Computerized
Billing and Office Management Programs
By
Edward Zuckerman,
PhD
Return to Developing Your Professional Practice
Computerization of
clinical practice is not only becoming almost unavoidable
but it can be quite beneficial. Typing is easier on
a computer than handwriting, computers rarely lose
anything and can find it anywhere in a few seconds,
and the Internet holds great riches and the promise
of more. Commonly available programs allow you to
cope with billing and managed care needs, assist in
assessment and report construction, survey the research,
administer treatments, and put you in instant touch
with colleagues around the world.
However, for many,
the most pressing need is a program which can ensure
accurate and timely billing and handle routine office
tasks like appointment scheduling and recording progress
notes. Most of the software described below will do
these and many offer additional functions. This list
is not exhaustive. It omits programs for the larger
systems like clinics and many entry points. Small
programs for medical billing usable by therapists
are listed at the end. I estimate that this list is
98% complete and certainly contains all the major
developers of these programs for mental health offices.
This listing is current as of April 7, 2003 when the
basic facts were checked.
Since developers are constantly
improving and modifying their products do confirm
any important aspects of a program before you make
a purchase. Because the Health Insurance Privacy and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) will substitute a new electronic
billing form - the ANSI 827-P- for the familiar HCFA-1500,
ask each developer how they are handling this.All
computers, software, and other product names listed
herein are property of their respective copyright
and trademark holders.
Selecting a program
You probably turned
to this section to find out which program to buy.
I sure wish I could tell you the answer but I can't
know your situation or needs so here is what I suggest
as a strategy. First, look at all features and decide
which are most important. As you explore, add more
features or more explanation of them to your checklists.
Get the demos and play around. Do NOT decide on the
basis of price. Your income and stress level will
depend on this program for many years and one which
is confusing or unnecessarily complex will be a continuing
source of distress for you and your staff. If you
have an office manager, he or she should make the
final decision even though you have the PhD.
The format of each
entry
- The developer's
name, address, phone, and net site, as available.
The list is alphabetical and the size of the description
is not related to the size of the program.
- The name of the
program. I have put this second because many programs
have similar names.
- A description of
the program. Since all these programs do billing,
only unusual aspects are listed. Where they do additional
functions they are called "office management"
programs and may include schedulers, mailing list
handling, treatment plan writing and updating, recording
of medications, etc. ECS means Electronic Claims
Submission -- the ability to send a claim for payment
to the insurance company over the phone line using
your modem and specialized software. This makes
the insurance company's work easier, it may speed
up your payment, and it certainly speeds up their
denying your claim.
- Which computer hardware
or "platforms" it is designed to run on.
All of these programs work under Microsoft's operating
system, Windows, they are not so identified. There
are fewer which work on Apple's Macintosh computers,
(but you only need one program); those are indicated
with the word "Macintosh."
- The current costs
of the program, where advertised or available. These
may change or your needs may not fit the configuration
of the program listed so call to confirm prices.
- The availability
of downloads or cost of demonstration disks. Some
of these contain only a "Guided Tour"
which describes and illustrates the programs's major
features (but not all the functions or procedures).
Others contain a limited version of the whole program
or limit you to a small number of clients or a fixed
period of time. You can enter data and see how almost
everything works, but cannot use the demo to run
your practice. These "fully functional"
demos will take a lot of your time to enter client
information but you will then really understand
their strengths and limitations. By working with
several, you will quickly separate the more from
the less appropriate programs so the time is well
invested.
The list of developers:
ACCURATE ASSESSMENTS, 1823 HARNEY STREET, SUITE 101,
OMAHA, NEBRASKA 68102.
AccuCare a suite of integrated programs for billing,
ECS, assessment, monitoring of progress and outcomes,
etc. which offers specialized modules for addictions,
criminal justice, and Native Americans.
See www.myaccucare.com for more information.
APPLIED COMPUTING
SERVICES, 212 FAIR VIEW ROAD, ELK, WA 99009, 1-800-553-4055.
PMA-2000 does billing, insurance, and scheduling and
progress notes, especially for mental health.
See http://www.pma2000.com for more information.
BEAVER CREEK SOFTWARE,
525 SW 6TH ST., CORVALLIS OR 97333-4324, 1-800-895-3344.
The Therapist for Windows. This is a full-scale billing
program, fills in forms, all diagnostic codes (DSM-IV,
CPT, RSV, ICD-9), prints on letterhead or HCFA 1500,
makes mailing labels, deposit slips, tracks referrals
and pre-authorizations, simple clinical notes, password
protection, backup and restoration of data, pre-authorizations
and insurance maximums, dunning messages, form letters,
etc.
See http://www.beaverlog.com for more information.
BLUMENTHAL SOFTWARE,
INC., 528 PALMER FARM DRIVE; YARDLEY, PA 19067, 215-702-9550. PBS: The Psychologist's Billing System. This mature
full-featured billing program does it all - accounting,
forms generation and printing, management reports,
transfers data into spreadsheets, sliding scale and
Medicare fee generation, handles managed care limitations,
etc.
See http://www.blumenthalsoftware.com for more information.
CORNUCOPIA SOFTWARE,
626 SAN CARLOS AVE., ALBANY CA 94706, 510-528-7000.
Practice Magic is a very complete billing and office
management system at a low price and which runs on
Macintoshes as well. It prints to HCFA 1500, uses
an appointment book format (and prints DaytimerTM
inserts), exports to QuickenTM, does progress notes,
managed care functions, bank deposit slips, etc. ECS
billing though a clearinghouse.
See http://www.practicemagic.com for more information.
DOCUTRAC, INC., 20140 SCHOLAR DR., #218, HAGERSTOWN,
MD 21742-6575, 1- 800-850-8510.
Office therapy is a fully featured insurance and billing
program with ECS through clearinghouses. Managed care
information is well integrated, data can be easily
exported to other databases, and much of the program
can be user-modified. Free fully functional demo by
download or by request. Now available for the Palm
OS. QuickDoc is a fully featured records program with
documentation for intakes, progress and discharge
notes, scheduling, treatment goals and plans, patient
satisfaction, practice forms and letters, mail merge,
etc. QuicForms fit all managed care formats. QuicWord
allows easy creation and integration of records with
other programs.
See http://www.quicdoc.com for more information.
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
SOFTWARE, 285 ENGLE ST., ENGLEWOOD, NJ 07631, 1-800-874-2159.
PM/2 is a long-standing and complete billing program
with dozens of features including insurance billing,
scheduling, managed care tracking, security, etc.
PM/2 Clinical Planner generates treatment plans and
OTRs from checklists.
See http://www.pm2.com for more information.
PRAGMATIC, INC., P. O. BOX 33551, RENO, NV 89533,
1-877-773-4481.
Center PsychTM is a combination of a billing program
and, with options, additional services. It can serve
1-99 providers, a single office or multiple locations,
and makes good use of the Macintosh interface. See http://www.centerdigital.com/software/ for more information.
PSYQUEL, 12758 CIMARRON
PATH, SUITE 127, SAN ANTONIO, TX 78249, 1-877-779-7835.
Scheduling, billing and insurance for mental health
providers with a twist. It is a subscription based
Internet service. They pursue unpaid claims, track
authorizations, backup records, and provide free support
training, upgrades, etc. The program also supports
progress notes and other patient records.
See http://www.psyquel.com for more information.
SANER SOFTWARE,
#253, 2460 W. MAIN ST. - D, ST. CHARLES, IL 60175,
630-513-5599.
ShrinkRapt is a very complete billing and insurance
program with some records features like clinical notes
and treatment plans. It is available for the Macintosh
and technical support is free. See http://www.sanersoftware.com for more information.
SOS SOFTWARE: SYNERGISTIC
OFFICE SOLUTIONS, INC., 352-242-9100.
SOS Office Manager is a fully featured mature product
based on the familiar daysheet/ledger card model.
Simplified data entry, managed care tracking, useful
management reports, and much more. SOS Case Manager
for Windows offers very flexible clinical records
including intake, history, problem/goal/asset/obstacle-oriented
treatment plans and progress notes, group therapy
progress notes, medication, a glossary for reusable
text, templates for most used information, etc.
See http://www.sosoft.com for more information.
SUMTIME, 995 VINTAGE AVE., SUITE 102, ST. HELENA,
CA 94574, 1-888-821-0771.
SumTime is a very complete and full featured billing
and practice management software package including
ECS and scheduler, billing and managed care functions,
10 pages of password protected notes per session,
customized form letters, etc. See http://www.sumtime.com for more information.
VANTAGEMED, 600
WEST CUMMINGS PARK, SUITE 3450, WOBURN, MA 01801,
1-800-343-5737.
Therapist Helper . A very comprehensive multi-functional
program which, besides billing, includes scheduling,
managed care and meds tracking, many reports, progress
notes. Options include ECS, credit card processing,
Palm Organizer version, and QuicDoc (see DocuTrac,
above). See http://www.helper.com for more information.
Billing only programs
from the medical side but which are suitable for therapists:
COM1 SOFTWARE
Just for filling out claims forms, not any other kinds
of billing functions.
See http://com1software.com/c1000.htm for more information.
EASY BILLING, 710 COLOMBIA STREET, SANTA FE, NM
87505, 1-800-618-6136.
Easy Billing Gold. A rather complete billing program
and appointment scheduler for the single provider.
See http://www.easybillingsoftware.com/index.htm for more information.
JONOKE SOFTWARE
DEVELOPMENT INC., 403-448-3647.
MediFile is a full system including electronic
medical records. The Jr. version does just billing
and scheduling and lower cost. See http://jonoke.com/ for more information.
NDC MEDISOFT
MediSoft is an inexpensive and widely used accounting,
billing, and scheduling with included Office House.
It does ECS and offers a word processor and many other
add-ons. See http://www.medisoft.com/ for more information.
NUESOFT TECHNOLOGIES,
404-351-5052.
NueMD is different. Instead of buying a program you
subscribe to its services; instead of a program, you
use the Internet, and it runs on Macintoshes and Windows.
It does billing and insurance. See http://www.nuesoft.com for more information.
REM SYSTEMS, 117
LONGWOOD DR., SW, HUNTSVILLE, AL 35801-4513, 1-800-548-6148.
Billing Master. See http://www.remsys.com/ for more information.
This article is reprinted with permission from Koocher,
G. P., Norcross, J. C., & Hill, S. S. (Eds.).
(2004). Psychologists' desk reference (2nd ed.). New
York: Oxford University Press. For more information
on the book, go to http://www.us.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Psychology/Clinical/?view=usa.
The National Register does not endorse or recommend any products or websites listed in this article.
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