Practice Management Software: 5 Key Features

What’s on your PM wish list?

Choosing a practice management software solution seems intimidating, but it becomes less so when you know what you’re looking for. Here we examine the 5 key features every PM solution should have to give you a start on listing your search criteria.

5 Key Features of Practice Management Software

Billing and Claims Management

A practice management solution is essentially how your practice is going to file claims and get paid. Therefore, this part must work well for the solution to be worth its salt. Some items to look for include:

• Enhanced charge slip tracking and charge posting
• EDI Rules Manager and code scrubbing
• Quick, accurate payment posting options
• Easy statement generation
• ICD-10 ready
• Automated patient eligibility verification
• Continuous, automatic claims tracking
• Real-time claim status inquiry
• Electronic remittance advice

These features allow you to track what you should be getting paid for. PM software makes sure your claims are accurate before you even submit them to cut down on denials, and receive payment electronically. This keeps your cash flowing well. Also, it allows you to focus on the health of your patients rather than worrying about the financial health of your business.

Robust Reporting

Getting paid is great, but that’s just the beginning. Real financial strength comes from being able to analyze those payments and seeing what’s working and what could use a little help. This ability comes with a practice management system that offers robust reporting capabilities, like MicroMD. It can’t be overstated how important this is to keeping your practice on the right track. We recognize how easy it is to think the behind the scenes pieces don’t matter, but this one really does.

Scheduling

When many people think of a practice management system, this is one of the first things that comes to mind. Long gone are the days of a paper appointment book, but accurate and efficient scheduling tools in a PM solution are vital. Features like intelligent waiting lists and alerts with real-time eligibility help you to keep your schedule full and get your patients in more quickly. Also, ensure that your PM offers the ability to set up your scheduling module to reflect the way your practice works. Look for a solution with multiple scheduling views. It’s an added bonus if you can utilize drag and drop for moving appointments around to decrease keystrokes.

Registration

Capturing patient demographics is incredibly important. Make sure that the PM system you choose allows you to do so efficiently. The ability to scan drivers licenses and insurance cards and have the data populate into the system makes your front office staff’s lives that much easier. Additionally, it is also helpful to have the ability to perform temporary registration for new patients. This temporary registration creates a placeholder until all demographic information is obtained at the patient’s appointment.

Advanced Security

Unfortunately, we do live in a time where security in healthcare has become a big issue. Moreover, ensure that your practice management software has a number of security features in place. The ability to customize who can access the system and to what extent goes a long way in regards to keeping patient information safe. Also, it’s imperative to have an audit trail so that if something does go wrong, you can track the problem and solve it quickly.

It can feel like a daunting task to select a practice management system. However, once you know what you’re looking for, it’s just a matter of finding the system that matches your needs. These five key features are a great place to start in knowing what to look for, and MicroMD PM includes each of these.

Ready to learn more? Visit micromd.com or call 1-800-624-8832 for more information.