Things to Consider Before Upgrading Medical Billing Software

by  Find-A-Code™
Aug 11th, 2022

Your practice has utilized the same medical billing software for years. The medical billing staff says it is time for a change. You don't necessarily disagree, but you also don't know where to begin your search for new software. There are so many vendors offering so many products that making sense of it all can be challenging.

First off, know that you can keep using Find-A-Code medical billing look-up no matter what direction you decide to take. You will still find everything from ICT to CPT codes here. Second, do not obsess over features to the extent that you don't take the time to consider how well a new software package will fit your practice.

Here are some things to consider before upgrading:

1. Practice Alignment

You can choose from a number of off-the-shelf billing software packages or select one that is specifically aligned to the type of practice you operate. Off-the-shelf packages are often cheaper because they are more generic in nature. Still, it might be worth investing in a more expensive package that is better aligned with what you do.

2. Local or Cloud Environment

Next, consider whether a new software package is locally hosted or cloud based. Years ago, local software was the only choice. It ran on a central server located in the practice itself. All the computers in the office were connected to that central server. These days, more and more practices are transitioning to cloud environments.

The cloud brings a lot of advantages to medical billing software. Cloud-based platforms tend to offer more useful features because clouds offer power and resources that local networks lack. With cloud-based software, you also get built-in backups and redundancy. Best of all, medical billing located in the cloud is accessible with nearly any device. It is device and OS agnostic.

3. Purchase or Subscription

Assuming you ultimately decide to go with a cloud-based product, you will also have to decide whether to purchase or utilize a subscription. A subscription is essentially software-as-a-service (SaaS). The SaaS model has a number of advantages including lower upfront costs and not having to worry about updates and upgrades. On the other hand, your practice could end up spending more in the long run. When you purchase software, it is a one-time expense until upgrade time rolls around again.

4. Privacy and Security

It goes without saying that any new medical billing software you invest in should protect patient privacy and be up to date with all the latest security procedures and protocols. There is simply no reason to utilize a software platform that isn't both private and secure. Doing so opens your practice to liability.

Software vendors should be able to prove compliance with privacy and security standards. If you come across one that either cannot or will not, walk away. Do not take any chances with patient privacy and practice security.

5. Ease-of-Use

A final thing to consider is ease-of-use. In other words, can your medical billing team jump right in and start using the software right away? If not, how steep is the learning curve? While some amount of learning is always necessary with new software, your billing team shouldn't still be struggling with the software a month into it.

Upgrading medical billing software is part of running a medical facility. Choosing the right software is as important as accurate medical billing codes. So here's one last tip: put as much effort into finding the right software as you do ensuring that your medical billing team knows what it's doing. That kind of effort will pay off in the long run.