64% of Physical Therapy Practices at Risk for Medicare Noncompliance

PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Clinicient Inc., a leader in outpatient rehabilitation business solutions, today announced the results of their Medicare compliance risk survey of therapy practice owners and managers. 441 physical therapy practice owners and managers responded to a five question, brand neutral survey about their proficiency in Medicare reform and its impact on their day-to-day practice activities. According to the survey, 64 percent of respondents are at significant risk for Medicare regulatory noncompliance and consequential cash flow problems, denied claims, Medicare fines, and higher overhead costs for audit preparation and response.

The transition from fee-for-service to outcomes-based reimbursement is changing the playing field for outpatient rehabilitation providers. Medicare, the nation's largest payer, is leading the charge with shifting regulations and a sudden increase in audits and Office of Inspector General investigations. Many commercial payers have swiftly followed suit. Clinicient's integrated software and revenue cycle management expertise takes the guesswork out of regulatory compliance by embedding it into a therapist's automated documentation workflow. Clinicient also securely stores all patient and billing information in one system that contains reporting and analytical tools for easy compliance monitoring and audit defensibility.

"The industry at large is actually more at risk than these results show. Just by choosing to take the survey, these participants demonstrated some level of awareness that noncompliance is a real and impending threat," said Nancy Beckley, president of Nancy Beckley & Associates and a premier expert in rehab Medicare compliance. "These questions effectively predict serious risk of noncompliance. However, regardless of someone's quiz results, the reality is that these mistakes are 100 percent preventable. At a time when resources like Clinicient are at the industry's fingertips, noncompliance is simply inexcusable."

The ongoing web-based survey, which to date has received 441 participants since its launch on July 1, 2014, featured five questions that gauged regulatory adherence. A "noncompliant" answer to one or more of the questions indicated a significant Medicare risk. Respondents were not paid for their time or prescreened to skew the results. Clinicient's Medicare Playbook, a digital resource kit filled with compliance information and tools, was available to address immediate concerns participants might have after viewing their survey results. 

"We know our integrated software and revenue cycle management expertise empowers our customers to meet every regulatory hurdle that may come their way. But we were surprised by the extent to which the rest of the industry is at risk of noncompliance," said Rick Jung, CEO of Clinicient. "Regardless of the size of your practice or its location, everyone can agree that the challenges of Medicare reform are insurmountable for the therapist alone. A trusted advisor is required who can navigate every point along the therapy practice revenue cycle that is vulnerable to noncompliance."

Founded in 2004, Clinicient is the only revenue cycle software and clinical solutions company exclusively focused on the outpatient rehabilitation therapy marketplace. With nearly $1 billion in payments under management, Clinicient supports thousands of therapists in 45 states across the United States.

About Clinicient
Clinicient helps outpatient rehabilitation therapy businesses manage change with a combination of cloud-based EMR, practice management and revenue cycle management solutions that optimize the entire care cycle from patient to payment. With nearly $1 billion in payments under management, Clinicient's solution maximizes payment while enabling therapists to deliver superior clinical outcomes that enhance the value of therapy to patient population health management. Clinicient is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. For more information call (877) 312-6494 or visit http://www.clinicient.com or follow Clinicient on Twitter @Clinicient.

SOURCE Clinicient Inc.