This is a tribute and drawing to my best friend/sister from another mother, whose life was cut short at the early age of 34 due to cancer. Just like a sister we were inseparable until she moved off with her family after she graduated high school.

What I like about a drawing is that unlike a camera picture it is not perfect, and neither are we. The reality of it is no one is perfect, which is every good reason to give yourself a break if you’re going through something. Life is already short enough, so what are you waiting for…are you stuck in a rut? What’s the problem? Were you waiting for a promotion that someone else got? Are you looking enviously at someone else and wondering what is wrong with you? Are you disappointed that life didn’t turn out the way you had hoped? Are you trying to change someone else? Maybe you need to change yourself and learn to role with the punches. Maybe you are looking for answers in all the wrong places.

Life is the same for us all, we just get punched differently, but we all do get punched. Maybe not in a physical since… that would be easier and I would rather take a physical beating any day over what life has to serve up sometimes.

If I could offer any suggestions, it would be to get into scripture and find out why so many countless others find life easier to believe in something than to believe in nothing.

The point is we are not promised tomorrow so if you are struggling with something start looking at the positive in every situation. You have a choice to be miserable or you can choose to live your best life, get out of your rut, and leave behind an awesome legacy.

Cheers Kelli, I joyfully do what I do for a living to support those who care for the sick. Until we meet again R.I.P!

Author: Jennie Welter

So many people are obsessed with either the future or past. Why not now? Now is the only time we can perceive. What good does it do to stay stuck in the past, worrying about missed opportunities or guilt about something you did? We can't travel back in time. Why waste time in the now, thinking about the past? I'm not saying the past doesn't have any relevance, but it shouldn't be something we are stuck in. More like a learning tool of what not to do in the future or in the now. But don't get stuck in the future either.

It's good to plan for the future, but not to the extent that it is the main focus of your life. If the future is all you think about, the now, becomes an enemy or a means to an end. People obsessed with the future are in a hurry to do anything and everything. They drive fast, can't stand to sit still, have trouble sleeping at night. Their main focus is to bring the future to the past, ignoring the now or even hating it. The future isn't written, we are not promised a tomorrow. It's okay to plan for the future, just don't live in it. Stop and look at what is going on around you, the people, places and things. Enjoy what is going on in the now, while waiting on the future to come.

It's okay to be content.
One dictionary defines contentment as “the state of being mentally or emotionally satisfied with things as they are.” Today, it is rare that we find anyone who is truly content with their life. The Bible says a lot about contentment; being satisfied with what we have, who we are, and where we’re going. Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” (Matthew 6:25).

Jesus makes a good point here. Life is what you make of it. If you make life hard, it will be hard. I noticed young people are more mentally depressed than when I was young. I can't help think the social media they follow contributes to it. The way social media algorithms work, as you like or watch the entirety of a video, or follow certain social media influencers, it pushes media that appeals to you. If you are a person with a victim mentality, then you will like and agree with victim mentality type influencers. Most victim minded people will stay in the past, all they can think of are the failures or events which happened to them that are not their fault, and how life is not fair. They can't accept the reality that is. The fact is: life is not fair. It will never be fair. People who can accept the "cards" life has dealt them will be happier. The mindset of these kinds of people is proactive, not reactive. If I make a mistake that changes the course of my life, instead of dwelling on the mistake I can't change, I figure out a way to move forward from there, turn the experience into a positive, and better my situation. To fail is to stop trying. The minute you stop, all opportunities go away. This is why negative people tend not to go far in life. They talk themselves out of the opportunity they could have had, by telling themselves they can't do it. Or worse, make up a story in their mind why it is impossible to happen. So they don't try. Positive people are more successful in life, because no matter what happens to them, they take the bad, find the silver lining, turn it into a positive, and try and try again. Positive people fall in the trap of living in the future instead of living in now.

What does it mean to live for now? For me, it means doing the best I can on whatever task is in front of me. If the task is somewhat superficial or something I don't care for, like driving, I try to accept it for what it is and do it to the best of my ability, without having a negative feeling attached to it. Living in the now is being present in everything I'm doing, people I'm with, etc. I have deleted social media, all it does is pass the time. I don't want to wake up one day and realize I have wasted my life watching videos which add no value to my life.

Social media like Tik Tok has such a negative effect on your mind. Flipping from video to video without even finishing them, programs the mind to lose the ability to stay focused. The attention span vanishes. (see sciencetimes.com) It affects your ability to critically think, ability to study or even read a book. Many people reach for their phones when there is nothing to do or they are bored. Before there were smart phones, people would be creative about what to do. When I was young, I liked to draw, paint or read a book, when I was bored. I would ride my bike around the neighborhood and visit my friends.

There are a few good books on the subject, "A new earth". This book will give me a different way to look at how I do life. It made me acutely aware of what I do. For those that are career oriented, "Today Matters".

Author: Brent Luyet

Medicare for all has been a talking point in politics since 2020 and is sure to be again in 2024. What is Medicare for all exactly? It is a single-payer health care insurance run by the government, given to all Americans. When Democrats talk about Medicare for All, they are sure to say things like, "health care is a right!" or "health should be free". To most people, this sounds appealing, especially to young people. Republicans oppose the idea. They claim it's too expensive, and there is no good way to pay for it.

There are many other problems surrounding these issues that are not talked about. The fact that a single-payer health care insurance could be a monopoly gives far too much control over the people who serve in health care. This one single act could completely destroy the health care industry in the United States. More and more doctors and health care providers are leaving the industry because of the difficulties of making money in the field. The worst paying insurance company in the USA is "Medicare" and "Medicade". Sometimes, they don't pay at all. It's an already failing insurance company by nearly every standard.

Medicare4all.org has an article about how our health care system is broken and how insurance companies are robbing the people blind without presenting any factual information. It even includes a "Join the movement" button. Most websites like medicare4all.org and the legacy media, are focused on spreading misinformation and half truths. They are making blanket statements with zero facts or straight up fiction. It's like when you were young and your parents told you to go to your room, but if you ask "why"? They say "BECAUSE I SAID". I always hated that answer. For me, it wasn't an answer at all. I feel like Americans have lost the power to critically think. Especially younger Americans. My daughter subscribes to the "New York Times". The "New York Times" will lie in their articles, then change past articles when caught. Below is a little snippet from the article. Click on the link if you wanna read the full thing.

“We toss the term ‘fake news’ around as if it’s something whimsical,” Rindsberg told The Post.
“But creating what I call a false media narrative is really hard,” he said. “It takes coordination, deliberation, and a lot of resources. And there aren’t many news organizations that can do it.”
With close to $2 billion in annual revenue, the Times has the money, prestige, experience and stature to set the narratives that other news outlets almost invariably follow. nypost.com.

I only bring this up as an example of the level of corruption that has occurred. As the days move forward, our health care industry declines. This seems to correlate with increasing government involvement. If something like "Health Care for All" was to be implemented, it would change the dynamic of the medical field. Doctors would no longer work for themselves. They would be working for the government, receiving much less pay than now. One of the reasons doctors quit their jobs is because of electronic healthcare records (EHR) . The government has created organizations like the ONC to govern EHR vendors in the name of medical reform and transparency. Their idea is too, no longer have doctors, but computer systems that diagnose the patient. Young people who decide they want to become a doctor quickly realize the amount of red tape they have to jump through isn't quite worth it.

nbcnews.com/the_doctor_is_out. In this article, it mentions the decline of people wanting to become doctors.
"A recent report from the Association of American Medical Colleges projected a shortage of 42,600 to 121,300 physicians by 2030, up from its 2017 projected shortage of 40,800 to 104,900 doctors." Further down the article, it mentions EHRs directly, doctors in the later stages of their careers hang up their stethoscopes earlier than expected. Some cite electronic health records (EHRs) as part of the reason. The writer even goes to say this, "With the [enforcement] of EHRs, I had to spend more time as a scribe. One night a child I was treating had a seizure and I couldn’t get the medicine to enable them to breathe because their chart wasn’t in the system yet. This kid was fixing to die and I, the doctor, couldn’t get the medicine. It was demoralizing.” .
Government medical reform is to blame for this. www.healthit.gov is a website solely dedicated in telling EHR's companies what to put in their software. If you don't do what they say, they revoke the "certification" and the doctors will not be able to accept "Medicade" or "Medicare". Plus, the doctor can be fined. This is tyranny at it's finest.

I predict a grim future for health care if the push for "Medicare for All" moves forward. In closing, I don't think "Medicare" or "Mediacade" is a bad thing. The idea of having health benefits when I retire is good, or even for people who can't work. I don't like the idea of handing over all of health care to the government.

Author: Brent Luyet

In the world you will have tribulations. Focus on what really matters. Concentrate on “what is” important and forget the “what’s not”. One of my favorite quotes, “If you continue to think the way you have always thought, you’ll continue to get what you’ve always got.” I think we can apply this quote to school, work, relationships, etc.

Many of us often complain about what we are not in control of, and we like to stay where we are comfortable. Did you know there are 73 verses in the Bible about stepping out of your comfort zone? So why stay stagnant?

If you only receive out of life what you put into it, it may be time to invest more. Nothing worthwhile comes easy. So let’s apply this to an example. Let’s look at what you can’t control and apply what you can control. I'll reflect on my own real-life experience and what I should have done differently.

If you are or have ever been in a job where you were overworked, you will understand what it’s like to put time into something you will never get anything from. I have always been a work horse. It was simply how I was raised, to be a “go-getter”. Always finding something to do when I had nothing in front of me. I found myself in love with a job, but it had no love for me. It was not hard to be noticed by others in charge; I was a hard worker, after all I was promoted twice because of my work ethic.

After working for this company for 9 years work found me. I always had something to do. I found myself working 40 hours plus, while taking 21 hours of online classes and raising two kids in diapers. I didn’t have a diploma at the time of my last promotion; job experience or education required was part of the job description. Evidently experience was still not enough for some of my colleagues. I lacked a piece of paper; never mind my 8 years of experience, it didn’t matter.

My last promotion liked to kill me and I had no time for family. I was too busy studying at home. My husband began to call my work “the precious”, which added to my aggravation because I was trying to be the best provider I could be. I was trying to control the situation by trying to prove myself to others. My last year with this company was brutal to say the least. It really didn’t matter how hard I tried, nothing would ever be enough. I was physically and emotionally exhausted from all the drama I endured from this promotion. I could not begin to understand why working hard was not good enough. I was easy going and always turned the other cheek. Maybe the real problem was that I was too passive? Maybe I should have put my foot down with some of these folks, but confrontation is not in my personality. The sad part was I had to hit bottom before I could come back up for air.

I wanted this job I loved to work, and I wanted to be loved by others. The last and final straw was being called into an office where one of my peers told me I wasn’t good enough. I won't go into all the juicy details, but after I told them everything I'd been up to in order for them to understand how deserving I was, their response was, "and that is your story, and everyone has one." Wow...it was all for nothing! It took that comment for me to open my eyes and change my perspective. It took a year for me to realize maybe this was not where I was supposed to be. I had been with the company for so long I was comfortable and didn’t want to do anything else. I was actually meant to do more… something better.

I wanted to retire with this company I loved. My last year was the only year I began to hate my job. Did God have something better planned? I really think God promoted me to push me out the door. He knew I wouldn’t leave without a fight. I wasn’t going to step out of what I was comfortable doing on my own because I wasn’t confident enough to realize my own potential. Today I am self-employed and help run a company with others with the same work ethic, have the same values, and care about those we serve. I get to help doctors so they can improve the care they give to their patients. How cool is that! There are a lot of sick people in the world and I get to be a part of the solution. Hard work for me now is not only rewarding, but well worth it now. I don’t have to sacrifice precious family time now either, which I should have never done in the first place.

First off, if you are putting in your time, and getting nothing in return, you need to stop and take a hard look around; don’t let a year pass you by, it’s time to make a change. If I could have done this differently, I would have stopped to reevaluate the situation way before I was miserable and stressed. I was always doing what I had always done, but I made no real change. I just kept working harder and harder. I was focused on things that didn’t matter. Working hard and trying to prove myself worthy wasn’t the solution. It was just exhausting. I had no time for myself or my family. Don’t ever give up your family for any job, it’s not worth it. God is good and he is the ultimate provider “not you”. If you don’t know where to focus, you need to start praying for one so God can provide it. You may not end up where you thought you were going, but you will always end up where you are meant to be. After all, we can’t physically see anything with our eyes out of focus, it is the same with your mind if you can’t focus on what is important.

Author: Jennie Welter

If you have been in the medical world for a while, you may feel like the government and insurance companies are trying to snuff out your practice with "red tape" and government mandates. Ridiculous requirements are being enforced in an effort to delay your payments or even keep you from getting paid at all. The frustrations of being in health care is a struggle. Medicare and Medicaid doctors are hiring consultants to meet the metric requirements needed to keep them from being fined or maintain/increase revenue . Is this okay? I feel it has gone too far. Maybe a bonus to make metric's, but not fined. There's a good book I think everyone should read. It's called "Who moved my cheese". It's about 2 groups of mice, both have an equal amount of cheese. Each group eats the cheese, group A realizes the cheese will not last forever. Group B, keeps eating blissfully. Group A sees the need for change before they run out of cheese. Group B runs out of cheese and does not realize where all the cheese went. While group A is searching for new cheese, they find more than they'll eat in a lifetime. Group B looks for someone to blame. The moral of the story, recognize change and adapt before it's too late.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying to quit your job or anything, but there might be a better way of doing things. Changing business model could mean the difference in doing less work, better health care for your patients, and increase revenue. Running a Medicare/Medicaid practice is profitable. But is becoming less profitable each year, harder to get paid, adding more requirements and more government departments to deal with to stay in compliance. Those people have to get paid some how. It's probably going to be a fee you have to pay someway or another. Eventually, you will end up working for a hospital, just so you don't have to be responsible for keeping up with the red tape. You could join or form a doctors group. By partnering, at least you don't have to do it alone. But even those can be difficult to manage. You could be in a group you don't agree with, or worse. Being in a partnership is like being married. You could stop taking Medicare/Medicaid all together. Your first year might be rough, but then you may see you're making more money and working less the next year. But if the service you provide is mostly covered by Medicare / Medicaid...you're stuck!

What if there was something like a union. Like a Union of Healthcare Providers (UOHP). The group would make voted on demands to the government, or will just stop taking Medicare and Medicaid. I'm just spit-balling here, but one of the demands could be the removal of metrics or fines associated to them. The UOHP and all of its members could have a voice in how they are governed. After all, we do live in the United States. This is supposed to be the people's government. If enough doctors joined, it could make a difference. Something for sure needs to change, it's not going to get easier.

Author: Brent Luyet

MedTrio is excited to announce our partnership with HIPAAtrek, the market leader in HIPAA compliance software.

Founded by healthcare professionals, HIPAAtrek delivers a complete and intuitive HIPAA management solution in a single, user friendly platform.

HIPAAtrek streamlines everything from assessing risk in network security breaches to monitoring policies, and keeps track of all compliance activity so you’re always audit-ready.

Through this innovative new partnership, you can:

Author: Jennie Welter

Anyone who has ever worked in a health care related field knows it’s hard to keep up with all the changes in government regulations, and you probably spend more time documenting on a patient than you do caring for them in your office. You might even be wasting a lot of time on Google trying to figure out what the new restrictions are about. If you're not on top of things it will affect not only your staff, but also the patients. How can you keep up with it all? Is your network secure? Are your policies and procedures up to speed? How are you going to modify your practice in a manner which makes it easier for you to do your job?

As the red tape gets thicker you’re likely to need a consultant to help make certain you remain in compliance with HIPAA. Yes, it can be a Pandora’s Box…not just for you the provider, but for your EHR/PM vendor too.

Why work harder if you don’t have to? Why not let HIPAAtrek keep you and your staff well-informed on policies and procedures? Do you know the provisions with the ONC’s Cures Act Final Rule , which mandate electronic access on patient health information? Do you know you must respond to patient requests regarding their PHI and it must be given in a timely manner? Do you know how many days you have to respond to these requests? The clock is ticking on direct access to electronic health records based on calendar days “not business days”. Can you still charge a fee for records request? Is your telehealth conferencing call considered secure? If you don’t want all the hustle and bustle of doing it yourself then you might want to leave it to HIPAAtrek, the market leader in HIPAA compliance software.

Founded by healthcare professionals, HIPAAtrek delivers a complete and intuitive HIPAA management solution in a single, user friendly platform.

HIPAAtrek streamlines everything from assessing risk in network security breaches to monitoring policies, and keeps track of all compliance activity so you’re always audit-ready.

Our overall goal is to help you and your practice take care of your patients. As an EHR/PM vendor, our clinics call us with a wide range of questions so we try to stay up to date on all aspects of health care. We even get questions about billing regarding denied claims, MACRA/MIPS/APM, and HIPAA. We can also answer questions you have about hardware, virus removal, and network connections. We do our best to answer them all. Our objective is to be a one stop shop to help our physicians and their staff. Our healthcare software is designed to fit the practice with tailor made software to reduce office management frustrations and improve efficiency, as well as fit the individual needs of each practice. In order to better serve our clients, we have paired our software with HIPAAtrek to ensure our clients are HIPAA compliant and audit-ready.

For more information on how we can help, please Contact Us.

Author: Jennie Welter

Practicing Medicine in the COVID Era: Trends and Technology You Need to Be Aware Of

The past year has been tough on physicians, with COVID overwhelming healthcare systems across the world. In the US, reports by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security found that many emergency departments struggled to maintain standards of care during the pandemic. Physicians in New York reported poor patient load-balancing, and surges of infection rates exposed many failures in the crisis response practices of healthcare institutions.

However, with vaccines successfully being rolled out and infection rates steadily declining, a sense of normalcy is beginning to return. Many states across the US have begun to open up, and healthcare operations have begun to restabilize. We may not be quite in the clear yet, but it is the perfect opportunity to look back at the technology that has empowered us in the fight against COVID:


Telehealth

Although telehealth is usually praised for how it allows patients to use apps to schedule appointments and consult with their physicians off-site, it involves a number of other services, too, like remote patient monitoring and store-and-forward services. In the time of the pandemic, these telehealth services have reduced the need for people to visit hospitals for a check-up, therefore lessening their chances of catching the virus. Moreover, moving consultations to virtual platforms has eased patient congestion in hospitals, allowing physicians to attend to more urgent cases while on duty. Telehealth apps and software have also allowed physicians to accommodate more patients in a day, allowing them to perform their jobs more efficiently.

Plus, telehealth is granting physicians access to help as well. Whether they need a doctor to talk to for personal needs, a second opinion, or a referral, telehealth apps can help physicians get in touch with the right people without leaving their offices.


3D Printing

While commonly used for creating models and figurines, 3D printing software providers played an important role in the battle against COVID. With new developments in 3D design communication, manufacturing and design teams have been able to collaborate for increasingly complex circuitry and avoid mistakes in the final assembly. This has made creating 3D printing electrical designs, such as medical tools, much easier, ensuring that all components are functional and standardized when it comes to their quality.

A great example of this is the University of Minnesota’s (UM) efforts to produce affordable ventilators using 3D printed parts. Due to a traditional ventilator's delicate nature, a lot of its parts are expensive, making the machine itself equally pricey. Fortunately, since 3D printed components are cheaper to produce, UM’s ventilators are more accessible. They are now used in low-resource medical facilities.

Moreover, 3D printers are also being used globally to supply hospitals with PPE, nasal swabs, oxygen valves, and other COVID tools that are high in demand.


Digital Media

The only thing worse than the spread of COVID is the spread of false information. Many of these fake news sites and guides, such as from conspiracy theorists, have penetrated the US over the past few months. In these uncertain times, it is best to get the facts from reliable sources like actual doctors. And since people are spending more time on the internet, the best way to reach them is through online platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Of course, digital media is not just used for fact-checking. It can also be used to share helpful information, like proper handwashing techniques and health protocols, to inform your followers about the best practices to beat the virus. Remember, you have the credentials. Your medical opinion holds weight online.

The fight against COVID may seem long and hard, but thanks to modern technology and the resilience of physicians and healthcare practitioners, the US seems to finally be approaching the tail end of the pandemic. From providing more accessible equipment to giving doctors a new platform through which they can address their patients and share their medical expertise, technology has played key roles in allowing us to succeed.

With MedTrio’s help, you can provide the best care and service your patients deserve through revolutionary healthcare software geared towards efficiency and excellence in accordance with your specific needs. So, go ahead, send us a message, and together, we can win this war against COVID

Photo Credit: Cisco Australia-NewZealand under Creative Common License

Author: Rachel Griffin

Millions of people suffer from depression around the world, which is no surprise given we all experience melancholy at some point in our lives. After all, we've all seen someone cry. It's not simply a bad case of the blues. Depression can be brought on by, a traumatizing experience, the death of a loved one, a painful breakup, a debilitating illness, a bad childhood; maybe even none of the above. You may feel sad, but can’t identify the cause. Whatever the reason you are not alone. You can overcome it…I did and I haven’t looked back.

As a teen, I went through depression and found the safest place for me was in my bed. I didn’t want to eat I just wanted to “STAY” asleep. I couldn’t have a bad thought if I wasn't conscious. Sleeping for me was a good strategy because I was protected from my own thoughts. Needless to say this was not a good approach. It resolved nothing. When I awoke, everything was the same. I still felt hopeless and a victim to my own demons. You know the ones…the demons which tell you you’re not smart enough, good enough, worthless, they make you hate yourself, and everyone else. I can tell you I was the only one who was believing those lies about myself. No one else saw those things in me. I was blinded by depression and couldn’t see greener pastures. I was beside myself because I was sick of feeling sad. I knew I needed help, but didn’t know how to get myself there. I had tried therapy and anti-depressants, but I was still sad. I desperately needed a way out.

I found myself easily annoyed by anyone who attempted to help by saying my depression was a choice. Really? Who chooses to be depressed? Isn’t this something someone says who doesn’t have any clue what it’s like? So what can you do and how can you wake up from it? I tried getting professional help, and was put on different medications to help my “chemical imbalance”. Chemical imbalance? What does that mean? No one ever told me. I got so sick of hearing those words. I will tell you more about this too. I was given stimulants in an attempt to make chemical corrections. The only result it seems was no appetite at all, and I was eventually a size zero. Did these pills really do anything for me? The answer is yes, I will explain why.

Let me tell you something if you’re in the denial stages of depression all the above are signs. If you have lost interest in your appearance, do the minimum at work to squeak by, have developed a nervous tick because of your anxiety, have lost motivation, can’t remember a time when you were not sad, then you need to seek help. Seek help now, go to a therapist, find a support group, get a pet if needed....start somewhere, but don’t expect miracles overnight. Both emotional and physical healing comes with time. Yes, it takes time, but after enough time has passed healing begins. It certainly was the case for me. Finally, relief!

What causes the chemical imbalance to begin with?

So let’s talk about this chemical imbalance which causes depression. Studies show that when a person is told they have a chemical imbalance, there is a tendency to feel like nothing can be done for a cure. Other studies have found when a person is educated about their situation there is hope that a cure is forthcoming. So what causes your chemicals to get out of whack to begin with? It is because your hormones are unbalanced. When you experience long periods of emotional anxiety and stress it upsets nearly every system in your body. Hormones are disrupted by diet (high-salt, high-sugar), persistent stress, exposure to some environmental pollutants, and even a brain injury.

If emotional stress continues, then unresolved stress can lead to unbalanced hormone levels. Cortisol for instance is known as the primary stress hormone that helps manage how your body metabolizes carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. If you’re stressed, your brain sends a signal to your adrenal gland to release more cortisol. If your body is releasing higher levels of cortisol the last thing you should do while under stress is binge eat unhealthy foods. Too much sugar causes higher levels of cortisol as well. The longer your body is exposed to high levels of cortisol and other stress hormones the higher your risk is to developing other health problems like weight gain, high blood pressure, heart disease, memory impairment, and thyroid dysfunction. Cortisol is just one of a hundred hormones which can accelerate your depression. Other unbalanced hormones of dopamine, serotonin, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone lead to depression.

Dopamine (feel-good hormone) is part or your brain’s reward system, which sends sensations of pleasure and controls your mood. Other happy hormones include serotonin and endorphins ,which also regulate your mood. Dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins are all hormones which influence the production of neurotransmitters (bodies messenger to the brain), which basically tells the body how to function not just physically, but mentally. Because these neurotransmitters tell our brain what to do and they affect a variety of psychological functions. When neurotransmitters don’t work properly, too much of that neurotransmitter can be released, which is why you have a chemical imbalance.

What can you do to help your chemical imbalance?

Health professionals know neurotransmitters play an important role in mental health, which is why drugs are prescribed to correct the body’s chemical messengers. Medications can treat a variety of psychiatric disorders. If you have tried anti-depressants and they didn’t work, or you found your body simply can’t handle them (like mine) you might try hormone replacement therapy. Hormone replacement therapy is a hormone replacement treatment to correct hormonal imbalances by sending a steady stream of hormones similar to the way your body distributes the hormones it produces naturally. This is bio-identical, not synthetic hormone treatment, which is why there is a lower risk for side effects. One of the numerous benefits of bio-identical hormone replacement therapy is the possibility to have a custom product created specifically for you. A doctor can prescribe particular amounts to help you get the most out of your treatment by balancing your hormones and alleviating any symptoms you may be experiencing. Before and after therapy lab work is necessary to identify any imbalances with your body. Hormone replacement therapy may be a good option for you if you struggled with anti-depressant medications. I could not remain on anti-depressants because stimulants caused me to completely lose my appetite. If you or someone you know is interested in hormone therapy replacement ask your family care provider or your gynecologist about this treatment.

The mind controls the body.

You want to be in control of your body, then be in control of your mind. When it came right down to it, I found my happiness by not just one choice, but many choices. When I was annoyed by others who said happiness was a choice. I thought of it as one choice, like I would just wake up one day and decide to be happy instead of sad? It’s not just one choice it's more like a thousand choices that got me to my destination. What is great about choices is you can make as many as you want. I started my day off with a positive thought first thing in the morning, and I started reading a daily devotional. I kept myself busy and I surrounded myself with happy people. You know the saying "birds of a feather flock together". When you constantly hang around certain people you eventually pick up on their habits, and with happy people typically comes good habits.

I wanted things to change, and I understood if I wanted things to change, I had to be the change I wanted to see. I had to change my way of thinking, and after all what did I have to lose? Why not give this a try? I began to look at anything positive I could grasp at. It didn’t matter how big or small. I looked for thinks to be thankful for every single day. I was thankful for my warm bed at night, straight teeth, good friends, and even hair on my head. I started being thankful for anything I could appreciate. Soon I was even thankful for those bad days, because it made me more thankful for the good… as crazy as it sounds it was true for me. I looked for anything that would bring happiness, and I stayed busy to keep me preoccupied. It wasn’t until I decided to work on myself I began to realize how negative of a person I had become. I couldn’t even find joy in the small things because I was a slave to my negativity and those inner demons of negative thought. I began to except help. Everyone needs help at some point it’s part of living and it is okay to receive it. I still have hard days, but it doesn’t last long at all and it is not depression, believe me I know the difference. Now that I am an over-comer of this illness I am “thankful” for the depression I experienced. If I had not been through it myself I could not use my experience to help others.

Don’t let anything, and I mean anything, stop you from finding peace. Things happen in life we don't anticipate so we often go off the deep end when we don't have control any longer. If you can't let go of it, you might lose out on something better and sweeter that comes your way. Help yourself so you can help someone else. You have just one life and it is yours so own it, claim it, live it, and do the best you can with it. If you have an autoimmune disease and the pain is stealing your happiness don’t decide to dwell on it. You can choose to be a prisoner to your pain or you can choose to live. Maybe you can use your situation to educate someone else. If you need to, then join an autoimmune support group. You can join one on social media, but look for one that is recommended. There are professional groups which monitor post before they are added to the feed. Reading those support group post will let you know you are not alone. Feeling bad about your circumstances just makes it worse because it will eventually take a physical toll on your body.

The best way to heal a broken heart is to find a way to move past the hurt. Sadness, anxiety, stress, not only affects you mentally, but it affects you physically. Life is not free of problems, but you don’t have to let problems get the best of you. Eat healthier, exercise, take time for yourself, and take time for your hobbies. Remember it is okay to make time for your self and except help from others.

Don't let yourself become a prisoner on that long dark nightmare train. Make the decision to get off this dreadful train and onto greener pastures. After all, you do deserve happiness!

Author: Jennie Welter

Modern day technology, what will they think of next? Perhaps your shoe will vibrate and put you in the right direction when you have lost your way on the walking trail? Don’t forget to charge them up the night before. Or how about a mood shirt that changes colors so you know who to avoid when they are upset? Can I get an order of those right here? If you’d asked me a decade ago where technology would be today, I wouldn’t have predicted wearable devices could save lives, or help you better understand your fertility by monitoring your cycles.

Wearables have become a standard part of life for many. Widely available, and some inexpensive, these devices are helping people keep tabs on their health. Ranging from watches which can help monitor your heart rate to reproductive cycle trackers, sleep monitors, and devices to track changes in body temperature; these devices aid in the transition of care from the clinic to the home.

With heart disease being the leading cause of death for both men and women you might want to consider getting a smart watch. Your watch will alert you if it detects an irregular heart rate. Many people who experience a heart attack experience flu-like symptoms. You can feel weak, dizzy, and nauseated. One minute you're fine and then bam your watch alerts you your heart rate is high. Having the technology to track your vitals could help you detect a potential heart attack and prompt you to seek medical help as soon as possible, rather than going home to bed in hopes to sleep it off. If you have a hard fall and your watch has fall detection it will sound an alarm and display an SOS. You can click off the alert if you are okay or notify emergency services.

Did you know smart watches can be used to monitor Parkinson’s disease by analyzing tremor and balance dysfunctions? Yep, there is an app for that. There are even smart watches developed to monitor your glucose by monitoring certain components from your body's sweat.

If you're having trouble getting pregnant. There is a bracelet which tracks your most fertile days in real time while you sleep. It works using algorithms with body temperature, heart rate, sleep, and more. You could also use this in addition to your birth control if you’re trying to avoid pregnancy.

Another little nice piece of technology is a Bluetooth thermometer skin patch to monitor your child’s temperature while at home. I wish I had this when my son had pneumonia at six months old. I could have received a phone alert regarding dangerous temperatures while sleeping at night.

Wearables are continually being developed for the healthcare industry, to gather continual data which could be missed while in the clinic setting. There are various monitoring devices used which monitor heart rate, blood pressure, and skin temperature to extract clinically relevant information. The gathering of data on a regular basis might provide your doctor with information regarding any abnormalities.

It is important to remember these products offer data, not a diagnosis or treatment. There is also a loophole with wearables. They have to be worn, charged, and have to be used as directed so the data collected is as accurate as possible.

Author: Jennie Welter

Grinding or gnashing of teeth; why is this even a thing? This is something I have personally suffered from since I was in grade school. I'm more of a gnasher than a grinder. I bite so hard in my sleep, that I wake up with a sore jaw. Because of this, my teeth have become extremely sensitive. The older I am, the worse it seems to get. I have a Type A or if you like Enneagram, 8 W7 type personality. From the research I have gathered, people with these personality traits are prone to this anomaly.

I gnash my teeth all the time. When I catch myself doing it, I immediately stop, but a lot of times I don't even know it's happening. The mood I'm in doesn't seem to play a role, however I have noticed the more stressed out I am, the worse it gets, especially in my sleep. It's never really been a problem until my teeth started to become over sensitive, to the point of hurting just to eat food. I went to the dentist because I thought I had an infection. Turns out, you can gnash your teeth so hard it can irritate the roots.

This was a real problem for me, it was effecting my everyday life. I had to find a way to protect my teeth from myself. Chewing gum helped a great deal. As long as I'm chewing, I'm not gnashing; this works out great for the day, but night is the real problem. My dentist informed me of a mouth guard designed specifically for teeth grinding / gnashing, and I can get it over the counter. It is designed for people like me! I didn't even know such a thing existed. Here is a quick search I did on Amazon. If you are like me, you are not going to wait for Amazon to deliver it to you. They sell these varieties of mouth guards pretty much anywhere they sell drugs. I popped in to the CVS to get my first guard; I say first guard because, you can mess them up molding them to your teeth. I followed the instructions perfectly, except I put it in crooked and not evenly on my teeth. I couldn't even sleep in my first guard. I suggest putting it in your mouth while looking in the mirror, so you can see what you are doing. This is something I did on my second round and that worked.

Grinding and gnashing my teeth is still a thing for me, but now its manageable. After a few days chewing gum and sleeping with my mouth guard, my teeth are no longer as sensitive. I can eat food without being in constant pain. While I was researching, I found some pretty disturbing pictures of what happens when you do nothing for your teeth grinding. Those photos were enough to make me jump into action. If you have any other suggestions or comments on the subject. I would love to hear from you. PM me on Facebook.

Author: Brent Luyet

Passing a kidney stone is said to be the worst physical pain a person can experience. The pain is typically sudden and intense, and can cause nausea and vomiting. Kidney stones cause more than half a million people to visit emergency rooms each year. If you had kidney stones, I hope this article finds you and many others.

Diet, as you may know, can play a roll in the development of kidney stones, however that's not always the case. I recently had the most fantastic unintentional conversation with a friend who wasn’t feeling well and mentioned they were suffering from kidney stones. What she said caught my attention. “I can’t believe I have kidney stones again. I know better, but the real kicker is I know how to prevent them! Well anyway…!” Then she goes into what we are actually meeting about and I just had to stop her midsentence. “What do you mean you know how to prevent them?” Then my friend goes on, “My husband had my stones analyzed and I haven’t had stones in 20 years. I recently had COVID, which has left my brain in a fog. I wasn’t thinking clearly and I had ice cream. Shortly afterwards, and in less than 24 hours I had diet coke. When I combined those two together my body makes kidney stones.” Needless to say, I had a few more questions for my friend, and I began to do my own research.

My father-in-law gets kidney stones. Knowing exactly what could be causing these rotten little boogers is news to me. Why hasn’t this been mentioned? In the worst-case scenario, people lose kidneys because they believe they will pass, and if they don’t, the kidneys become nonfunctional. So how can you prevent kidney stones ever again? How do you prevent them from forming in the first place?

Can you find out what you’re doing to cause the formation of your stones?

According to my own research what you eat can play a big role, but unfortunately it isn’t an exact science. Dehydration seems to be the most common cause, so keeping hydrated and drinking plenty of WATER! This is important. Stone formation can occur when your urine contains a higher concentration of stone-forming compounds than your urine can dilute. Kidney stones are more likely to occur if you have certain medical problems or take certain drugs. A urinary tract infection can be linked to the formation of a stone. A number of factors, including genetics, can cause kidney stones. If you have a family member who has had problems in the past, the chances of developing stones are higher.

How to reduce your risk?

Knowing what caused them in the first place is always a good start. It is important to get your stones analyzed. An analysis of your stones determines what the stone is made of, like calcium and oxalate, which is a natural chemical found in food. According to WebMD, it is important to know which type of stone you have, calcium, struvite, uric acid, or cysteine stones. Knowledge is power, knowing which type of stone can help determine the possible cause, and help prevent or decrease your risk.

Choose to do additional testing.

Schedule an appointment with your primary provider. Blood and 24 hour urine test can help identify other contributing factors and underlying conditions, including infections. The more your provider knows the better.

Final take.

Stones can form from a variety of reasons. The most common cause of stone development is from dehydration and diet. Eating foods high in sugar and salt increase your risk. The type of stone depends on the chemical component and can help you reduce your risk and identify the likely cause.

This article is merely to inform, and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice. Please contact your health care provider and dietitian for questions regarding your health and medical conditions.

If you would like more information go to kidney.org, and type “kidney stone” in the search field. They have wonderful articles on kidney stones and it is an excellent source for any information regarding the kidney including kidney disease.

Author: Jennie Welter

I believe we all have that one stubborn as a mule relative who refuses to see a doctor. Yet, we’ve all been there at some point, or at the very least know someone who has. So, how can you persuade your loved one to see a doctor without stirring up quite the ruckus?

As a parent, handling stubbornness comes with the territory. I have more than earned my merit badge. Yet, I have little or no patience when I see an adult behaving obstinately with no fair explanation. Don’t allow yourself to "give up and give in". When it comes to caring for loved ones, there is no "get out of jail free card." Accepting their stubbornness is a good way to promote it; the longer it continues, the more it will develop.

When dealing with an elderly parent, keep in mind you may not be seen as an authoritative, figure. They most likely grew up in an environment where they just don’t share what they consider personal. After all, they aren’t called the “Silent Generation” for nothing. Characteristics develop around their upbringing during difficult times of the past. Whatever the case, your parents will need assistance as they grow older. If you can’t convince them to go see a doctor when needed, then it’s time to call in some reinforcements. Think hard—who do they respect or admire? Who will they listen too? It may be time to give someone else a shot.

You could get a little sneaky and ask them to go with you to your next check-up. “I have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon, do you want to come with me? We can do lunch afterwards at your favorite place”. You may even sweeten the deal by doing other things they enjoy. Not only are you spending precious time with them, but they may feel less opposed by seeing the doctor in action. By making the day as enjoyable as possible, it may take away some anxiety.

On the other end of the spectrum, a young person may not see the benefit in going for an annual checkup. Your loved one might be uncomfortable when it comes to presenting themselves for a physical exam due to embarrassment. I don’t know anyone who looks forward to shedding cloths during a checkup.

If you have a teen, he or she may be ready to be more independent, and don’t feel comfortable talking to the doctor with their parent present. If leaving the room will make my child be open and honest I would gladly leave the room. I would attend the part of the appointment I consider to be relevant or important, such as the medical history, but then leave the room for questions which may be uncomfortable like sexual history.

There are several reasons a person might refuse to see a doctor. Be supportive, whether it be fear from a past experience, fear of the diagnosis, or fear of being belittled or dismissed; your loved one needs to know you care. If you or a loved one is being dismissed and ignored, then it’s time to find another provider or speak up and fight for yourself. Take a picture, do your own research, just do whatever it takes to prove a point.

If you or a loved one cannot afford to see a doctor due to financial constraints, there are free clinics in the area that can help. To find a clinic nearest you go to https://freeclinicdirectory.org/search, and type in your zip code. When the page refreshes, scroll to the bottom of the page to see your results. If you don’t find results, then call any doctor’s office in your area; I’m sure they can provide assistance or point you in the right direction. Please keep in mind preventive care is the best way to remain and stay healthy.

Author: Jennie Welter

Does a medical center, hospital, or a medical clinic provide better general health care? This could be a loaded question. Sometimes the difference is just marketing. Try not to place the name of a facility in a classification. I have been guilty of this. I have often thought I could receive more personal care at a clinic verses a hospital or center. However, this isn't always true. There are a lot of factors to consider, such as location, management, doctors, and just the staff will make the difference. How do you know without a first visit? Do a little research. Read reviews, websites, and talk to people that have had a personal experience.

Know what kind of care you would like to receive. If you like personal care, like I do, then you might think of seeing a doctor in your community. My family doctor is only 3 blocks from my house. I know nearly everyone there by their first name. My Doctor is a very busy guy. Everyone I know like's him. Because of this, his waiting room is always busy. Some days you might wait 4 hours before you get to see him. Some people might think this is a bad thing and he could manage his waiting room better. The reality of it, he has a numerous patients and stays over booked. I would rather have good personal care from my doctor than just be another number.

If you prefer to be more discreet, you might seek a facility that is bigger. Consider an urgent care facility. Urgent care facilities are unique because you can get in and get out and never see that doctor again. They operate through volume and there is nothing personal about it. They are also good in a pinch, if you're out of town, or just don't want to go to the emergency room at a hospital. Not to be confused with emergency care. If you are in a car wreck, don't go to an urgent care facility unless you have wrecked into it.

Management of a facility plays a big roll. You generally know right away if management is good or not by observing the staff. If your nurse or admin personnel seems disgruntle, that's a red flag. It could mean they hate their job. People will quit a job mostly for 2 reasons. First, their boss, the second, feeling self worth in that position. Why is this important? Because it can indicate how poor management has become. Management sets up their employees to either excel or fail. No one likes to feel like a failure. Facilities with bad management comes with a list of problems. High turn over, theft, non-engaged staff, and so on. High turn over will mean the staff is always having to learn the position. You might not get billed correctly. The doctor may not get paid correctly or even worse, the staff may seem preoccupied or staring into space; they may even be stealing from the practice. Even the software used can have an impact on a facility as well.

The practice management software should support best practices. Giving reports for the exception such as insurance rejection, delinquent patients, or underpayment. No one has time to run report and go through lines of data just to see what is not right. Instead, it should break down what is out of the ordinary. It should hold the staff accountable. There should be no double entry of data. If the software is bad, the staff and service could be bad too.

Finding a facility in your area that meets your needs can be a challenge. Remember to keep an open mind and the name or size doesn't say much about the kind of health care you may receive. Don't forget to check if the facility or doctor is in your insurance network.

Author: Brent Luyet

Are you adjusting to your EHR or is it the other way around? Are you having to change the way you enter medical codes in order to properly submit claims? Most likely you’re changing your workflow to meet the “demands” of the technology, or the payer. In healthcare, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution. There are far too many factors to weigh, and no practice has ever been the same as another in my experience.

I’m not talking about having personalized software according to how the individual user wants their workflow setup (which is needed and should be a given), I’m talking about making tailored programs based on what the practice requires in order to run as efficiently as possible. Bye-bye one-size-fits-all…hello there, tailor made.

Now I know what you’re thinking, this will cost a small fortune right? No, it should not, it should be reasonably affordable because it should be considered part of the implementation to have a platform appropriate for conducting the practice, staff, and any requirements due to the specialty.

Making improvements to software to assist patients and providers should not be nothing new, and changes should be made as needed. But unfortunately this is not always the case. Assistance should be available to those with all problems, large and small. With new sub-specialties emerging with the advancement of telehealth, new issues arise in billing that have to be addressed promptly. It’s difficult to get paid for services because of a unique or new application, and it requires quick resolution.

Changing times calls for changing software. You can’t have a system like everyone else if you have unique or innovative changes. Contact Us for more information.

Author: Jennie Welter

If you have ever purchased a private insurance plan through a big provider, you may have noticed the coverage was not the same, even though it was supposed to be. Why is that? The quick and dirty answer; you're just one person. If they deny you, they have nothing to lose.

In my experience, a private policy claim will most likely be denied if the claim is not routine, even if it is covered. They do this because they don’t have anything to lose. If you don’t appeal or “fight” them, they win. So in essence, it’s good business. However, if you are in a big group plan, they will do exactly what is covered. Big groups will hold the insurance companies accountable. It’s good business to keep the big customers happy.

If you are struggling with a private insurance claim you know is supposed to be covered, don’t give up just because it was denied. You can appeal it. If that doesn’t work, you may want to talk to a lawyer. Paying a lawyer may be cheaper than paying for your doctor bills. It was in my case.

My son had to have a surgery that would definitely be covered, but I had a private insurance policy, and they denied my coverage. The surgery was going to cost about a half a million dollars, way more than I could afford. If my son did not have the surgery, it would affect him the rest of his life. He had to have the surgery within the year or his condition would be irreversible. At first, it felt like there was nothing I could do, but as I began to research, I found there was a few things I could try.

I immediately began the appeal process. The insurance company I was with made me take my son to a different doctor to get a second opinion. This was going to take a while because it takes somewhere between 30 and 90 day just to get the medical records transferred. I cut that by two weeks just by getting them myself and hand delivering the records. Once their doctors came to the same conclusion, they still denied my claim. I reached out to a lawyer who was extremely excited to take the case. I’m not sure what he did, but the insurance covered it and then some. I didn’t even have to go to court.

If I had a group policy with a big company, I would have been covered and not had to fight the insurance company. For me and my son it was worth it not to just give up. Sometimes it pays to put forth the effort.

#privateinsurance

Author: Brent Luyet

It goes without saying COVID-19 has put a financial strain on today’s economy. With individuals losing jobs, decline in business (or closing of businesses), it’s not likely paying the medical bill is a top priority. Folks will prioritize and pay for what is needed to help stay afloat. Your practice maybe suffering as well due to this vicious cycle. Here are some tips to help cope without further drain to your wallet.

Fine-tuning Payments
In order to ease the financial strain on patients you should be flexible. When patients call and say they're having trouble paying their bill, help them out. Offer a discount to help them pay for their care or a long-term payment plan with affordable monthly payments. If you want to be pro-active, provide them with information like this website (https://www.usa.gov/help-with-bills), so your patient can get assistance from government programs to help pay medical and other bills.

Provide an easy way to make payments and provide a number of payment methods. Most people prefer to pay online, but others prefer to pay by phone; so include a phone number in the reminder text/emailed to the patient, along with a link to pay via website. Your patient portal would be a great place to have an option for the patient to pay their bill and look at their statements. Cell phone Apps are a great way to accommodate easy payment methods. (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, PayPal, and Venmo).

Collect
Before treating a patient with an outstanding balance, check your schedule before seeing the patient. Collect at least part of that balance before treatment. You can either manually add or set automated reminders that work with patient balances if you have patient alerts. This would prevent the patient from even taking up an appointment slot, which is an even better option.

A schedule program that tells you if the patient is payer eligible would be great. If you don’t have this useful feature which auto checks patient eligibility, have your staff add it in the schedule’s comment section so you can easily see who has and doesn’t have insurance coverage.

To help avoid coding and billing errors, consider adding CCI (Correct Coding Initiative) Edits to your practice billing system to reduce insurance, claim rejections and increase payer payments.

Getting accurate insurance payments means getting what the patient owes correct. ERA’s (Electric Remittance Advice) is a huge time saver and accurate way to automatically blast in those insurance payments.

Additional Assistance
If you are suffering from financial strain, there are a number of government programs established to help businesses combat financial stability during COVID. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is for businesses with up to 300 employees. Applications are accepted through March 31, 2021. The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers several relief options. The SBA Debt Relief Program offers payment for principal, interest, and fees associated with microloans issued prior to September 27, 2020. Grants are another way to help support practicing physicians. The American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation (ABIM) offers grants to align with their mission in improving healthcare. Grants are available to help improve guidelines on how to care for a patient, and to introduce quality measures and tools to help the physician provide the best care for their patients. There are other private foundations as well as government programs that offer grants to help physicians.

For more information:
Small Business Administration Click here
The American Board of Internal Medicine Click here
Apply for a Government Grant Click here

Want more information on how we can help?Contact Us

Author: Jennie Welter

Most likely if you are a health care professional you probably spend more time documenting on a patient than you do caring for a patient. Get ready to develop more policies and procedures. As the red tape gets thicker and more government regulations added, you’re likely to need a consultant to help you keep up with the changes. Yes, it can be a can of worms…not just for you the provider, but your EHR vendor too. How are you going to modify your practice in a manner that makes it easier for you to do your job?

The clock is ticking on yet another rule. The ONC’s Cures Act Final Rule , will require you give patients “direct” and immediate access to healthcare records based on calendar days “not business days”. No information blocking allowed, and delivery of requested PHI must be given in a timely manner.

How are you going to handle patient requests? Most likely you will want to adopt technology to push/pull information through a secure Application Programming Interface (API). The API will allow your patients to request information without disrupting your practice. Although you won’t be required to adopt a secure API, but if you have one, you’ll have to use them according to the rules. The Cures Act is geared to push adoption of interoperability. If a third party request records it may be limited only to electronic copies from the EHR.

What about records request, can you still charge a fee? You will be able to charge patients for records, but there are rules that define what is permissible and impermissible. If you have individuals who can’t pay for the records you’ll still be required to give the information regardless. What will eventually happen as a result of adoption of API’s is the fee for record request will no longer be feasible. If there is no additional cost to the provider to supply copies of the records, there will be no fee as there are no production cost of supplies or work is the assumption.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have an EHR that keeps your practice in compliance. Contact Us for more information.

Author: Jennie Welter

Google defines Medicaid as a service which provides health coverage to millions of Americans, including eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults and people with disabilities. Medicaid is administered by states, according to federal requirements. The program is funded jointly by states and the federal government. This in it-self sounds like a great idea, and it is, however implementation is challenging. Doctors who accept Medicaid have huge write off's because Medicaid doesn't always pay the same as other payers. Why is that? Lets take a deeper look.

You have probably heard of the affordable-care-act-expansion (ACA). This allows private companies to manage Medicaid claims at state level, almost like a private insurance provider. However this isn't working out so well. Its a bit broken according to Meratus Publications. In short, the main problem stems from broken processes with eligibility. Audits show states don't know who or why to pay. However there is hope.

If your doctor is a Medicaid health care provider, they may use a Medicaid website to submit claims. A claim is what a doctor submits to your insurance company so they can get paid. It shows the medical services that were provided to you. Typically, your doctor or provider, especially if they're in your plan, will submit the claim for you. It may not be enough to just submit using the website anymore. The claim may be rejected with no explanation. Submitting claims electronically through a medical billing software may be the answer your doctor needs to receive funds. Why does this make a difference? Even though ACA has been implemented in such a way that separates responsibility to private insurance companies, that electronic submission processes still works. You might be thinking, "Why doesn't the website work but electronic filing works?" This is because the "bridge" to submitting claims is so ridged. The bridge it-self hasn't changed except who is responsible for the claim. Funds are automatically dispensed without human contact. If your doctor's office doesn't get paid using electronic filing, they will receive an answer as to why it was not paid.

Electronic filing isn't foolproof. If there is fraud in your area, they may not pay anyone until the fraud is resolved. However you still get an answer as to why your doctor is not getting paid. Even when electronic claim filing does succeed in getting funded, the amount may be less. Some times the reimbursement is near 70% less than what was billed.

If your doctor has recently been struggling with getting payment from Medicaid, the ACA could be the cause. We may be able to help. Our practice management software is used in outsourced medical billing services as well as private practices with in-house billing. We have even assisted with re-filing late claims (timely filing). Want more information on how we can help? Contact us.

Author: Brent Luyet

COVID-19 has been hard on all of us. Everyone wearing mask, social distancing, your favorite restaurants closed, nothing to do. Some are even staying away from family members. This is hard on our mental state. Human beings are social creatures. If you take away social activities, mental health will spiral. So how do we “keep it together” during the time of COVID?

Find something to do with your immediate family. One popular hobby of 2020 was camping! Have you noticed the amount of campers on the road lately? It’s easy to hang out with your family risk free in the wilderness. Go on a hike, visit geological formations, build a fire, cook S’more‘s, grab the guitar and sing songs.

Take up a sport that encourages distancing, like golf or Frisbee golf. Frisbee golf is pretty inexpensive to get started and most parks have free to use Frisbee golf courses. Golf, in general, you are only around people you play with and other players will not approach your hole until you are done. This was so before COVID as it was considered a common courtesy.

Play games! Playing table games such as Rummikub can be very amusing and sharpen your mind. Games like Guesstures and Catch phrase will make you laugh. Try to stay away from games that encourages conflict, like monopoly. Video games that encourage co-operative play, give you a chance to hang out with your friends virtually.

Try to stay away from social media. Believe it or not, social media actually contributes to diminishing mental health. Most things on social media impact us negatively because the content we are attracted to is mostly negative. Social media is addictive. The more likes and shares we get make us feel good for a short moment but leaving us hanging with the need to repeat the process. When the result are not the same, it leaves us feeling down.

Reinvent yourself! Do something you wouldn’t normally do. Write a book, build a small boat, paint a picture, design something . Do anything besides mindlessly scrolling on social media platforms. The feeling of accomplishing something is very rewarding. There is something exhilarating about finishing a project and saying “I did that!”.

The first step of getting out of a mental slump is to make the decision to do it. All your feelings are no more than a decision you have made. You have to actually decide to be sad or happy about anything or any situation. You have to decide to put your phone down and do something.

How we handle COVID-19 as a society and how long it will last, is still “in the air”, but how we handle ourselves is up to us.

If you are having feelings of suicide or you are just extremely depressed please call 1-800-273-8255.

Author: Brent Luyet

Have you recently recovered from COVID? You can help others recover from COVID-19 by making a convalescent plasma donation. The plasma (rich with antibodies) from recovered patients can help treat hospital patients who are diagnosed with COVID. It is as easy as donating blood, and just “one” donation can treat up to four patients.

Though there is currently no treatment for the disease, convalescent plasma therapy may help one’s ability to fight the virus. Scientific studies found those who receive this transfusion might decrease the duration of illness, stop progression, or prevent death.

You can start donating after a negative COVID test result soon after recovery.

Click here for more information.

Author: Jennie Welter

Whether you’re going to a new or seeing your favorite doctor, there is always some apprehension. Even if you're going for something routine. Why do we feel this way? For me its always the fear of the unknown. What is the doctor going to find? Will I have to change my life style? Not only that, but just going to the doctor is a hassle. You have to put your life "on hold" the day of the appointment. If you physically have to go to the doctor, you may have to wait in your car before you enter. Get your temperature check to make sure you’re even well enough to make the visit. COVID19 makes going to the doctor more difficult, and understandably so. We all make sacrifices to stop the spread of the virus.

How can "the doctor visit" be less apprehensive? There are small things we as patients can do to make a big difference. Try to schedule your doctor visit at the end of the week, like on a Friday. Scheduling your visit on a Friday gives you a chance to have an early weekend. Even if you’re like me and you love your job, there is something about going home early to put it behind you for a few days.

Schedule your appointments early. Schedule your appointment in the morning rather than afternoon. The doctor and staff are ready to work in the mornings. Scheduling at the end of the day may be more convenient for you but you might not get the doctor or the staff's optimal work (especially now with COVID19 overtime).

Have all the necessary paper work done before your visit. Call the office and see if they have a website where you can achieve this task. Having the paperwork already done before you arrive could mean leaving an hour early or jumping ahead in line.

What can your doctor do to make the visit less apprehensive? Make sure there is a user friendly patient portal accessible to the patients by phone. Having a phone friendly patient portal will encourage patients to have all there paperwork done before they arrive. If this is not an option, give the paperwork out in stages. Try not to overwhelm the patient with loads of paper work. If you give the patient what is needed in stages, they will be more attentive to what is in front of them instead of just trying to rush through it.

Be attentive. Try not to stare directly at your computer while asking questions. Put yourself in the patients shoes, try to relate to there needs and make eye contact when speaking to them.

Talk to the patient not at the patient. As a doctor you may see the same situation and said the same thing over and over again. Remember this patient in front of you may be hearing this for the first time and the last thing they want is to feel like their problem is not important to you. I had a doctor once talk to me as if I was an audience. That really made me feel he cared nothing for me or my well being. I was merely apart of his daily routine.

Over all the doctor visit is a joint effort. The doctor, the staff, and the patient. Whether it's a visit to the hospital or a health care practice, it's easy to forget that the world does not revolve around us and that what we do as a health care provider affects others.

Author: Brent Luyet

Is doctor-patient relationships becoming less personal? The short answer is yes. This is not true for all doctors and some doctors may not even know they are becoming less personal. Why? Modern day technologies just suck the “good” right out of the patient relationship.

You might have noticed your doctor keeps his/her attention more at his/her computer when asking questions than at you. Don’t get upset with your doctor. They are just doing what they have to in order to properly input what has to be satisfied for the software to work correctly. If you are a Medicare/Medicaid patient, it must be perfect or the doctor will not get paid.

Electronic Health Record (EHR) software frustration can also make your doctor less personal. Today’s EHR systems are typically not user friendly and most EHR companies are forced to bend their software to fit government regulations, some of which has little or nothing to do with patient care.

Doctors make less and less each year. In the last 20 years doctor salaries have declined, especially if you factor in inflation. Doctors are expected to do more with less. Managing their practice, especially today with COVID-19, may also be a component.

To become a doctor cost more than it did 20 years ago. New doctors may have a huge college debt they must pay off. A young doctor could easily fail just by picking the wrong technologies to help them run there practice.

MedTrio understand these issues. We know how to get the most from insurance claims so doctors can stay in business. Our healthcare software is designed to fit the practice with customized software for our doctors and their staff to reduce EHR/office management frustrations and improve efficiency.

Contact Us for more information.

Author: Brent Luyet

Whether you're a patient or medical professional, you need to read this and take action. If your doctor doesn’t have access to purchase the medication at the low international price, Medicare/Medicaid will not reimburse the physician. The "Most Favored Nation" (MFN) is mandatory for all providers participating in the Medicare program. There are limited exemptions for payable Medicare Part B drugs based on reasonable costs. Medicare and Medicaid furnished a plan to adjust financial reimbursements to health care providers making it near impossible for them to stay open. MFN rule recently released by the administration, allows foreign countries to determine the cost of Part B medications. Since U.S. doctors are not allowed to purchase medicines internationally, unless drug companies lower prices in the U.S., small physician practices will fail or stop offering certain treatments such as rheumatological infusions.

Watch Interview with Dr. Eudy.


HOW CAN I HELP? Comment on this rule directly to the government! Voice your opposition. Visit: federalregister.gov. Communicate directly with your legislators. The Coalition of State Rheumatology Organizations (CSRO) encourages you to voice your concerns urging to delay the rule so they have time to dialogue the new policy with CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services). CSRO has an Advocacy tab with an Action Center selection on their website to make it easy to respond to U.S. Senators and Representatives. Go to: csro.info.
Action Links:
federalregister.gov | csro.info

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Author: Jennie Welter

Whether you're a patient or medical professional, you need to read this and take action. Medicare and Medicaid furnished a plan to adjust financial reimbursements to health care providers making it near impossible for them to stay open. The "Most Favored Nation" (MFN) rule recently released by the administration, allows foreign countries to determine the cost of Part B medications. Since U.S. doctors are not allowed to purchase medicines internationally, unless drug companies lower prices in the U.S., small physician practices will fail or stop offering certain treatments such as rheumatological infusions. If your doctor doesn’t have access to purchase the medication at the low international price, Medicare/Medicaid will not reimburse the physician. MFN is mandatory for all providers participating in the Medicare program. There are limited exemptions for payable Medicare Part B drugs based on reasonable costs.

What does this mean? It means you may have to drive to the hospital to get treatment and only if you have what they consider a life threatening condition. Your doctor will not be able to afford the high price for what is needed to perform the service. Doctors will more than likely opt out of Medicare for these services or close and go work for someone else.

HOW CAN I HELP? Comment on this rule directly to the government! Voice your opposition. Visit: federalregister.gov. Communicate directly with your legislators. The Coalition of State Rheumatology Organizations (CSRO) encourages you to voice your concerns urging to delay the rule so they have time to dialogue the new policy with CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services). CSRO has an Advocacy tab with an Action Center selection on their website to make it easy to respond to U.S. Senators and Representatives. Go to: csro.info.

Keep reading, it gets worse. Medicare pays more than twice as much for medications as other nations. Why do they have to pay more, you ask? Because the Average Sales Price (ASP) is calculated using only the prices the manufactures charge to certain U.S. based purchasers, plus a mandated 6 percent add-on. This encourages a higher price on drugs. The more expensive the drug the better the extra 6 percent looks to the manufacturer and the "cash back" to the payers. How do you get the lower drug price if there is no other drug like it on the market? Why are lower prices given to hospitals and not smaller practices?

This new reimbursement approach appears to be intended to remove or eliminate benefits for a small practice provider who has no other choice but to pay a higher price for the drug or not offer the service. If pharmaceutical manufacturers don’t change their pricing policy to allow smaller practices to purchase the drugs at the lower price, then hospitals will likely be the only ones who can purchase these drugs. Medicare is offering benefits to patients in its new rule by offering prescription drug rebates to help patients save, but how is this going to help the patient if there only option for treatment is to go to the hospital. After all, aren’t hospital cost the most expensive for the payer (Medicare/Medicaid)? This is not ideal for patients, providers, or medical advancement.

What doctors are saying. Infusion practices like Birmingham Rheumatology may be forced to shut down if this rule takes effect. Doctors such as Greg Eudy, M.D. (Rheumatology Specialist in Birmingham, AL), who provides his patients with personalized treatment, can no longer afford his staff, the infusion nurse, and pay for IV infusion supplies needed. According to Dr. Eudy, “This will be a hard hit if we are forced to stop doing infusions for Medicare patients. We would seek alternatives for our patients through large, hospital-like infusion centers or through home injections, where available. However, home injections, under current rules, will likely lead to VERY HIGH out of pocket expenses for Medicare patients. Furthermore, it is doubtful that other infusion centers or practices will be able to assume infusion care for Medicare patients under this new rule.”.

The following is a letter from Dr. Eudy to his U.S. Senator.

Author: Jennie Welter

As a health care provider, patients with chronic conditions can be difficult, mostly because these patients are usually the ones who are non-compliant. You know who I’m talking about. The patient who forgets about the follow up visit, doesn’t take meds regularly, fails to check their blood sugar or blood pressure. These are your diabetes combined with hypertension, or COPD, and so on type patients. How do you provide better care for these patients? What if I said you can, and make a little bit of money doing it?

MedTrio partners with ChartSpan, a Chronic Care Management (CCM), Annual Wellness Visit (AWV), and Quality Improvement service to reinforce quality of patient care. For patients with chronic health conditions, ChartSpan delivers follow-up, and serves as an extension to your practice. Everything is made easy, from identifying eligible patients for enrollment, around the clock nurse assistance, program progress reports and more. They also help in achieving your MIPS or QIP measures.

To the point, Chart span will do the tedious work for you. Actually calling the patient to keep them compliant. For each patient ChartSpan engages, your revenue increases. Sounds like a win win opportunity to me. Using MedTrioEHR™, all you have to do is sign up with ChartSpan and get paid. Our systems are fully integrated with ChartSpan.

How it works technically; ChartSpan sends MedTrio up-to-date CCM Patient Health Summary Reports and chronic management billing files to simplify your claim submissions. By the same token, when an encounter is signed, MedTrioEHR™ sends up-to-date CCDA to ChartSpan and any changes made to patient demographics. Secure information is sent from one physician to another.

These glimpses are tiny foretastes of how MedTrio utilizes outside sources to help improve patient care. Contact us, let us provide limitless solutions for you.

#ccm #chroniccaremanagement

Author: Jennie Welter

Ransomware is defined as a type of malicious software, or malware, designed to deny access to a computer system or data until a ransom is paid , according to cisa.gov. Most medical facilities use a Windows server, an antivirus, combined with a HIPAA compliant security information and event management (SIEM) system to monitor their network..

How does it work? Ransomware typically spreads through phishing emails or websites. You might go to a website and get a popup to update your antivirus. The popup is fake but looks like something real. So you end up infecting your computer by trying to do the right thing. Most medical offices use Windows or Mac computers throughout their office as workstations. Hackers know this and that's why they program ransomware to affect these systems. They hope a nurse or office staff finds their exploit via email or website and execute it. Once executed, it will search for shared drives and attempt to encrypt all the data it can find, including the computer that executed the ransomware. If your medical software, such as your EHR, is running on a windows or mac server, the ransomware will attempt encryption of the database.

So how do I protect my practice? If you talk to a networking company, they will set you up on a $2,500 - $5,000 a month system to have real time monitoring (SIEM) for them to handle every detail such as setting up workstations, emails, user names and passwords. You would call them for anything to do with your workstations. This is an effective way to battle ransomware and one I would recommend if you run everything on Windows, including servers. You could hire your own IT staff but that's a headache and even more expensive. If you talk to your software provider, they will tell you "the cloud is the way to go." However, they are only talking about your EHR and or PM, you still are stuck with workstations to deal with and maintain.

Well thanks for nothing! Hold up. There is something else you can do. Something that does not involve expensive services or hiring an IT staff. Switch to Linux. Wait, don't stop reading, hear me out. Most distributions come with everything you need including an office suite. Ransomware does not work on Linux and neither do most viruses. Why? Because less than 1% of the market uses Linux in the office. However, all the big corporations like Google and Amazon use Linux as servers. Think about it. If you where a hacker, you wouldn't waist your time hacking something that only has 1% of the market. Apple computers are just now being attacked at 8% of the market.

MedTrio has set up full Linux based practices with on site or cloud based servers. We use Zoran, Ubuntu, POPOS as office workstations. The servers are all Linux based as well including (SIEM) HIPAA compliant monitoring software. If you don't want to let go of your Windows workstations, MedTrio has set up Linux domain controllers to prevent the network from being compromised. We use Linux OS to keep the call volume down. No problems, no calls. Are you having problems now? Contact us, let us help you.

#ransomware

Author: Brent Luyet

With the worldwide supply shortages of PPE, some suppliers are now rationing supplies and servicing their largest customers first. With the fast rising pace of Covid-19 cases, PPE suppliers are having a difficult time keeping up with demand. This is leaving many facilities scrambling for products from other suppliers.

MedTrio has partnered with an emergency PPE provider to fill the gap when your PPE supplier cannot meet your needs. This option is likely more expensive than what you are paying now due to cost of getting FDA Certified PPE supplies from both US and overseas factories. Private jets are sometimes chartered to fill the order quickly to meet delivery demands. Orders from 100 to 150,000 gowns, from 10 boxes to nearly a million nitrile gloves, and from 500 to 200,000 3-ply masks are examples of orders that have been filled.

Contact Medtrio for more information.

#ppe

Author: Jennie Welter

Is your EHR ruining your ability to practice medicine? If so you’re not alone. It is no question, healthcare is constantly changing; driven by government regulations and forced adaptation to public health policies. Today’s medical field is controlled by federal and state agencies which add to the complexity of healthcare and the frustration that comes with it. As a consequence of mandatory legislation, EHR vendors rush products to market in attempt to keep up with all the exhausting changes. One example is telemedicine. Even though it sounds like a dream come true, its implementation is sloppy at best.

Physicians have to prioritize how to interact and treat a patient. Clinics are pushed toward technology which interferes with workflow, revenues, and liabilities. I can bet productivity has been negatively impacted as well. Probably wouldn’t recommend current systems to a fellow physician, and feel stuck with it because of the high cost.

Have you ever left a patient waiting because you didn’t know they had arrived? Maybe you left for lunch, and your patient had to be rescheduled. You could be sick of entering in the same information over and over again, clicking, and dismissing useless alerts. Or just sick of poorly implemented government regulated items which you can never meet the measurement. Then you call your software vendor only to get lost in the automated menu.

It has been my experience you must have highly customizable software to meet all the different needs as no specialty or practice is the same. I have yet to visit a clinic where they did everything the same as the next guy. There is something different about each one. Software has to be designed to suit the needs of the individual. Most importantly you have to consider the provider doesn’t have a lot of time. They are most likely experiencing burnout, so they need an EHR that works for them. Who wants to spend their nights and weekends or pay somebody to chart on patients because the EHR is difficult to use.

In order to help the physician, EHR vendors should develop their technology with clinicians and staff in mind. You have to know what the problem is first before you can come up with the solution. You have to ask WHY something is done a certain way in order to ensure the modifications made are best suited for everyone, including the improvement of patient care. EHR vendor customer service needs to have a direct number to support. No automated menus. They need to know the software in and out. Not read a check list. There is nothing more frustrating calling for help just to teach the guy on the other side how to use his software.

MedTrio understands these frustrations, which is why they developed software around customer individual needs. If they don’t have it they will make it. Check them out! If they can’t help they will find some who can. Contact Medtrio

#ehr #emr #medicalsoftware

Author: Jennie Welter

EMR - Electronic Medical Record.
EHR - Electronic Health Record.

Whats the difference between an EHR vs. an EMR, besides the acronym? To the point. An EHR, is a Certified EHR Technology (CEHRT), which meets Meaningful Use (MACRA) standards for incentive-based programs administered by the CMS; EMR's do not meet these standards.

How do you know if you have an EMR or an EHR? Somewhere in your software you should have a "Meaningful Use/MACRA Dashboard". This dashboard should included all of the CQMS measurements which are required by CMS.gov.

The dashboard should look something like this:


Some government programs require a certified EHR in order to qualify. Depending on several factors, you may be penalized for having an EMR which is not certified.

So what's the point? To promoting interoperability, CMS.gov would say. Personally I feel interoperability is a good idea, however some of the measurements for which you have to qualify appear impractical. Such as "Receive Incorporate", which reads, "For more than 40 percent of transitions or referrals received and patient encounters in which the provider has never before encountered the patient, the EP incorporates into the patient's EHR an electronic summary of care document.".

What does that mean? It means you have to get a "CCDA" or "Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture" from another practice's EHR. There are not many practices that know they have this capability much less how to send or receive a CCDA. Forty percent is a stretch to meet this measurement.

At any rate. There are incentives you could be missing. Visit qpp.CMS.gov to see programs and incentives in which you may qualify. If you already have a EHR and don't know how to meet your measurements, contact your software provider or contact us.

#emr
#ehr

Author: Brent Luyet

Do you have people coming into to your practice wanting to get tested? Are you turning them away? If you are, you shouldn't. HRSA.gov has a reimbursement program, even if your patient is not insured.

President Trump is providing support to health care providers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump signed the following:
"Families First Coronavirus Response Act or FFCRA (P.L. 116-127) and the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act or PPPHCEA (P.L. 116-139), which each appropriate $1 billion to reimburse providers for conducting COVID-19 testing for the uninsured;"
and the,
"Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (P.L. 116-136), which provides $100 billion in relief funds, including to hospitals and other health care providers on the front lines of the COVID-19 response, and the PPPHCEA, which appropriated an additional $75 billion in relief funds. Within the Provider Relief Fund, a portion of the funding will be used to support healthcare-related expenses attributable to the treatment of uninsured individuals with COVID-19. A portion of the funding will also be used for COVID-19 vaccine administration to uninsured individuals when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorizes a vaccine under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) or licenses a vaccine under a Biologics License Application (BLA)."

To learn more about the program go to https://www.hrsa.gov/coviduninsuredclaim to read more.

#covid19 #Covid19Insurance

Author: Brent Luyet

We all know that dealing with denied claims is a hassle. Researching and tracking down a denied claim can be frustrating, especially when you’re up against time. Just as soon as we understand the terms of the payer those terms change, and you’re left investigating the denied claim, which can take hours. The longer you wait to resubmit the claim the less likely you’ll get paid. MedTrioPM™ can help reduce claim rejections and assist you in managing your claims through internal auto-filtering.

Once you have submitted your claims, you can track them with our “Unpaid Insurance Report”. This report shows claims that have been filed to insurance, but no payments have been made by the insurance payer. Likewise, there is also an “Unfiled Charges Report” that you can check to ensure that you did not forget to file a claim. These two items can be setup for the dashboard so you can check these and any managed items for issues.

Prevention is the best strategy. Missing information can be caught before you submit your claims. Our billing software helps catch front-end billing/posting errors.

Another common problem is late filing to secondary payers. MedTrioPM™ includes a very flexible setup so you can set the software to automatically take care of cross-overs or automatically file to the secondary once the primary has been posted.

Why not just get ahead of these issues altogether and let the system automatically check the patient’s eligibility before the patient comes for their office visit? MedTrioPM™ can automatically check patient eligibility before the patient comes in for their appointment so you can notify the patient if needed regarding their eligibility status. Automatic eligibility and benefits can be setup to check for future appointments and retrieve all the information needed to verify insurance. Eligibility can be setup to verify both primary and secondary at the same time.

Author: Jennie Welter