Respiratory care billing using a personal digital assistant.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Informatics
• Respiratory Care Management
• Medical Billing Systems

Background:

• A previous report detailed the development of an in-house computerized clinical information management system for a respiratory care department.
• This system utilized handheld computers for real-time data entry by respiratory therapists during patient rounds.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the design, implementation, and benefits of an integrated billing module for an existing clinical information system.
• To evaluate the impact of the new billing module on charge capture efficiency and departmental revenue.

Main Methods:

• The existing clinical information system was enhanced by incorporating a custom-designed billing module.
• Respiratory therapists continued to use handheld computers for clinical data entry.
• The billing module processed this data for charge generation and revenue management.

Main Results:

• The integrated billing system led to substantial improvements in charge capture.
• Departmental revenue saw a significant increase following the implementation of the billing module.
• The system demonstrated advantages over traditional medical billing approaches.

Conclusions:

• The addition of a billing module to a customized clinical information system is effective in enhancing revenue cycle management.
• This integrated approach offers significant advantages in charge capture and financial performance for respiratory care departments.