ACOM Health's Clinical Documentation Software Architecture Enforces Documentation of Medical Necessity for Chiropractors: Chief Software Engineer Vais Salikhov

ATLANTA, Georgia, August 6, 2009 – Few things interfere with chiropractic practices more than contested claims accompanied by requests for additional documentation to justify treatment. But unless the treatments are seen to be medically necessary by third party payers, the likelihood of such demands is high-and-climbing under the intensifying focus on health care costs, notes Vais Salikhov, chief software engineer at ACOM Health, a division of ACOM Solutions, Inc.

"Private insurance companies are driven by the need for profits, which means that they must be careful about spending their money," Salikhov said. "So the inclination is to deny rather than pay, and they often support their denials by referencing elements of the medical necessity documentation requirements established by the Medicare and Medicaid programs. If any of these elements are missing or deficient, the claim is increasingly likely to be questioned."

In architecting the Chiropractic Documentation software(http://www.acomhealth.com/software/rapid-emr.html), ACOM Health system analysts have incorporated disciplines that virtually guide doctors to follow the fundamental requirements for proving medical necessity, he said:

- History & Exam: the software facilitates the most complete exams, making the process easier with versatile graphical helpers and checklists, all with associated customizable text

- Diagnosis: the software structure compels doctors to establish an orderly process that provides a complaint analysis far more comprehensive than an unguided process

- Treatment: the software links prescribed treatments to the findings of the exam. Such linkage forces validation of medical necessity

- Goals: the software can be configured to require the institution of goals by requiring the doctor to go to a "Goals" section prior to generating the narrative

- Objective Measures: the software makes this a part of every treatment plan, ensuring compliance

"When documenting initial or follow-up exams, the software can be configured to prevent the doctor from creating a narrative report until all pages required by the particular exam type have been completed," Salikhov said. For example, the history must be fully documented before moving on to exam, diagnosis, etc., and finally generating the narrative. Sections of the exam that are required can be customized by the doctor with the help of our professional services staff during implementation and training. ACOM Health's documentation software makes it easy for doctors to tell a case story that is clear, complete, convincing and to the point thereby maximizing collections and eliminating billing challenges by delivering documentation that comprises exactly what insurers need to see."

About ACOM Health
ACOM Health serves chiropractic and the broader healthcare community with products and services that enhance efficiency, cut costs, increase revenues and propel practice success. ACOM Health's Chiropractic Consulting team helps practices ethically and legally maximize their billings and collections, while protecting the practice from the threat of a severe audit. ACOM Health's award winning Chiropractic Software including Software for Documentation and Clinical Notes, and Practice Management Software for scheduling, billing, and patient management are the products of choice for hundreds of chiropractors. For information on ACOM Health, call 866-286-5315 ext. 217, acomhealth@acom.com, or visit http://www.acomhealth.com

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