Healthcare billing services perform a prominent role in generating more and more revenue for a practice. Here medical billing and coding services smudge in a perfect combination. Only reliable healthcare billing services can save a facility from considerable bad debts. However, any medical billing department has different types of billing systems. Each of these systems has its precise use. But the main commonality between all of them is they are made to facilitate the providers and patients collectively.
So, whether your practice has its billing department or you outsource medical billing services, you probably encounter these billing systems. We have three types of medical billing systems;
- Closed Billing Systems for EMRs
- Open Billing Systems for EHRs
- Isolated Billing Systems for PHRs
Without any subsequent delay, let’s see what each billing system especially does.
Closed Billing Systems for EMRs
The type of billing system utilized by providers associated with small practices. The suitability of this system for such users is maximum as small practices have fewer providers in their network. Performing healthcare billing services for closed systems is not that tiresome.
Here let us clarify that a closed billing system serves as electronic medical records (EMRs). Mainly, the providers use it for patient data storage. It consists of information regarding a patient’s healthcare plan, check-up schedules, treatment charts, reports, and other related data.
Though an EMR may be a closed billing system connecting several other EMRs in a practice. But it does not share anything outside the practice. Everything remains secured within the boundaries of healthcare practice. Not only the medical billing and coding services providers but physicians are also authorized to use such EMRs.
Usually, EMRs in a closed billing system has several benefits to professionals in healthcare facilities. For example, EMRs have plenty of tools for easy tracking and monitoring of patient data. Providers can check out a patient’s check-ups record for preventive care as well. A provider can have an uninterrupted preview of a patient’s treatment plan.
Open Billing Systems for EHRs
As we know, many healthcare organizations outsource medical billing services to others. Here patient information is shared among several professionals. Similarly, this happens in large healthcare facilities as well. We have different authorized personnel who can reach the patient profile when needed. These might be patients, providers, third-party vendors, billers, and different organizations for a variety of purposes. All this is possible under a billing system called open billing system.
An open billing system has electronic health records (EHRs). They are digital forms of paper medical records that provide access to authorized entities only. Thus, the patient’s data is not revealed to anyone without their consent in this system. In other words, EHRs in open billing systems provide a relatively wider scale for healthcare storage and sharing to myriad healthcare sectors.
Important medical information about a patient, including recent test reports, demographic data, prior diagnoses, allergic responses, and any current or former prescriptions, are kept in electronic health records (EHRs). In other words, they keep the patient’s whole medical history in one location. If a patient is referred to an imaging center or lab, they can also have access to the EHR.
Isolated Billing Systems for PHRs
Healthcare billing services in isolated billing systems are specifically for the patient’s use only. Such a system is not necessarily a part of the billing procedure. Anyhow, they can offer huge help to healthcare providers and patients.
Patients only use Personal Health Records to maintain separate medical billing systems (PHR). These records may be updated by patients, who can also keep them up to date and use them as needed. To manage their PHRs, patients can also use software solutions. As PHRs are managed by the patients themselves, it is quite clear we can doubt the authenticity of data. Therefore, information present in PHRs under isolated medical billing systems is not reliable. It is better to go for EMRs or EHRs for different purposes.
PHRs in an isolated billing system provide several advantages to healthcare professionals and the medical billing staff. Some of these advantages are:
- When enrolling with a health system, PHRs can assist individuals in filling out their medical information.
- Patients can utilize software tools for open communication and transmission in addition to maintaining their records with them.
- When developed for healthcare practitioners, PHRs may give a comprehensive perspective of previous and ongoing medical disorders and treatments.
Conclusion
In short, we have different medical billing systems for use in healthcare facilities. If you are confused about choosing one for your practice, our healthcare billing services providers can give you a great favor. We can help you pick the one best for your facility. The years of professional expertise of our billing and coding team can assist you in this process.