Happy Spring and Spring-cleaning!! Tis that time of the year to try and review the basics and straighten up accordingly. For us it is audit time with our insurance friends. So I actually have a motive to get it done. So what does this look like from my position as the Practice Administrator?  Here is a basic list to review and clean or straighten up:

• Personnel Files
• Policies & Procedures
• General Ledger (the books)
• Tax Payment records (state & federal)
• Insurance (review health, worker's comp & liability)
• Internal audit of client records
• Grant paperwork/files
  

Some people are great at keeping up with all these materials on a regular basis. Some people prefer to do periodic cleanings (more my speed). There isn’t necessarily a right or wrong way as long as at least once a year you are going through these things. Call it a self-audit.

April is a very busy month for us, and probably one of the hardest as far as paperwork, premiums, federal and state reports, etc. So May is a great month to re-cap and straighten up. For example, my staff hasn’t seen the wood on the top of my desk in probably a month (I pull everything I am working on and keep it out on my desk), but they will in the very near future. I have done my hoop jumping for the first quarter and now it is time to review all areas, file what needs to be filed and find my desk.

It seems like a lot, but don’t despair! You don’t have to do all the above in one day. Spread this out over the course of the month, and get help if you can. Start simple and work up to the more difficult and arduous. By the way, no, I don’t know what the easiest one is to start with. I will tell you that I will be starting with personnel files because it is always the last one on my list. This year I am making it the first.

So jump in and fear not! You will feel great when it is done and be surprised upon review how organized you are and how much you know.

Greetings and Happy Holidays!

Wanting to bill insurance with your program? Do you know what you need to do to be compliant? This blog talks in brief about compliance surrounding insurance programs you are associated with as a provider.

First, for •profit and non •profit agencies can be on provider panels. So lets ask an obvious question: do you want to accept insurance for service? This is a very individual decision.  It may be based on your mission and whom you want to serve or it may come down to a regional or state preference. For example, we are a Medicaid provider. However, in other states it can be more difficult to be granted "preferred provider" status. In the end you need to decide what works for your business.

When you apply to be a "preferred provider" or to be on a "provider panel" with an insurance company, you will be asked, what I call "demographic questions". These questions center on the "who, what, where, and how" of your business. Some applications are set up as check boxes and are very straightforward. Others may request descriptive information of what you do.  This is the number one stumbling block I hear within the field: the description of what you do. I promise I will cover that on another blog very soon.

From a compliance standpoint, the number one "offense" falls under documentation. You must document thoroughly. To read more about this topic and about some common errors in documentation, click here.

That is it for now. Contact me with questions.

"Til next time,

Lisa
Practice Administrator