Billing Interface Between Allscripts PM and Allscripts EHR

Using the billing interface between Allscripts PM and Allscripts EHR produces one of the greatest time savers that the software affords.  The billing interface allows charge import into PM after a physician signs off on the patient visit in the EHR. This technology enables practices to stop using superbills, minimizes errors in charges and speeds up claims submission.  This is not a new functionality of the program, but there still are practices who have not adopted it or have adopted the technology but not using it to its full advantage.  

Successfully implementing charge passing focuses most on the clinical personnel and Allscripts EHR versus Allscripts PM.  Unlike in the world of superbills, visits can’t be billed until a physician signs off. This represents a massive change for physicians and their workflow at the beginning.  How can you help?  

  1. Review workflows to assure they don’t have extra and unneeded steps.  
  2. Make sure templates for common visit types and services are set up completely, so clinical staff does not “reinvent the wheel” each time they choose codes for their work.
  3. Make sure that CPT codes are set up correctly for services that are ordered only versus those for which the practice will bill.
  4. Do training with the clinical staff so they understand that codes must be chosen in Assessment and Plan.  Sign off requires choosing an E&M level, if that service was provided. Make sure there is a sign off that will transfer to PM and can be used when no E&M service is provided.  Clinical staff needs to review the billing tab to assure all services provided are there.
  5. Make sure the Allscripts interface engine is set up with mapping of providers, locations.

Finally decide how perfect you need the charges to be in auto-transactions, charge entry.  Usually modifiers can be appended by the billing staff in charge entry versus trying to make physicians experts in this area.  A rule of thumb is you don’t want to have to review every chart to enter a charge, so the set up and training with clinical staff needs to be complete enough so they are at least choosing the correct diagnosis and procedure codes.

Want to discuss the billing interface?  Please fill out and submit our Contact Us form.