Developing a social media medical strategy for your holistic practice can be valuable for connecting with your patients, building trust, and promoting your services. However, knowing where to start with social media platforms can take some work. This blog post will discuss the pros and cons of various social media platforms and provide tips for developing a social media strategy for your holistic practice.
When developing a social media medical strategy for your holistic medicine practice, it is vital to consider the following:
- Identify your target audience: Whom are you trying to reach with your social media efforts? Are they current patients, potential patients, or other healthcare professionals?
- You can choose the right platform from our guide below: Based on your target audience and the type of content you want to share, you can choose the social media platform that will most effectively reach your audience.
- Create a content calendar: Plan your content for the next month, quarter, or year; this will help ensure that you have a steady stream of content to share and that you are sharing relevant and engaging content.
- Engage with your audience: Respond to comments and messages and use the platforms’ features to engage with your audience.
- Measure and adjust: Track your social media metrics to see which posts are performing well and which are not. Use this information to change your strategy and improve your results.
Social Media Guide
Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms and is a great place to connect with patients and promote your practice.
- Pros of using Facebook include the ability to reach a large audience, create posts that are easy to share, and post events and appointments.
- Cons of using Facebook include creating engaging and relevant content, keeping up with the algorithm changes, and the potential for negative comments or reviews.
Twitter is a fast-paced platform that allows you to share quick updates, news, and information.
- Pros of using Twitter include the ability to reach a large audience, the ability to connect with influencers, and the ability to share real-time information.
- Cons of using Twitter include being concise and to the point, managing the character limit, and the potential for negative comments or reviews.
Instagram is a visual platform that allows you to share pictures and videos to promote your practice.
- Pros of using Instagram include the ability to reach a large audience, the ability to communicate visually appealing content, and the ability to connect with influencers.
- Cons of using Instagram are the need to produce high-quality content, keep up with algorithm changes, and the potential for negative comments or reviews.
LinkedIn is a professional networking platform for connecting with other healthcare professionals and promoting your practice.
- Pros of using LinkedIn include the ability to communicate with other healthcare professionals, the ability to share industry-related content, and the ability to promote job openings.
- Cons of using LinkedIn include creating professional and relevant content, keeping up with the algorithm changes, and the potential for negative comments or reviews.
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing platform that allows you to share videos to promote your practice.
- Pros of using YouTube include the ability to reach a large audience, share informative and educational videos, and connect with influencers.
- Cons of using YouTube need to produce high-quality video content, keep up with algorithm changes, and the potential for negative comments or reviews.
Social media can be a powerful and cost-effective tool for promoting your holistic practice and connecting with patients. By identifying your target audience, choosing the right platform, creating content, and tracking your social media results, you’ll have a strategy to connect with your patients, build trust, and promote your services.
How does this relate to a billing company focused on acupuncture, chiropractic, and medical-massage billing? While you are busy creating your social media strategy, the tedious and complicated medical coding and billing process does not need to consume your time. By letting a trusted firm like Holistic Billing Services handle your online appointments, SOAP notes, or your medical billing burden, your time, energy, and creativity are freed up to focus on what matters most: your patients.
The friendly experts at HBS have decades of experience and are eager to help you succeed! Please reach out to us today to build a custom solution that suits your acupuncture, chiropractic, or medical massage practice needs and goals.
Cash flow is the amount of cash a business generates and uses in a given period. Understanding cash flow as part of your business plan is essential to ensure that the practice has enough money to pay its bills and invest in its future growth. Projecting cash flow in a medical practice can be daunting, but it is essential for the practice’s financial success. In this blog post, we will discuss the steps involved in projecting cash flow for a medical practice and provide tips for maintaining a healthy cash flow.
Step 1: Identify your sources of cash
The first step in projecting cash flow is to identify the sources of cash for the practice. These sources include patient payments, insurance reimbursements, and investments. Understanding the timing of these payments and any trends or fluctuations in the amount of cash received is essential. For example, if the practice experiences a spike in patient volume during the summer months, it will likely receive more money during this period.
Step 2: Identify your uses of cash
Once you identify the sources of cash, it is crucial to identify the uses of cash for the practice. These uses include expenses such as rent, salaries, supplies, and equipment. It is important to understand the timing of these expenses and any trends or fluctuations in the amount of cash spent. For example, if the practice plans to purchase new equipment, it will likely spend more money during the month or quarter in which you bought the equipment.
Step 3: Create a cash flow projection
With an understanding of the sources and uses of cash, the next step is to create a cash flow projection. This projection should include an estimate of the amount of cash received and spent in a given period. It is vital to have both expected and unexpected events in the projection and any trends or fluctuations in the amount of cash received or spent.
Step 4: Monitor and adjust your projection
Once you create the cash flow projection, it is essential to monitor it regularly and make adjustments as necessary; this may include adjusting the prediction based on actual results or making changes to the practice’s operations to improve cash flow. For example, if the practice is experiencing a cash flow shortage, it may need to increase its billing and collections efforts, recruit patients or reduce its expenses.
Tips for maintaining a healthy cash flow
- Review your billing and collections process: A poor billing and collections process is one of the most significant contributors to cash flow problems. Regularly reviewing and improving this process can help ensure that the practice receives payment for services promptly.
- Control expenses: Keeping expenses under control is essential for maintaining a healthy cash flow. Reviewing expenses regularly and finding ways to reduce them can help to improve cash flow.
- Communicate with patients: Clear communication regarding their financial responsibilities can help ensure that payments are received promptly.
- Maintain a good relationship with insurance companies: Building a good relationship with insurance companies can help ensure that reimbursements are received promptly.
- Keep an eye on future trends: Monitoring future trends in the healthcare industry can help to anticipate any changes that may impact cash flow.
In conclusion, projecting cash flow in a medical practice is a vital task that requires a thorough understanding of the sources and uses of cash. By following the steps outlined in this blog post and implementing the tips for maintaining a healthy cash flow, medical practices can ensure they have the resources they need to grow and succeed in today’s competitive healthcare landscape.
How does this relate to a billing company focused on acupuncture, chiropractic, and medical-massage billing? While you are busy projecting your cash flow, let us handle your EMR technology needs and the tedious and complicated medical coding, and billing process. By allowing a trusted firm like Holistic Billing Services, to capture your online appointments and SOAP notes, or offloading your medical billing burden, your time, energy, and creativity are freed up to focus on what matters most: your patients. The friendly experts at HBS have decades of experience and are eager to help you succeed! Contact us today to get started building a custom solution that suits your acupuncture practice needs and goals.
Opening a holistic healthcare practice is an exciting and challenging endeavor that requires careful planning and preparation. A business plan is a critical tool that can help you to organize your thoughts, set goals, and create a roadmap for your practice’s success. In this blog post, we will discuss the steps on how to establish a business plan for your holistic practice and provide some tips for creating a successful strategy.
Step 1: Research the market
The first step may seem obvious, but all too often is overlooked. When developing a business plan, you must first do your market research; this includes identifying the ideal patients for your practice, researching other holistic practices in your area, and understanding the trends and opportunities in the holistic healthcare industry. This research will help you know your target patient’s needs and concerns, allowing you to develop strategies that align with your strengths and interests.
Step 2: Define your business model
Once you understand your market, the next step is to define your practice’s business model; this includes identifying your services, setting prices, and determining how you will generate revenue. It is also essential to consider the costs associated with opening and operating your practice, such as rent, salaries, furniture, and equipment.
Step 3: Create a marketing plan
A marketing plan is a critical component of any business plan and is essential for promoting your practice and reaching your target audience. This plan should include strategies for getting your brand and message in front of potential patients, such as advertising, networking, and social media. In today’s world, it is critical to establish early how you will use social media and other digital marketing tools to promote your practice.
Step 4: Develop a financial plan
A financial plan is a crucial part of any business plan and is essential for understanding the costs associated with opening and operating your practice. This plan should include an estimate of your startup costs, operating expenses, and projected revenue. It should also have a projected cash flow statement, which will help you to understand your practice’s financial health over time.
Step 5: Review and refine your plan
Once your business plan is complete, regularly reviewing and refining, it is essential; this includes monitoring your progress, adjusting your plan as necessary, and seeking feedback from industry experts. It is also crucial to stay updated on industry trends and regulations and adjust your plan as needed.
Tips for creating a successful business plan
- Be realistic: Setting realistic goals and conservative projections for your practice is important; this will help you to avoid disappointment and make adjustments as needed.
- Please keep it simple: A business plan should be easy for someone else to understand and follow. Avoid using jargon or overly complex language.
- Seek feedback: Get input from industry experts, friends, and family to get an outside perspective on your business plan.
- Be specific about your goals and plans. Your goals should be measurable; this will help you stay focused and on track.
- Be flexible: Be prepared to adjust your business plan as necessary. The healthcare industry is constantly changing, and it is vital to adapt to changes.
Finally, developing a business plan for opening a holistic healthcare practice is a critical step in ensuring the success of your medical practice. By following the steps outlined in this blog post and implementing the tips for creating a successful plan, you can create a roadmap for your practice’s success and ensure you have the resources you need to grow and thrive in today’s competitive healthcare landscape.
Resources when establishing your business plan
- Small Business Administration (SBA): The SBA provides a wide range of resources and support for small businesses, including loans, grants, counseling services, and training.
- SCORE: SCORE is a national organization that provides free mentoring and resources to small business owners.
- National Small Business Association (NSBA): The NSBA is a nonprofit organization that provides advocacy, networking, and resources for small business owners.
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH): The NCCIH provides information and resources on complementary and integrative health practices and therapies.
- American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA): The AHMA provides education, resources, and networking opportunities for holistic healthcare practitioners.
How does this relate to a billing company focused on acupuncture, chiropractic, and medical massage billing? While you are busy creating your business plan, your time does not need to be consumed by the tedious and complicated medical coding and billing process. By letting a trusted firm, like Holistic Billing Services, handle your online appointments, SOAP notes, or your medical billing burden, your time, energy, and creativity are freed up to focus on what matters most: your patients.
The friendly experts at HBS have decades of experience and are eager to help you succeed! Contact us today to get started building a custom solution that suits your acupuncture practice needs and goals.
There are nearly 11,000 CPT codes to account for all the different variations of healthcare treatments. While your chiropractic practice will only need a fraction of these codes, it’s vital that the chiropractic CPT codes are current and accurately reflect the services rendered.
If you’re utilizing chiropractic CPT codes that aren’t appropriate or are keyed incorrectly, your reimbursements can be delayed or your claims can be rejected. In any case, this will disrupt your overall revenue cycle.
Since the CPT codes are updated to some degree every year, let’s review the new changes and essential codes for your chiropractic practice!
New Chiropractic CPT Codes and Changes for 2023
All chiropractic services rendered in 2023 must align with the patient’s condition and can only be billed if they are reasonably and medically needed.
Along with this, you’ll only bill for direct services provided to patients – care and treatment provided by the patient, unskilled assistant, or office technician without the supervision of a licensed provider won’t be recognized as professional therapy.
A majority of the CPT codes that were updated or revised for 2023 deal with simplifying the language used for evaluation/management (E/M) codes for:
- Inpatient and observation care services
- Consultations
- Emergency department services
- Nursing facilities
- Home and residence services
- Prolonged services.
The American Medical Association (AMA) has more details regarding the changes for these categories of care, but some highlights include:
- Editorial revisions to the code descriptors to reflect the structure of total time on the date of the encounter or level of medical decision-making when selecting code level for inpatient and observation care services
- Deletion of lowest level office (99241) and inpatient (99251) consultation codes to align with four levels of Medical Decision Making (MDM)
- Revision to nursing facility guidelines with new “problem addressed” definition of “multiple morbidities requiring intensive management,” to be considered at the high level for initial nursing facility care
- The domiciliary or rest home CPT codes (99334-99340) were deleted and merged with the existing home visit CPT codes (99341-99350)
- A new code (993X0) was created to be analogous to the office visit prolonged services code (99417); this new code is to be used with the inpatient or observation or nursing facility services
Essential Chiropractic CPT Codes and Modifiers for 2023
While there are numerous chiropractic CPT codes, there are four main CPT codes chiropractors use for reimbursements; each code represents a specific region of the spine that was treated. These main codes are as follows:
- 98940: Used for the examination, diagnosis, and manipulative treatment of one to two spinal regions
- 98941: Used for the examination, diagnosis, and manipulative treatment involving three or four spinal regions
- 98942: Used for the examination, diagnosis, and manipulative treatment involving five or more spinal regions
- 98943: Used to report chiropractic manipulation of one or more of the extra-spinal regions
There are additional two chiropractor modifier codes commonly used. These can be attached to certain CPT codes to tell insurance providers that some of the treatments the CPT code describes were slightly altered.
If your selected CPT code requires a modifier but you fail to include it, your claim will likely be denied by the insurance company:
- Modifier 25: This Modifier is used to report a significant and separately identifiable Evaluation and Management (E/M) service on a day when another service was provided to the patient by the same physician or other qualified healthcare professional
- Modifier 59: Use this Modifier to report a procedure or service that was distinct or independent from other non-E/M services performed on the same day
When billing for these chiropractic CPT codes, remember these points:
- Report the initial treatment procedure
- Report the date of the X-ray if it was applied, including the X-ray film
- If an X-ray is unavailable, a physician’s examination may be used to document subluxation. The physical examination record must reflect the subluxation.
- Report subluxation using the recommended ICD-10-CM code
- All treatment procedures should be categorized as maintenance therapy, chronic subluxation, or acute subluxation
Direct Patient-Chiropractor Care CPT Codes
When billing for chiropractic care, you can only quantify the time that is spent with direct patient-chiropractor care; the client waiting for equipment or resting in your office doesn’t qualify as direct care, so it can’t be billed.
Refer to these ranges of chiropractic CPT codes to find the one that is most appropriate for chiropractic services rendered:
- 97032-97039
- 97530-97546
- 97110-97150
Transform Your Medical Billing with HBS!
Staying on top of your chiropractic practice’s appointments, SOAP notes, billing, and coding, all the while delivering care to your patients can be overwhelming. Save time, energy, and streamline your revenue cycle management by bundling your practice management with outsourced insurance and Medicare billing for your chiropractic practice!
As an experienced EMR and insurance billing provider for holistic practices, Holistic Billing Services can help your practice navigate the billing process to minimize denials and increase revenue. With a knowledgeable partner by your side, you can focus more on treating patients to help your chiropractic practice grow rather than worrying about insurance billing.
To learn more about our chiropractic billing services, talk to one of our friendly billing and coding experts today!
About 1 in 4 medical students in America is studying to earn their doctor of osteopathy degree, which is comparable to a traditional MD degree. The school of medicine educating the next generation of DO’s has a long history of more than 100 years and, in fact, has a few parallels to the school of chiropractic medicine.
The next time you’re back pain flares up, would you go to an osteopath or a chiropractor? Let’s compare Osteopaths vs Chiropractors: we will dig into what these two lines of medicine are, their histories, and where they differ.
What Is Osteopathy?
Osteopathy is a branch of medicine in the US that focuses on full-body holistic health and wellness by emphasizing how the body’s systems are connected and need to work together in order to maintain health.
Similar to an MD, a doctor of osteopathy—known as a DO—attends medical school and is a fully-licensed physician who can specialize in any area, perform surgeries, work in pediatrics, emergency medicine, and more.
History of Osteopathy
Osteopathy was founded in America by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, a physician who didn’t agree with the contemporaneous practices of bloodletting, blistering, treatments with mercury, etc. He believed that most ailments could be treated without the use of drugs; this curiosity, grounded in Still’s anatomical studies, lead to him exploring how medical conditions could be treated with a more natural healing process.
Eventually, Dr. Still would open the first osteopathic medical practice and found the first school of osteopathic medicine; here’s a brief timeline of the development of this medical thought from founding to the present day:
- 1826: Andrew Taylor Still is born, the third of nine children to Abram and Martha Still
- 1853: Still becomes a physician, studying closely with his father who was a preacher and physician
- 1861: Still enlists to serve as a physician during the Civil War for the Union state of Kansas
- 1892: The first osteopathic medical school, the American School of Osteopathy, opens in Kirksville, Missouri
- 1897: The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) is founded
- 1929: Pharmacology and surgical education is added to the osteopathic curriculum
- 1957: The US Department of Education recognizes the AOA as an accrediting organization for osteopathic medical education
- 1973: Doctors of Osteopathic medicine are certified in all 50 states and DC
- 2007: Osteopathic medicine is recognized in 45 countries around the world
- 2020: Osteopathic accreditation programs merged into one single accreditation program, further affirming osteopathic medicine’s standing in American healthcare education practices
History of Chiropractic Medicine
The word “chiropractic” derives from the Greek words cheir, meaning “hand”, and praktos, meaning “done”, in essence, “done by hand”. While manual wellness treatments have traditions spanning millennia, the particular profession of chiropractic medicine didn’t take shape until the late 1800s in America.
The birth of chiropractic medicine as we know it today is attributed to Daniel David Palmer, who had a background in magnetic healing and phrenology, or the study of diagnosing illnesses by the bumps on a person’s skull. Due to his dubious attitude toward traditional medical practices in his time, Palmer began experimenting on treating ailments through the manipulation of the spine.
Akin to Still and the birth of osteopathic medicine, Palmer believed that the human body was one organism that needed all parts to function properly for good health; Palmer felt that the origin of good health lay in the spine.
Let’s look at a brief timeline of how chiropractic medicine has developed over the last hundred years:
- 1845: Chiropractic founder Daniel David Palmer is born in Canada and later immigrates to the United States with his family in 1865
- 1895: While working in an office practicing magnetic healing, the building’s janitor, a man named Harvey Lillard, receives the first chiropractic adjustment; Lillard had been partially deaf for almost 20 years and Palmer noticed one of his vertebrae was out of place. After correcting the position of his vertebrae, Lillard reports that his hearing significantly improved
- 1897: Palmer opens the first school of chiropractic medicine, named Palmer School of Chiropractic
- 1913: The first law regarding the licensing of chiropractors is passed and thus makes chiropractic treatment officially legal
- 1964: The Palmer School of Chiropractic is renamed the Palmer College of Chiropractic and made a non-profit institution, thus greatly expanding its campus and student presence
- 1993: Congress passes legislation that includes chiropractic medicine in the US Department of Defense healthcare system
- 2014: The VA launched a chiropractic residency program, the first of its kind in the country, where chiropractors train alongside their medical counterparts at VA medical systems around the country
Osteopath vs Chiropractor: What’s the Difference?
Now that we’ve explored how osteopathic medicine shares some parallels with chiropractic medicine over the course of each practice’s history, let’s flesh out a couple of their differences, particularly in terms of training and treatment intentions.
Training and Education
To be clear, both osteopathy and chiropractic medicines require specialized training and education.
Although not medical doctors, chiropractors require at least 7 years of specialized schooling, credentials, and a state license in order to practice and become a Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine. Chiropractors cannot write prescriptions or perform surgeries, unlike those who hold Doctor of Osteopathy degrees; DO school requires several years of medical school and residency experience.
Intended Treatments
Visiting a chiropractor is probably your best method of treatment for alleviating pain caused by a car accident or a fall, especially if the pain is located in your lower back. Same if you find yourself waking up with pain or discomfort after sleeping in the wrong position or if you suffer from chronic back pain, leg pain, or neck pain.
On the other hand, an osteopathic medicine route is best for holistic ailments ranging from infertility, digestive problems, the common cold, and more. Basically, anything you would see a traditional MD for, an osteopath can just as well treat you. Plus, due to their holistic approach to comprehensive medicine, a DO can refer you to a chiropractor when needed.
Partner with HBS to Streamline Your Holistic Practice!
With decades of experience dealing with a broad range of medical billing issues for all kinds of holistic practices, the team at HBS has seen just about every kind of medical billing mistake that an organization can make. That’s why our clients trust us to help them manage their insurance claims to ensure they’ll be accepted as clean claims on the first attempt, avoiding lengthy back and forth negotiations with the insurance company. And best of all, you’ll avoid the scrutiny of federal and state auditors.
Contact us today to learn about Holistic Billing Services medical insurance billing services and find out how we can help you maximize your revenue!
Today, chiropractors treat over 27 million Americans every year – which translates into about one million chiropractic adjustments every business day. Chiropractic care continues to grow in popularity as a safe holistic alternative for pain relief, with more people coming into chiropractic practices for a variety of ailments. As more scientific studies are being conducted to prove the benefits of chiropractic adjustments, the more this treatment will cement itself as an accepted holistic practice.
What is Chiropractic Care?
Chiropractic treatment is a system of holistic therapy focused on the structure of the body, specifically the spine. By manipulating the spine’s alignment, a chiropractic adjustment is intended to relieve pain, improve bodily functions, and encourage the body to heal itself.
The goal of chiropractic adjustments is to correct spine misalignments, which are also called subluxations. Chiropractic care believes that these misalignments result in improperly transmitted nerve signals between the spine and body – resulting in negative effects on your health.
What Are The Different Types of Chiropractic Treatments?
All types of chiropractic treatments focus on aligning the spine. There are a wide variety of different types of chiropractic treatments available to suit different needs.
Diversified Technique
One of the most widely used chiropractic methods, the diversified technique is used for three main purposes: restore spine alignment, repair joint dysfunction, and ensure proper mobility and movement. With precise manual thrusts, chiropractors use this method to restore spinal alignment that may be compromised by misaligned bones or joints.
Spinal Manipulation
Also known as spinal mobilization or manual therapy, this technique aims at reducing inflammation, enhancing nerve function, and relieving pressure on joints. Spinal manipulation is similar to the diversified technique in that it is a manual procedure, although it involves more stretching and gentle thrusts.
Thompson Drop-Table Technique
This type of chiropractic treatment requires a specially designed table constructed with padded platforms and drop mechanisms. While the drop mechanisms allow the patient to be “dropped” during the chiropractic adjustment, the padded platforms keep the patient comfortable during the procedure. The drop motion is gentle and designed to resemble a light vibration when the chiropractor applies thrusts.
Gonstead Adjustment
This method is used to restore normal disc alignment for maximum mobility. This chiropractic adjustment can be administered with the patient either laying on their side or sitting up. Unlike other types of chiropractic treatments, the Gonstead Method addresses all of the possible directions in which a spinal bone can misalign and cause nerve irritation.
Flexion-Distraction
The flexion-distraction method uses a special table that moves as the chiropractor manipulates the patient’s spine. The movements of the table are designed to emphasize the spinal manipulations and help stress and decompress the spine. This position helps realign the spine and relieve multiple sources of pain.
Activator Method
The activator method uses a hand-held, spring-loaded instrument known as the Activator adjusting instrument. This method offers two main advantages: high speed and controlled force. As opposed to other techniques, the activator method enables chiropractors to use low-impact and quick thrusts at specific points.
Do Chiropractic Adjustments Work?
Chiropractic adjustments can be effective in treating lower back pain as well as other ailments. A 2018 study is among some of the more recent studies reflecting the effectiveness of chiropractic adjustments. Researchers enrolled 750 active-duty military personnel who complained of back pain; while half were given chiropractic treatment, the others were given conventional care, such as medications.
By the end of the six-week study, the military personnel who received chiropractic adjustments
- Reported less pain
- Experienced more mobility
- Reported higher satisfaction with their care treatment
- Required fewer pain medications
According to the MayoClinic, other studies also suggest that chiropractic adjustments may also prove to be an effective treatment for headaches and other spine-related conditions, such as neck pain. As more studies are conducted to prove the benefits of this holistic therapy, it’s no doubt that chiropractic care will continue to expand and become even more popular for those seeking a safe alternative for pain relief.
What Are the Benefits of Chiropractic Care?
There are numerous advantages to chiropractic care for people looking to alleviate pain and other symptoms. Some of the most common benefits include:
Alleviates Pains
Of the millions of people who seek chiropractic care, about 35% are seeking relief from back pain alone. Regardless of the cause, such as accidents and sports injuries, back pain can be alleviated from spinal manipulation. Chiropractic adjustments can also help improve neck, arm, and leg pain, as well as headaches and muscle strains.
Enhances Athletic Performance
Chiropractic adjustment can reduce inflammation in the body, helping to improve mobility and limb function. This is especially important for athletes, who must reduce tension and pain in their bodies for top performance. By making athletes more mobile, chiropractic care can help prevent sports injuries. In fact, many sports teams and athletic programs hire chiropractors to ensure the health and safety of athletes.
Improves Symptoms of Neurological Conditions
Chiropractic care may provide relief for some neurological condition symptoms. Since chiropractic treatments help increase blood flow to the brain, it may also increase the flow of cerebral spinal fluid – therefore benefiting people who suffer from neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis. Currently, chiropractic applications for neurological conditions are still being researched but chiropractic neurology is expanding.
Provides a Safe Opioid-Alternative
The increasing popularity of chiropractic treatments is partly due to their ability to alleviate pain without side -effects. As the opioid crisis grows, more people are choosing holistic therapies over conventional treatments for pain with opioid pain medications, which can lead to addiction. Chiropractic is a safe, non-addictive treatment for people looking for opioid alternatives.
Common Ailments Chiropractors Can Treat
Chiropractic adjustments are known to treat a variety of different ailments, but here are some of the most common ones.
Herniated Disc
A herniated disc is one of the most popular reasons people turn to chiropractic adjustments for relief. Also known as a bulged, slipped, or ruptured disc, this condition of the spinal bones can irritate nerves and result in numbness, pain, and weakness in the leg or arm. Chiropractic care, such as spinal manipulation, manual therapy, and therapeutic exercises can alleviate this condition.
Headaches
Chiropractors commonly see patients come in complaining of migraine headaches. Studies have shown that spinal manipulation may be an effective option for treating tension headaches and headaches that have their origin in the neck.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
A chronic inflammatory disease, rheumatoid arthritis causes joint pain throughout the body. Inflammation can cause swelling, stiffness, and pain that can eventually lead to loss of joint function. Chiropractic care can help ease the tight muscles along the spine and treat the inflammation throughout the body from this condition. Since chiropractors try to improve the relationship between the nervous system and spine by realigning vertebrae, Rheumatoid Arthritis symptoms may be improved.
Sciatica
This condition refers to pain that radiates along the sciatic nerve, which can range from your lower back through your hips and down each leg. Sciatica typically occurs on only one side of the body. Chiropractic care treats the true cause of sciatica, which is nerve compression caused by vertebral subluxations. By making spinal adjustments, the nerve is decompressed and the sciatica pain is alleviated.
Whiplash
Often the result of a car accident, whiplash is neck pain that can also cause stiffness and mobility issues. With chiropractic adjustments and stretching, many people have found their whiplash swelling and pain reduced.
Tinnitus
Ringing in the ears, known as tinnitus, can surprisingly be affected by chiropractic adjustments. Tinnitus is a result of injuries in the upper spinal area. Chiropractors will address the original cervical injury, which is generally a subluxation that can be easily manipulated by adjustments. By alleviating the nerve pressure, tinnitus can be cured by spinal manipulation.
Focus on Providing Better Chiropractic Care While We Focus on Insurance Billing!
With further advancements in chiropractic care, the more this holistic therapy is expected to expand. However, your holistic practice will only expand by ensuring your chiropractic billing is as accurate as possible to prevent any chance of claim denials and delays. That’s where outsourcing your chiropractic insurance billing can help!
As an experienced billing provider for holistic practices, Holistic Billing Services can handle all your insurance billing details to minimize errors while you can focus on delivering the best care to your patients. Want to learn more? Talk to one of our billing and coding experts today.
Chiropractic CPT codes are some of the most important components of the insurance billing process. Accurate chiropractic insurance billing is essential for your practice’s revenue cycle management, but errors can cause costly denials and delays.
As a billing company focused on holistic healthcare providers, Holistic Billing has the answers to many of the most common questions about chiropractic insurance billing and CPT codes. Find the answers below!
How Do You Bill for Chiropractic Treatments?
Chiropractic practices must bill insurance companies to receive insurance reimbursements using specific chiropractic CPT codes. These special CPT codes characterize the type of procedure being done so healthcare providers – whether conventional or holistic – can bill insurance companies for the right services and receive their due payment for treatments.
Holistic practices have their unique requirements when it comes to receiving insurance reimbursements. For a streamlined insurance billing process, practices must use accurate CPT codes that are unique to their specialty and procedures. Chiropractic CPT codes are some of the most important code sets for chiropractors.
In the world of billing insurance, insurers improperly issue medical necessity denial claims on the basis of treatments being not medically necessary quite frequently. This is especially true in cases where you are billing insurance for acupuncture, medical massage, or chiropractic treatments. Sometimes such denials are a mistake, but all too often, these denials by insurers are intentional and intended to avoid coverage for treatments.
Since these persistent denials exist, it is important for you to understand how to fight a medical necessity denial in order for your patient to receive all of the coverage they are entitled to. Learn more about how to appeal a medical necessity denial claim and the medical appeal letter template you should use for your best chances of revoking the denial.
Is Acupuncture Covered by Insurance?
Healthcare coverage for integrative medicine treatments like acupuncture and massage therapy has come a long way in the United States. Nowadays, it is common practice to complement traditional health care with other modalities like massage and acupuncture. However, not all health insurance plans cover these services, and those that do vary when and what they cover. On top of this, the insurance industry makes the billing process for acupuncture and other holistic treatments difficult and complicated. While some insurance plans will allow these sorts of treatments for a wide variety of medical conditions, others will have more limited plans.
Medicare has special requirements for acupuncture; recently in January 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced their decision to cover acupuncture for chronic low back pain. Although the update was especially important, as it marks the first time acupuncture codes can be reimbursed by Medicare, the additional requirements made it impossible for most licensed acupuncturists to take advantage of it.
Unfortunately for holistic practitioners, the insurance industry makes billing for acupuncture and massage complicated with a variety of accompanying regulations and requirements. The majority of covered acupuncture services that need to be billed to insurance fall under four essential acupuncture CPT codes and two medical massage codes. Like other similar therapy-based practices, integrative health practitioners bill their services according to Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes. Each code is considered a billable unit used to track what treatments have been administered.
Acupuncture and massage services are always billed in 15-minute increments. For instance, in acupuncture, you will use one code for the initial 15 minutes of service and then a separate code for additional units of time. If you include electronic stimulation in your treatment, your codes will vary as well.
Evaluation and management services, or office visits, may be billed by acupuncture physicians on the initial patient evaluation and periodic follow-up evaluations, typically every 30 days or every sixth visit. However, it is not appropriate to bill these codes every time the patient receives acupuncture treatments, as acupuncture CPT codes 97810, 97813, 97811, and 97814 all include evaluation and management done as part of the overall daily treatment.
Are Chiropractic Treatments Covered by Insurance?
Just as with acupuncture, chiropractic treatments used to be rarely covered by insurance. This has since changed; most health insurance plans now cover chiropractic treatments due to the holistic practice’s positive reputation among many Americans for effective treatments for neck and back pain. In fact, chiropractors see an estimated 35 million people every year in the United States alone. Despite its popularity, insurance may only pay a certain amount of chiropractic treatments or under certain circumstances just as with other holistic disciplines.
Medicare will cover chiropractic manipulation of the spine for back pain management, but there are additional caveats just as with acupuncture Medicare coverage. To qualify for Medicare reimbursement, the patient must have active back pain and seek out chiropractic care that corrects this problem. Any chiropractic services administered as maintenance or preventative will not be covered, as well as any massage therapy or X-rays.
As a holistic practice, you want to deliver the best treatments of holistic medicine to your patients – while also ensuring you are paid! To service your patients and grow your holistic business, however, you will want to consider provider credentialing as an in-network provider to bill insurance plans. To be approved, you must meet the numerous medical credentialing requirements for your practice. Besides meeting the requirements, you also must ensure that all the complicated paperwork is filled out accurately and the right documentation is gathered.
Don’t be discouraged, however! There are ways to ensure you’re approved the first time you apply for medical credentialing. Here are some considerations to keep in mind so you have everything you need to know before starting the insurance billing credentialing process.
What is Medical Credentialing?
The process of verifying a healthcare provider’s qualifications for administering care to patients to bill insurance providers, medical credentialing is necessary to receive reimbursements for services. Medical credentialing is a common process for most insurance billing, including many commercial insurance companies, medical groups, surgery centers, or government plans like Veterans Affairs, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Generally, the medical credentialing process involves various applications, forms, and documentation, though the exact requirements vary on the insurance provider. Typically, the provider credentialing process must verify that the medical practice’s documents are current and valid. This can include medical licenses, malpractice insurance, DEA, board certifications, and any other additional information necessary to complete the credentialing process.
What are the Common Challenges in the Medical Credentialing Approval Processs?
Although the medical credentialing process is essential to receive reimbursements, there are many potential issues – and ensuing consequences – that can occur. Since provider credentialing is integral to generate revenue, it’s one of the most important processes for a holistic practice. However, data errors, accidental omissions, or any other hiccups in the process can result in incomplete credentialing and possible financial complications.
Medical practices – holistic or not – lose revenue and waste valuable time and money with common medical credentialing mistakes. So, being aware of the common challenges in the medical credentialing approval process can help avoid these costly errors!
Incomplete Applications
A common mistake that plagues medical practices, sending incomplete provider enrollment applications can set back the provider credentialing process for weeks, if not months. The general application for credentialing requires an extensive amount of paperwork and documentation – all that needs to be filled out correctly. Failure to complete the provider credentialing application accurately can result in lengthy reimbursement delays and denied claims that can negatively impact your bottom line.
While some mistakes are inevitable, ensuring qualified credentialing helps eliminate the margin for human error, saving your holistic practice time and money.
Lack of Organization
An organized practice can lead to inaccurate provider credentialing applications, lost paperwork, or extra time spent on the entire process as a whole. Having all your important paperwork and data where it should be and gathered will avoid any issues in the future, such as claim denials or inaccurate physician contact information.
Proper organization can also make the entire medical credentialing process as efficient as possible, so your holistic practice can focus on the day-to-day operations of delivering services to patients and receiving payments.
Not Updating Information
Even after healthcare providers are credentialed, all provider contact information needs to be kept up to date. Depending on the state in which you practice, licenses and credentials need to be renewed regularly. During the re-credentialing process, having up to date information on every individual practicing, including licenses and contact information, will be important for an efficient and accurate process for your holistic practice.
Besides making the process exponentially easier, keeping up to date with physician licenses will also help avoid potential bad patient outcomes if a physician is practicing without an updated license.
Medical Credentialing Checklist for Holistic Practices
To avoid possible claims denials and lengthy issues, you want to make sure your provider credentialing is as accurate the first time around as possible. Since the medical credentialing process can be lengthy and full of complicated documentation, a checklist can help ensure no important data is missing.
Here are some medical credentialing checklists for holistic practices to help provide an accurate and speedy credentialing outcome! Remember that, depending on the state in which you practice, you may have additional medical credentialing requirements that are not fully covered by the process.
Massage Therapy Credentialing
- Know your state requirements for holistic practices
- Provide your NPI (National Provider Identification)
- List all relevant professional licenses
- Provide any evidence of education or training
- Include all board certifications
- Include DEA certifications
- Malpractice Insurance, if applicable
- Current Competence to Practice certifications
Chiropractic Credentialing
- Know your state requirements for chiropractic holistic practices
- Get your NPI (National Provider Identification)
- Licensure: All practitioners must have and maintain a current, unrevoked, unsuspended, and unimpaired license to practice chiropractic in the state where their holistic practice is
- List education or training
- Practitioners must also complete and maintain all continuing education hours as required
- If your practice performs X-rays, make sure to follow radiographic guidelines and x-ray criteria
- Include all board certifications
- Include DEA certifications
- Malpractice Insurance, if applicable
- Current Competence to Practice certifications
Acupuncture Credentialing
These are essentially the basics for acupuncture credentialing in most states in the District of Columbia.
- Graduated from an academic program with U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting agency
- Passed relevant licensing or certification examinations, or is nationally board certified by the NCCAOM®
- Holds a license in the appropriate jurisdiction
- Education or training
- Include all board certifications
- Include DEA certifications
- Malpractice Insurance, if applicable
- Current Competence to Practice
Turn to Holistic Billing Service’s Medical Credentialing Services to Get Approved for a Network the First Time Around!
Medical credentialing for holistic practices can be a lengthy and complicated process, but one that is an option to receive reimbursements from insurance companies as an in-network provider. An efficient and accurate provider credentialing service is essential for a healthy bottom line, but the process can be full of complicated paperwork that needs to be filled out precisely. By outsourcing your medical credentialing to professionals, you can trust that your credentialing is filled out correctly – the first time around!
At Holistic Billing Services, you can trust our team of experienced billing and coding experts to understand the unique needs of holistic practices and can help you take steps to accelerate your revenue cycle management and avoid claim denials. Since we deal exclusively with holistic healthcare practices like acupuncture, massage therapy, and chiropractic treatments, we are familiar with the medical credentialing approval process and how it affects your business. For any questions about holistic billing, feel free to contact our team today, and let us know how we can help your holistic practice!