About the Author

Sheldon Needle is President of CTSGUIDES.COM, a free web site offering reviews, ratings, tools, and expert advice to help companies select software. Sheldon is a former CFO, consultant and software designer who has published more than 20 guides on software selection.

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Ease of Use is a major factor to keep in mind when choosing medical billing software.

Here are some important considerations regarding ease of use, security, and other factors when comparing medical billing software options:

1. When you start using the medical billing software, moving from one screen or one function to another should be intuitive and make sense to you, the user.  Do transitions from screen to screen proceed logically?
2. Is there a simple graphical interface between different modules of the medical billing software?
3. What about data security and HIPAA compliance?  Is it easy to make backups of your software? Can you password-protect sensitive data from unwanted users?
4. Can the medical billing software track insurance policies and data?
5. Are there customizable templates for standard functions within the medical billing software modules?
6. Can several staff members access the medical billing software program simultaneously?
7. Is there a web-based component to your system, so that users can have  password-protected access to your  system from different locations?
8. Are the templates easy to customize for a specialty practice?  For instance, if yours is a cardiology practice, you will need different types of templates than a dermatology practice: hypertension templates, cardiac cath templates, etc.
9. How easy is it to import data from outside sources, such as HHS and other government agency sites?
10. How easy is it to fill out standard forms?  Are HCFA forms easy to fill out?  What about easy access and analysis of CPT and CDT codes ?
11. Are interfaces with external sources easy to set up from within the billing and scheduling system?
12. How difficult will it be to import data from simple software sources, like Microsoft access spreadsheets (with xls extensions)?
13. How difficult will it be to import data from paper sources?  Is there any OCR facility available for scanned data?
14. Data conversion: how difficult will it be to convert data that is already on some other medical practice or medical billing system (perhaps one that you practice has outgrown)?
15. Does the software allow for multimedia attachments, such as pictures, scanned documents, x-rays, and even voicemails and files?
16. Does the software have a “free-trial” option so that you are not locked in to the system before you have seriously tried it out?
17. What are the training options that come with the software you are considering?  Is there a human tech-support contract option that comes with the software, or is training available only online?  Is there a person that is assigned to your company to provide tech-support?  How expensive is it to buy additional tech support time for you and your staff?

No one likes to think about everything that can go wrong, but you do need to do serious planning so that things will go smoothly with your medical software implementation.  Invest the time in comparing systems up front, so that you will eventually choose a medical billing system to fit the needs of your practice.