CarePaths Blog
Online behavioral blog is about weekly updates
EHR software management system. Take control of
your practice and know more about your patients
with a Behavioral EHR & Practice Management
System.
Online behavioral blog is about weekly updates
EHR software management system. Take control of
your practice and know more about your patients
with a Behavioral EHR & Practice Management
System.
When the CPT codes for psychotherapy were revised in 2013, 90837 became available for longer therapy sessions. 90837 had two advantages over the previous code for longer sessions. First, it only required a therapy session of 53 minutes which is in line with how many clinicians practice; and second payers would pay for it.
How much better paying? Based on claims submitted through CarePaths, mean payment for 90837 was $81.25 (allowable $111.50) compared to $54.60 (allowable $78.81) for 90834.
Many clinicians have grasped the economics of 90837, using it for 30.6% of all billings in 2013 and 40.6% today.
Initially some payers were reluctant to pay for 90837. BCBS and commercial payer denial rates were in the 3 to 4 % range between 2013 and 2015 but have dropped dramatically since then. In 2017, the BCBS the denial rate for 90837 is 1.29% and for 90834, .45%; for commercials the rates are 1.14% (90837) and .89% (90834). Denial rates for Medicaid and Medicare are higher but have also come down. Currently the denial rate for Medicaid is 5.9% and for Medicare 4.12%.
The upshot from our data is that clinicians can earn reliably higher reimbursement from commercial and Blue Cross payers by using 90837 without undue concern about having their claims denied. Medicaid and Medicare are different stories, but even here there have been a dramatic lowering of denial rates.
1. New Text and Voice Messaging
You can now send notifications of new messages, new statements, or appointment reminders via email, text, or voice.
–Go to the patient chart > Messaging. On the notifications tab you can choose the type of notifications you want to send (email, text, voice) and where to send them.
–The notifications for new messages alerts states, “You have a new message in your inbox.”
–Statement alerts say, “You have a new account statement in your inbox.” Email alerts have a link to the patient portal log in.
–Appointment Reminders state, “You have an appointment with (name of provider) on (date) (time).”
2. Mobile Outcomes Daily Monitoring Fix
For those using mobile outcomes, we have fixed a problem that caused daily mobile alerts to fail.
"I have been in practice full or part time as a Psychologist for over 28 years. The CarePaths system is the most efficient system of record keeping, patient and practice management, authorization tracking, claims management, and billing that I have ever used. With the addition of features recently added to the system, my office will be nearly paperless. As I anticipate retiring in several years, the problem of record repository will not be a significant issue. The customer service at CarePaths is exceptional. Any processing difficulty is usually solved within a day. This system is head and shoulders an improvement over the two forms of proprietary practice management systems I used in the past."
~Patrick Quigley, PhD, LSAC
“I have used many systems and yours is a hidden gem! I really love the functionality, features, and layout!”
~Melissa D. Michel, MSCP, NCC, LPC
“The referral portal is a huge benefit. The Cleveland Clinic uses it to schedule next day appointments for us from the emergency department. It's worked wonderfully.”
~Cara Daily , Ph.D.
"I am a very satisfied user… and I would like to express my strong satisfaction with your product."
~Loren Andrews, LCSW
