Medical Account Solutions » medical claims

Letting Go to Grow

Bill Baylis — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 15:00:57 +0000

Recently I heard someone say that when you’re building a team, in order to grow you have to learn to let go.

Many of us when we start our businesses are used to doing everything by ourselves. We get scared of letting go and delegating to others. Because we’re afraid that things won’t be done right and that our customers are gonna be the ones to suffer.

Doctor’s are no different. Some doctors run their medical offices this way. They are almost too involved in the administrative things and aspects of running their practice and it gets in the way of patient. They are concerned about outsourcing their medical billing or other administrative tasks.

Other doctors, especially those in multi doctor practices hire staff in house to manage the administrative things, but it’s still hard for them to let go and their staff to get overwhelmed with things like following up with patient billing, the back and forth with insurance companies. These time consuming activities–especially those for medical billing–can make it harder to focus on the core functions of their practice–patient care.

But the truth is if we don’t learn to delegate and get the support we need it’s going to be hard for us to grow. So learn to let go and outsource the things that are taking up too much time for your practice.

Outsourcing to me Bill Baylis and my company MAS to manage your accounts and receivables and medical billing will make it easier for you and your staff to focus on the more important aspects of your practice—your patients.

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Medical Account Solutions to Attend the LIASB Anniversary Celebration

Webmaster — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 18:30:43 +0000

Bill Baylis and Susan Baylis of Medical Account Solutions will have a table at the Long Island Advancement of Small Business Anniversary Celebration. This event is open to members and the public. Sign up to attend at http://www.LIASB.com/seminars.php

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Whose Ball is It? Profit Management with MAS

Webmaster — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:37:23 +0000

Baseball fans will know that there are many life lessons to learn from watching the game. One of my favorite lessons is project management. When the ball flies up in the air, the players know their range and how far they are playing. If they come close to another player they call for the ball and back the other person off. It’s like poetry in motion when done right.

Everyone knows what their role is and what’s expected. Good project management involves clarity on the strengths of each team member and what their responsibilities are. So when MAS works with its clients everyone is clear on what their area of expertise is and who’ll “get the ball”. Working with MAS is good “profit management.”

MAS clients get to focus more on their patients and worry less about their medical billing needs because we’re on the ball. We focus on making sure that bills go out in a timely fashion, that payments are properly collected and that profit recovery is maximized.

Having MAS take the lead on medical billing means we look at all aspects from the medical billing process, streamlining resources, maximizing physician practice revenue and overall practice management.

Our doctors get to focus on what they do best—taking care of their patients. A win-win for everyone.

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Outsourcing: The Art of Delegation

Bill Baylis — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:20:15 +0000

Time management experts all agree that one of the most important skills needed to manage the non renewing resource of time, is to master the art of delegation.

In order to improve your medical office’s productivity it’s important to learn how to delegate those skills that aren’t your area of expertise. That way you can focus on your core business-seeing patients.

In my opinion the medical offices who successfully delegate or outsource their medical billing are more productive and profitable. These offices are also more profitable because by outsourcing their medical billing to a company like MAS,they are able to benefit from our expertise as profit recovery specialists.

So now you’re thinking “trust someone else to bill my patients?” I ask “Why Not?”

When you “delegate” your medical billing and profit recovery needs to MAS, you are a part of the process all the way.

You always have access to your information, you know where your billing is at all times and because we make sure we understand your specific practice—everything is customized to you. The key is that you won’t be spending your time to do it, we’ll take care of it for you.

Mastering the art of outsourcing or delegation will help you streamline your business and save time and money.

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MAS to be Spotlighted at the next Long Island Connects Meeting

Webmaster — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 14:28:44 +0000

Bill Baylis, President of Medical Account Solutions will be speaking at the next Long Island Connects business networking meeting on Wednesday, September 15th at 12pm. Long Island Connects meets at the Hauppauge Palace Diner, 525 Smithtown Boulevard in Hauppauge. For more information, call Bill Baylis at 516-348-7282 or visit the Long Island Connects website at http://liconnects.com.

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The Cost of Dying: End-of-Life Care. The path of least resistance for a medical blogger.

Bill Baylis — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:24:00 +0000

60 minutes ran a story Sunday night Aug. 6, 2010 (originally published on Nov. 22, 2009). The Cost of Dying: End-of-Life Care . It started with the statement “Every medical study ever conducted has concluded that 100 percent of all Americans will eventually die. This comes as no great surprise, but the amount of money being spent at the very end of people’s lives probably will.” They also reported, that last year, Medicare paid $55 billion just for doctor and hospital bills during the last two months of patients’ lives. That’s more than the budget for the Department of Homeland Security, or the Department of Education.

This piece created a lot of emotions for me. I don’t think it was an accident that I related to this story, considering that I have been working with colleagues who are experts in the field of eldercare and life coaching.

When I first decided to add this story to my blog; it seemed like an easy angle to write about our role in the debate as medical billers. (If you have any thoughts on what role we play, please comment.) After reporter Steve Kroft asked Dr. Elliott Fisher, a researcher at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy “How do so many people end up in the hospital?” and Fisher replied “It’s the path of least resistance”. I realized I was about to take the same path with this blog–so here goes the harder way.

Perhaps we as a country need to take a step back and as hard as this is to say “decide how we want to die”.

Most Americans don’t like to focus on morbid thing like this, but I have to agree with the point of view held by Dr. Byock who leads a team that treats and counsels patients with advanced illnesses: “This is a hard time in human life. But it’s just a part of life. Collectively, as a culture, we really have to acknowledge that we’re mortal,” Dr. Byock said. “Get over it. And start looking at what a healthy, morally robust way for people to die looks like.”

Dale Carnegie once said “Prepare for the worst that can possibly happen” then “calmly try to improve upon the worst.”

I think that we should put some thought today into how we what to die, to maintain some control of our last days. I have deeper understanding of how working with my end-of-life colleagues could help us live a better life. Attorney Craig Andreoli an estate planning expert, Stephanie Ethe long term insurance specialist and Jean Summit-Riker life coach can help us plan and ask ourselves the hard questions now so that we’re better prepared for death.

Jean Summit-Riker said “Life is a journey we all travel, but the choice to take the path to peace and happiness is yours alone.” I think this is our chance to collectively leave a legacy to our children and grandchildren and show them that it is important to prepare for death and that is possible to do it gracefully.

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Medical Billing: A “higher calling”?

Susan Baylis — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 01:25:37 +0000

I found myself heavily entrenched in the news and controversy of the Healthcare Reform Bill for a myriad of reasons. One reason, admittedly, is out of fear. I was, and still am, terribly afraid of dramatic change to our advanced and miraculous healthcare system. Throughout my life, I have watched our healthcare system help save the lives of my premature twin sons, who grew up perfectly healthy, thanks in large part to modern medicine. Conversely, I watched in horror as they treated my father, who had advanced Parkinson’s Disease, with the resources probably used during ancient times.

Nothing is perfect, but if you were to talk to a friend or family member overseas about their universal healthcare system, you realize that we have what people in other countries wish they had!

Of the various clients I have been blessed to have throughout the years, I particularly enjoy doing work for large, inner-city hospitals. Often times, these clients have a large mental health, obstetrical and renal failure population, among others. When I see this type of billing, I think of the lives behind it–the mentally ill patients who are able to lead a better life due to the help they receive, the babies who are born healthy because of pre-natal care and the dialysis patients who are buying more time with their families until a kidney becomes available.

Their lives literally depend upon the fiscal stability of their community hospital! I feel a sense of accomplishment when I get their claims paid because I know that I am helping to keep these hospitals fiscally sound so they can be there for those patients who need them the most!

Recently, we witnessed the closing of a fine institution who served New York City for so many years, that they treated survivors of the Titanic!! St. Vincent’s Hospital was a beloved fixture in the lower Manhattan community that serviced families from the cradle to the grave. Its closing left a hole in the healthcare system of New York City that cannot be fixed. It makes me terribly sad to think there have patients who have suffered, and perhaps even lost their lives, due to the shutdown of this hospital. Would things have been different if they had properly utilized all available resources?

Numbers don’t lie. According to a 2006 Newsweek article, there are approximately $60 billion in unpaid medical bills per year! Our work, of supplementing an over-burdened hospital staff, helps to keep hospitals functioning in our communities so they can continue to serve the patients who walk through their doors everyday!

I have watched the struggles of New York’s inner-city hospitals now for many years and have grown increasingly frustrated as they resist outsourcing their medical billing to an agency, such as MAS. Surely they can do it themselves, why do they need to pay an outside company to do what their internal staff can? Perhaps because, according to the CDC, in 2006 there were 119.2 million emergency department visits alone.

Yes, we want to be leaders in the medical billing industry but my company and I focus on the bigger picture. We know that our efforts and collections help to secure and maintain our cutting-edge American healthcare system. With this in mind, I believe our contributions at MAS could just be a “higher calling”!

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Comparing medical billing companies? If you only focus on price, MAS hopes you don’t get what you pay for.

Bill Baylis — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 22:05:37 +0000

Believe or not on 90% of our sales calls the first question our potential clients ask is “what do you charge?”

I can understand why most medical offices focus on that “pre-programmed answer” they assume that all medical billing offices are the same. Because they do the same things–don’t they?

I’m here to tell you that they don’t. If you’re considering hiring a medical billing company, I’d like to give you a few different questions to ask, because the truth is ALL MEDICAL BILLING OFFICES ARE NOT ALIKE!

Instead of just asking about price, dig deeper.

Ranging from basic to difficult the answers to these questions will help you figure out if they will give you the attention and client service you deserve.

How long have they been in business? Make sure they have the longevity to grow with you.
Who are their clients? You’ll find out if they are experienced in your area of specialty.
Who are the owners? Understand if they share your strategic vision.
How often will you get to meet with the owners? Confirm how accessible they are if you need to reach them.
Are they givers or takers? Givers will help you grow by sharing information and resources that keep you current and ahead of your competitors. Find out if

they will share what billing software they use with you
the data always yours or theirs
what format can the data be exported in.

How am I doing so far? These questions are a lot tougher than just pricing and we haven’t gotten to any performance questions yet! (I suspect I will get to that in another blog soon).

When it comes to finding the right medical billing company for you, do your research and think about what important qualities you need in a billing agency. If they deliver the right answers to the questions above, price won’t the only factor you base your decisions on.

Remember, not all medical billing companies are the same. Demand the best for your practice. But, if you only focus on price, you will get what you pay for.

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Forget Outsourcing, Try Rural Sourcing. MAS Agrees!

Bill Baylis — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:46:37 +0000

Our friend Stacy Luft of CF Grow has posted this excellent blog by Reporter Nitasha Tiku of INC. titled ”Forget Outsourcing, Try Rural Sourcing“. We could not agree more with this statement at Medical Account Solutions! I hope it is not trademarked yet because it might be my new favorite go-to saying!

We need jobs here first! I could never understand why so many of our jobs have been sent over seas, especially service sector jobs. I have no doubt that we can get the job done better here at home, with more impact to the client’s bottomline, and, with greater customer satisfaction. Cheaper does not always mean better!

We just feel its good policy to shop locally. At MAS, we use our local pharmacist and food market. The owners and workers of these businesses know us, they know our likes and dislikes and they do the little things that keep us coming back again and again. It’s a great investment in our community to buy in our own backyard when it makes sense. American’s know what they want when it comes to service and it makes sense to me to turn to our own backyard when hiring a service oriented company.

We at MAS welcome the challenge to prove why Long Island ”Rural Sourcing” is the way to go with your medical billing needs!

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Outsource your medical billing and get back to healing again!

Bill Baylis — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:27:21 +0000

Throughout our years of servicing the healthcare field we have encountered many physicians who are conflicted, even afraid to outsource to a medical billing agency. Firstly, they are afraid that if they let their billing out of their office, somehow they are relinquishing their power over their own cashflow. And then they wonder, do I now have to fire my office staff who has become like family to me?? And so the panic begins, sometimes even causing the doctor to choose inaction instead of making what they construe as a painful decision. It’s been tough for us to watch when a struggling doctor’s office, rather than seeing the writing on the wall, chooses instead to allow their revenue to decline, thereby jeopardizing their own practice! We spoke to a colleague recently who told us stories of doctors taking second mortgages on their own homes just to maintain the finances of their practice!

Now imagine if you were a physician and could come to your office everyday knowing that you could practice medicine instead of constantly worry about cashflow?

In reality, utilizing a professional medical billing agency will transform your practice. Imagine how efficient an office can be when working together with a medical billing company who is handling the details of generated cash flow. Instead of arguing with insurance companies, your staff can focus on complementing you as a healer, perhaps by generating a new patient flow or simply maintaining patient satisfaction and rapport. A professional medical billing agency will possess and utilize their strengths in organization, billing and collections and allow your staff to focus on your patient’s needs. You can now refocus your staff on supporting you as a healer.

The power is yours when you find the right company. When you begin your search, we hope you will consider Medical Account Solutions!

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