to start this new project or venture? Money has definite limiting factors in our decision. It is never an issue if we have more than enough funds to complete the project. When we are not sure of the monetary resources we have, then things get a little more complicated. We always want to ensure that we have the financial resources to complete the project or venture or it may never be completed. Second, I think we need to consider whether we have the resources needed to complete the project or venture. Many times we have the money, but lack the tools or materials to complete the project or venture. A good rule of thumb is to add 10% to all estimates for materials. We do make mistakes (believe me I have made my share) and may need to use more materials than we anticipated. Third, we should consider the time needed to complete the project or venture. Time is a valuable asset and we need to ensure we can complete the project in a timely manner. We should assess whether we have the time to complete the project before beginning or the project may take excessively more time than we wanted. Finally, we should consider our abilities. Do we have the knowledge and expertise to complete the project. I know I think I can do things but when it comes right down to it…I don’t know what I am doing. YouTube is a great tool but it can at times be very hard to determine the correct way to complete certain projects. If you are not sure, always consult a professional. It will cost you more money but in the long run the mistakes that we make can cost us just as much. As I review these items that I have mentioned, it makes me realize that many in private practice in the medical field have to consider all of these things when it comes to their medical billing. I would suggest that you consider all 4 things before you hire someone to work in your office, performing a task that is vital to the success of your practice. You should consider the cost. Our services are based on how much money you receive. An inhouse biller cost you a set amount each month including benefits and payroll tax costs. You should also consider the resources. Do you have the computer, computer accessories, internet, program to perform billing? Outsourcing your billing alleviates the need for expensive computers, programs, and accessories to perform billing. Time should also be considered. I have worked in a doctors office and time is not a luxury. With patients coming in and out, employees out for various reasons, phones ringing, and other tasks, it is hard for an inhouse biller to focus just on billing. Outsourced billing companies are focused on just one thing, performing the billing for your practice. Finally, abilities should be considered. When you hire an inhouse biller, you have to ensure they have the ability to perform the billing task. Are they trained in the current billing procedures? You will need to ensure that they receive the latest training in billing and utilizing the program for billing. Turnover is a huge issue in the medical field. When one biller leaves, you are tasked with finding a new biller. Ensuring they are trained in your program and billing procedures. Outsourced billing is a constant. It brings you peace of mind because you are not worried about the billing process. You know it is getting completed. Consider the cost when you are faced with the decision regarding your medical billing. Consider Mediclaim Services…we will give you peace of mind….one claim at a time.
Complainer or Dynamite Thrower
I heard a story once that an old man invited his young neighbor to go fishing. The young neighbor was very interested and agreed to go the next day. The next morning the old man arrived at the young man’s house with a boat in tow. The young man got into the truck and was very excited about the prospect of catching fish that day. When they arrived at the lake, the boat was unloaded. The young man noticed that the old man had no fishing fear. He only had an old cloth bag with him. He didn’t think much about it. When they arrived at a certain spot, the old man turned the motor off and anchored down. The old man reached into the bag, pulled out a stick of dynamite, lit it, and threw it out into the lake. BOOM!!! The young man was horrified and scared to death. Fish were floating all over the lake. The young man was mortified at the old man’s fishing technique. “You can’t do that! That is illegal! You will get into a lot of trouble for doing that!”, exclaimed the young man. The old man pulled out another stick of dynamite, lit it, and handed it to the young man. “You gonna fish or complain.”
How many times in our lives are we faced with situations with very few options? We can go with the flow or do something that is out of the ordinary. Sure, we could do things the same way we have done it for years and complain about it or we could decide to try something different.
In the medical billing field, I have seen too many people make the decision to just keep doing things the same way they have done it for years. The problem is that the medical billing field experiences so many changes each and every year. What was appropriate billing last year has been changed in the current year. If your billing personnel are not keeping up with the changes, it could cost you thousands of dollars each year. Ensure that your billing personnel are receiving the training they need. Another option is to utilize a medical billing company who utilizes resources to ensure that the medical billing process is current and up to date. I realize that using billing inhouse personnel is how you have performed your billing for years, but if you are faced with a situation where you are without billing personnel for whatever reason, instead of complaining about it, make the decision to be a dynamite thrower…choose an outside billing company like Mediclaim Services.
MOTIVATION
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” Mark Twain. Motivation is defined as the state or condition of having a strong reason to act or accomplish something. So, the question is what motivates you? Is it money, fame, power, success or is it accomplishments, accolades, self-reliance? We are all motivated by different things. Those who are not motivated find themselves struggling with life in general. A lack of motivation keeps us from moving forward in our lives. You must find that one thing that keeps you moving forward. A goal perhaps. I believe that focus is the key. We can allow situations or others to demotivate us. We can allow the world around us to cause us to lose focus on what we are striving to achieve. Here are 3 simple tricks to help motivate you:
Create a positive environment. Music can be a powerful motivator. You can listen to playlists with motivational songs. By getting your mind in the right mindset, you get closer to motivating yourself.
Celebrate the small wins. When you think of your BIG goal, sometimes you start feeling overwhelmed. Instead, you need to create mini goals to help excite you along the way. Celebrating your small wins will help you stay motivated through your journey.
Surround yourself with motivated people. You need to be around others who are just as ambitious as you. Reality is being around the right kind of people can only help you grow. If you’re surrounded by those who love your ambition, you’ll be more ambitious and achieve more.
In Matthew 6:21 Jesus said, “For where you treasure is, there your heart will be also.” I believe the meaning of this quote is what motivates you. That is where you will be focused. What we have to evaluate is that motivation good for me and others. At Mediclaim Services, we are motivated to ensure our clients are receiving the best customer service that we can provide. We are focused on meeting our clients needs. This focus helps us to create long and lasting relationships.
Hip To Be Square
Huey Lewis and the News had a song by the same name in 1986. The reference was that it was ok to not be like other people. To stand out was actually cool. Wouldn’t it be so liberating to know that to be different is what people are seeking. In the Business world, we want to stand out. There is so much competition that this is the only way that we feel we can succeed. We worry about being different. What if people don’t like me? What if they don’t accept me? What if I am rejected? As a door to door salesman for Mediclaim Services, I am rejected many times when I am out prospecting. It can be disheartening at times. I have learned over the 20 years that I have been doing this that you can’t take rejection personally. In Matthew chapter 10, Jesus is sending out his disciples to spread the Gospel. He tells them that “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.” He is saying don’t let that rejection stop you from your mission. Being different brings about rejection at times, but it does not devalue your mission. I feel confident in the mission of Mediclaim Services as stated in our slogan…”Building peace of mind. One claim at a time.” I am not going to let rejection get in the way of that feeling of bringing peace of mind to a client who was struggling with their only means of income, their billing. “Whatever you do, be different - that was the advice my mother gave me, and I can’t think of better advice for an entrepreneur. If you’re different, you will stand out.” Anita Roddick (British businesswoman and founder of The Body Shop).
What do I do now?
What do I do now? I had an ambulance provider contact me the other day. They were very flustered. They had been unable to contact their billing service in some time and were quite concerned. Eventually they discovered their billing service had closed unbeknownst to them. This left them in quite a quandary. As they contemplated their options, they decided to contact another provider and determine how they were getting their billing done. This provider was using an outside billing company, who by the way, was Mediclaim Services. If you are faced with a similar situation, the first thing you should do is to ascertain your needs and determine your best course of action. You need to expedite this process because billing is not getting done which means revenue is not coming in. You could decide to hire someone to perform the billing function internally, however, this takes time. Time to find a candidate, time to train, etc. Remember, every day that billing isn’t performed is a day that revenue is delayed. You could hire an outside billing company. Do your due diligence as this provider did. Check around and find a reputable billing company. By the way, they chose to hire Mediclaim Services and we were able to get their billing back up and billed within 24 hours.
When you are faced with the situation of losing your means to billing and you ask yourself, “What do we do now?”, call Mediclaim Services. We can help you overcome your current issues. We have been around for over 20 years and service several specialties including ambulance providers. Give us a call. I know you won’t be disappointed.
Time is of the Essence.
10,080…That is how many minutes there are in a week. Our lives revolve around time. Think about it everything that we do is dictated based on time. Whether it is when we get up, jobs, recreation, or just watching television, time dictates our choices. When I think about the saying, “Time is of the essence”, it’s connotation is that we only have so much time available. I think sometimes we feel we have an unlimited amount of time, and to some extent that is true. Time will continue to move on, but our time is limited. Many times we procrastinate on things because we feel that we can just do that task tomorrow. Why do today what can be put off to tomorrow. Nike has a slogan…”Just Do It.”. Instead of allowing procrastination, fear or doubt to prevail, Just Do It. Make that bold move to pursue that dream. Make that difficult choice that is impeding you from greatness. I know that I made a choice 21 years ago to start my medical billing company. I was scared out of my mind. I had two young children and I quit my job to start this business. I made the decision to Just Do It. Don’t get me wrong. It has been a struggle at times, but to this day I do not regret one bit that choice I made 21 years ago. I had faith that God would lead in the direction that I needed to go and I felt in my heart this was it. I would encourage you to just make your mind up that you are going to make that difficult decision. Whether it is personal or business, step out in faith knowing that you might fall, but you can pick yourself back up and start again. Remember, time is of the essence. There will come a day when there is no more time left for us and all we are left with is regret. How are you going to use your 10,080 minutes in the coming week or weeks? I would say do whatever uplifts you and and your business. One other thing, I would never be where I was if it had not been for wonderful relationships that I have developed over the years. Develop lasting relationships that will encourage and uplift you. Whether it be personal or business relationships, we all need those relationships to help us grow. I have developed some great business relationships that helped grow my business. I hope that if you are a medical provider that you will consider allowing Mediclaim Services to develop a professional relationship with you. Don’t let time get away from you and leave you with regrets. Use your 10,080 minutes to make a difference.
Be Different
As I read these two words, I began to think about what they mean. We, as a society, are intrigued by DIFFERENT. Whether it is technology, transportation, or clothing, we look for DIFFERENT. We make decisions many times in our life based on whether the the item is DIFFERENT in some way. There are many successful companies who became successful based on the concept of DIFFERENT. These successful companies realized to be successful they had to be willing to change. Change is hard at times. As I reminisce about Mediclaim Services, I realize we have had to change many times over the 21 years we have been in business. We had to be DIFFERENT than the other guy to be competitive. The differences were subtle but they were important to many of our potential clients. As an example, we always made sure that our clients received the best customer service we could offer. Many times as I would make sales calls to potential clients, their number one concern was customer service. We made the decision many years ago that we would have a dedicated customer service representative for each of our clients. We would not piece-work the information that we processed for our clients. What we found was that clients appreciated the fact that there was only one person who handled their account and they developed a close relationship with their rep. Again, it is the subtle things that make the difference. Dare to be DIFFERENT and the possibilities are endless.
Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover
So, I have been thinking a lot today about the old adage “don’t judge a book by its cover”. What exactly does that mean. As I have pondered it more, I believe it is saying don’t judge things by the outward appearance but rather by the inner workings. Many of us tend to judge based on the outward appearance of people, things we purchase, companies we do business with, etc. There is another saying that I began to consider, “a diamond in the rough”. Again, another saying that implores us to consider the inner beauty rather than the rough exterior. I began to think of this in reference to our business. We are a small business. We are not a corporate giant in our industry. We employ less than 5 employees. I do, however, feel that we at Mediclaim Services provide as good if not better service than the corporate giants who have hundreds of employees and hundreds of clients. We have been around for over 20 years so we must be doing something right (or that is the conciliatory thought I use to appease myself). My hope is that potential clients will choose us based on our experience not our size. We work very diligently to ensure that our clients are receiving as much of their entitled reimbursements as we can obtain. When you are in the process of deciding which billing service to contract your billing, the best policy is to check with their current clients. If they are happy with their services, there is a very good chance you will be too. Don’ judge them by the size of their company or the facilities they occupy. Most large businesses started as small businesses. All it took was a potential client to not look at the cover but to see the potential from the inside.
Patient Care and Billing
In my 20 plus years of experience I have seen many practices fail because they did not balance their focus in patient care and billing. They focused a tremendous amount of time and resources in their patient care which do not get me wrong is important but they failed to focus an appropriate amount of time and resources to their billing. Patient care should be a focus. Patients are coming to your practice in hopes of receiving some relief from their ailments. The care they receive is very important to them. They want to feel that they were treated with respect and dignity. They also want to know that your staff has a sufficient knowledge to manage their insurance coverage or lack of coverage. Nothing is more frustrating to a patient who receives a bill that is incorrect. It also is a sure-fire way to lose patients. Ensure your staff is focused on ensuring that all the necessary steps are managed prior to them receiving a bill. One important step if the patient has insurance coverage is to verify their benefits. It is the physician’s office staff responsibility to bill the patient for their share of the cost of care. This would include copays, coinsurance, and/or deductible amounts. These can all be verified prior to the visit. A physician’s office should have this information available to the patient when they appear for their office visit. The patient should know up front what their share of the care will be. The other aspect of the billing process is to ensure that the visit is coded correctly. This requires a close relationship between the physician and their billing staff to ensure if there are any coding issues that arise they can be corrected immediately. Coding issues cause timely delays and can in some instances cost the practice money. Many practices do not perform due diligence when they consider their billing staff. Many focus more of their resources to their clinical staff than their billing staff. There is the old adage “you get what you pay for”. Ensure you are hiring the most competent and knowledgeable billing staff. Do not just hire the first one that comes along. Many practices are utilizing billing services for their billing needs. Billing services are great way to ensure that you are getting the most qualified biller for your practice. As always, do your due diligence. Check references on the billing service to ensure they do a good job. Ask them questions prior to contracting with them. The most successful practices are the ones that balance their patient care and their billing to ensure the patients are receiving the best care they can receive.