Dentaltown September 2015 - (Page 84)

finance feature easy INSURANCE MANAGEMENT IS IF YOU START WITH evaluation by Tom M. Limoli, Jr. I t is imperative that dental professionals, both clinical and administrative, have a sequential process that the entire team can follow. All too often I fi nd offices that have slipped out of focus by thinking they have all the knowledge they need when it comes to the patient's benefit plan. Everyone has a role in both the business office as well as the operatory. It should go without saying that harmony, growth and overall profitability are more easily achieved when everyone is singing from the same songbook. Fig. 1 My father, Tom Limoli, DDS (19242006), founded Atlanta Dental Consultants with my mother, Christel, in the late 1970s. One of the business principles we teach is called the Trilogy of Reimbursement. Put simply, it's based on the three progressive, interdependent steps of diagnosis, treatment and documentation. In other words-diagnose based on documented findings, treat based on the diagnosis and patient response, then bill and code for exactly what was performed. Your narrative report and supplemental information fall right into place because they are based on your clinical diagnostic and treatment documentation. Don't forget to note how the patient responded, not only to the procedure, but also the overall outcome. 84 SEPTEMBER 2015 // dentaltown.com It sounds simple enough. But if the business team is not coding and billing for exactly what the clinical team performed, you have the beginning of a treacherous downward spiral that will manifest itself in lost revenue, wasted time and unnecessary stress on both the dental office and the doctor's personal paycheck. As tempting as it may be to add a fourth step called, "What should we tell the insurance company?" don't do it. The patient deserves for you to tell the insurance company the truth. http://www.dentaltown.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown September 2015

On Dentaltown.com
Continuing Education Update
Industry News
Product Profile: Planmeca
New Products
You Should Know: Lean Dental Solutions
Practice Solutions: Ultradent
Ad Index
Dentally Incorrect
CONTINUING EDUCATION: Considerations for Treatment of External Cervical Invasive Resorption
Case Report: Microbrush Stamp Technique
Working Through Pain: How Chronic Conditions Affect Dentists
HOWARD SPEAKS: Know Your Numbers
PROFESSIONAL COURTESY: TV Shows for Dentists
Passivhaus: Dentists Get Their Green On
A Green Dentist in a Bluegrass State
NuSmile Preveneered SSC Tips
Yet Again, Immediate Molar— Drill First, Extract Later
Turning Over a New Leaf
The 5 Tenets of Practice Success
Understanding the Sjögren’s Patient: Facilitating Diagnosis of Sjögren’s Syndrome
Sleepy Hollow Dentist Wants to Make a Change
Seeing the True Resorption Picture
Oral Squamous-Cell Carcinoma Detection
Solutions for Effectively Managing a Dental Offi ce
Seminar and Travel Pay: It’s No Vacation
Insurance Management is Easy if You Start with Evaluation

Dentaltown September 2015