How modern technology in healthcare has been essential to the growth of the healthcare sector over the decades. In the past, diagnosing and treating patients required a lot of work and resources due to their complexity. That said, rapid technological development has facilitated the creation of cutting-edge medical tools, affordable medications, and ground-breaking techniques that have streamlined every aspect of medicine and raised the standard of healthcare.
Modern technology in healthcare sector:
On the other side, to effectively meet patients’ needs and maintain its position in the market, the healthcare system must constantly change and advance at the same rate as technology. Besides, the healthcare system has faced numerous issues recently, including
- Rising medical costs
- Inadequate patient-specific care
- Ineffective procedures
- Growing number of patients with both acute and chronic illnesses
With the Corona virus pandemic, the healthcare systems’ capacity and capability are being put to the test, and many health centers are overworked and understaffed in order to handle the escalating patient load. Moreover, both patients and healthcare professionals are directly impacted by the evolving trends in the medical field. From the perspective of the patient, healthcare centers mostly circle around the:
- Insurance coverage which indicates whether the patient can afford the costs of either chronic or acute illness treatment
- A close-by supply of medical facilities and services
- early disease detection, treatment, and prevention
The adoption and implementation of technological solutions, such as cutting-edge machinery and digital transformation with cutting-edge software and systems, is the answer to almost all of the problems facing the healthcare sector.
How digital technology is changing the face of the medical field?
Wide-ranging healthcare tasks like data collection, research, medical billing and coding, remote monitoring, adherence to health regulations, and timely diagnosis and treatment have all benefited greatly from digital technology. The biggest benefit of technology is that it streamlines every task, saves time, lessens mechanical paperwork, and eliminates any errors that might have an impact on the entire medical procedure.
A medical facility, such as a hospital or doctor’s office, is in charge of providing patients with the proper healthcare services and managing their finances to pay the healthcare providers’ salaries and keep the cost of treatment under control. This includes paying for procedural treatment, supplies, and overhead.
Every medical practice relies on the revenue cycle management (RCM) process to make sure that patients are charged fairly and, more importantly, that healthcare professionals like doctors, nurses, therapists, lab technicians, and social workers are properly compensated for their specialized services.
The patient registration phase of the revenue cycle is followed by the healthcare provider receiving full payment for the medical services rendered. Medical coding and billing are two distinct but related processes that are essential for a successful medical revenue cycle management company.
Medical Coding
Medical coding is the process of taking a patient’s diagnosis and treatment notes and turning them into the appropriate alphanumeric codes for accurate billing and record-keeping. Current Procedural Codes (CPT) codes, International Classification of Disease (ICD) codes, and Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes are a few examples of the various types of codes.
Medical Billing
Medical billing refers to the process of creating accurate patient claims or invoices based on coding and sending them to insurance companies for payments. Based on codes, insurance companies will approve or deny payments. The patient will receive any payments for medical services that are not covered by their insurance plan. As soon as a patient schedules an appointment with a medical office, the billing procedure gets started.
Medical Billing and Coding Software Has the Following Goals:
The majority of medical coding and billing up until the 2000s was done manually, which required a significant amount of paperwork both before coding and after billing the claim. If the insurance provider refused to pay because of a coding or billing error, the paperwork grew.
In times of global pandemic, it can be challenging for medical practices to train and recruit personnel who can handle both the coding and billing tasks effectively. Claims that are incorrectly processed can have a direct impact on the revenue cycle. Medical billing, on the other side, is a meticulous task that requires valuable time.
Moreover, the process of processing claims and collecting payments is being completely redefined by hospital billing software solutions. Besides, the ability for the medical staff to concentrate on managing better patient care is the biggest benefit, along with process simplification and error reduction.
Electronic Health Records (EHR) have proven to be very useful in the healthcare sector, particularly for doctors. Compared to paperwork, EHR makes it easier to maintain an accurate and comprehensive patient record.
Traditionally, to create a patient’s medical record into the database, medical professionals had to manually enter codes into the specialized computerized systems. Moreover, medical codes depend on the diagnosis and treatment for a particular patient and are complicated because there are so many different kinds of acute and chronic illnesses.
On the other side, Medical practices are required to update the changes in codes as a result of the ongoing changes in the healthcare industry. That said, medical billing and coding specialists may find it difficult to keep up with all the changes, but the right software can update the codes accurately and efficiently. Besides, the patient’s medical records can also be easily updated using the software solutions in accordance with newer medical codes.
On the other hand, the speed of medical billing and coding has significantly increased thanks to the development of artificial intelligence and automation. In these Covid-19 times, coders can easily work remotely and from their homes rather than being on-site due to lockdown and social isolation. The sophisticated applications on modern computers and even smartphones are primarily made to assist with medical coding.
The benefits of software solutions for Medical billing and coding:
Nearly 30 years ago, the only source of healthcare information was paperwork, which was a laborious and time-consuming task. The use of medical billing and coding software, however, is restructuring and enhancing health information management. Moreover, the need for specific healthcare services and medical professionals is anticipated to rise as the baby boomer generation ages.
The information of a patient, including symptoms, diagnoses, and treatments, is converted into an electronic code by modern medical coders using software. This electronic code is then easily stored in the patient’s database, which is then managed by the medical practice. In order to get payment from insurance companies, the code or information is used to create a medical bill.
With just a few clicks, today’s medical coding software, known as a “encoder,” makes the entire coding process quick and easy. Moreover, the software makes it simple to choose from among the hundreds of different codes, all of which can be challenging for a professional to memorize. The codes are also continuously updated.
On the other hand, professional coders are also required to use their knowledge and skill to ensure that the correct medical claim is processed. Besides, encoders assist in identifying and choosing the appropriate code for a specific diagnosis or procedure. Moreover, the benefits of utilizing complex coding and billing solutions include
- giving medical practices a suitable platform to keep track of patients’ medical histories, diagnoses, and treatments
- quickly determining the insurance status and eligibility
- enhancing the billing and coding procedures significantly and removing any errors
- Making sure that insurance companies receive accurate claims without the possibility of a rejection
- facilitating prompt payment of medical bills to the provider of care
- Tools for analytics to facilitate quick reporting and scheduling
Final words
Once the benchmark of collections has been reached, medical claims are processed more quickly and staff can focus on treating patients rather than filling out endless paperwork. So, we can say that the role of digital technology in the healthcare sector currently is more crucial than ever.