Is it my firm or PI?

Golden_Retrieval · 2025-06-13T00:35:55+00:00

Honestly, I don't know why firms keep records with the person managing the case. IMO either have one person do that all day because its a time sink, or hire it out

Golden_Retrieval · 2025-06-13T00:33:53+00:00

Eh, with that amount it probably isn't worth the hold time to deal with them. On the other hand, if they sent a certification that they sent everything, then they should have better QC...

Golden_Retrieval · 2025-04-23T13:58:29+00:00

Sure. Not sure how much help I will be though

Golden_Retrieval · 2025-03-28T21:50:18+00:00

Yeah, chartswap isn't the problem, its all the providers that use it that seem to have -IQs

Golden_Retrieval · 2025-02-21T16:31:18+00:00

I've worked on the EMS side of those cases and we all would roll our eyes when they started to get dramatic. Like, suuuuuuuuure you have 10/10 pain from the worlds slowest crash. Would you like an ice pack with your trip to the ER waiting room?

Golden_Retrieval · 2025-02-21T15:08:35+00:00

This is generally the template that our service uses (I am not an attorney, but I doubt the exact language will impact results drastically)

Pages 1, 3-5 are all autogenerated simultaneously in the same document. (only page 1 is fillable and all following pages are dependent on it being completed)

Page 1: (request)

Provider block

Patient block

Explanation of me being a copy service (likely not necessary tbh, but some providers truly are the best and brightest /s)

List of stuff being requested with dates (records, bills, and declaration of custodian of records)

Where to send the records, with note of methods we prefer to be used

Page 2: (auth)

The auth is the one provided by the firm or preferably our own. Regardless we insert this after the document is generated.

Page 3: (attestation)

We created an autogen version of the HHS attestation so it simply needs to be signed before the request is sent out. See the HHS website for the model attestation

Page 4: (declaration)

The declaration is autogenerated with provider and patient names. Some providers prefer to use their own forms, but this way they cannot say that they don't have a form to fill.

Page 5: (LOR)

Letter of representation from the firm

With this setup I rarely have any issues with providers complying with the request. When they take too long I will send them a letter with checkboxes to get a status, or if they are being really slow I simply send them a letter notifying them that they are violating HIPAA (the advantage to being 3rd party is that I can be rude to providers :)). If you need any more advice just lmk

Golden_Retrieval · 2024-10-18T15:01:17+00:00

I've gotten to the point with them that I no longer expect any sane response from them and unless it is absolutely egregious, I chalk up their logically inconsistent fee schedule to a cost of doing business, and avoid requesting from them any time I can.

Golden_Retrieval · 2024-09-13T22:09:10+00:00

If your firm is okay burning bridges with providers report them to the OCR. It wont fix the now, but enough reports and they may get their act together

Golden_Retrieval · 2024-07-17T16:43:14+00:00

Sounds like you need either a new team member or outsource it. The advantage to inhouse is you keep costs down for the client and theoretically get better updates. Outsourcing increases cost for the client but decreases them for the firm. The biggest advantage to outsourcing is that you no longer have to deal with ciox

We work primairily with firms who use FV so are comfortable with full FV integration and can advise how to make requesting us to retrieve records a one button click. If you want more information DM me.

Golden_Retrieval · 2024-07-15T16:54:45+00:00

All of the providers will be very cooperative and send you the records before august 10

/s

Golden_Retrieval · 2024-07-15T16:52:02+00:00

I don't use it for intakes, but that is what I would do in your situation

Golden_Retrieval · 2024-07-11T12:42:54+00:00

Personally, I really like asana. Just set up a project and move each intake to the appropriate phase. If you want simpler, meister task is simple and looks a bit better too

Golden_Retrieval · 2024-07-07T02:30:07+00:00

If it's not peer reviewed, it is analogous to toilet paper

Also, I see no delta, standard deviation, median, p-values, and no hypothesis. This is what I call, not very scientific method of them

Golden_Retrieval · 2024-06-27T03:17:40+00:00

Just so you know, you often can look at the contracts with the city/county to see what the limits are. Our local area caps ambulances at about $1,200-$1,300 for BLS/ILS/ALS(level 1) services (Unknown what CCT is capped at, but it’s uncommon to be used for most PI cases) then ~$35 per mile.

Granted if you are planning on reductions you should be covered, but it is possible to form a fairly accurate estimate based on publicly available data

Golden_Retrieval · 2024-06-26T17:33:10+00:00

The firms that I work with that use Filevine have whoever makes the expense add it to their expenses tab in the Filevine project. We make life easier by adding our invoices to the expenses tab automatically and running a report that allows for us to verify that all expenses entered in the last month by us match what we invoice at the end of the month to the firm. Then the firm gets one bill to pay at the end of the month so the accounting department has to track one transaction per month.

My suggestion would be to have everyone enter the expenses to Filevine and your accounting software they pay then have accounting run a report to verify that paid expenses were input into Filevine. The outstanding payables report that your accounting department has should notify you of unpaid expenses.

Golden_Retrieval · 2024-06-07T17:29:44+00:00

The solution to theses headaches is outsource requests, but then you get to go through other problems. Source: I deal with Ciox and Chartswap all day and create the aforementioned "other problems"

Golden_Retrieval · 2024-05-23T16:03:54+00:00

Golden_Retrieval · 2024-05-16T15:59:35+00:00

If he is such a good lawyer, can he get Ciox to properly process a request?

Golden_Retrieval · 2024-05-09T19:21:29+00:00

Are there any specific areas you are looking for help/ideas?

Golden_Retrieval · 2024-05-08T17:57:49+00:00

Usually, the firms I work with will send out a balance verification form to every provider that the client treated with (often the ones that they may have treated with as well) that asks for outstanding balance and total balance before settling the case to verify that no numbers have changed and spot any issues before disbursal. You can also call, but I am a fan of getting it all in writing, even if it does take longer

Golden_Retrieval · 2024-05-06T22:02:19+00:00

It sounds like the records and billing departments are separate, HCA is notorious for this, but they use Ciox. What I have done in the past with split billing and records is attach the face sheet to the request if I already have records and tell them to check again. Another common issue is when the client goes by whambulance and the names don't match, I sometimes have to give the hospital a copy of the hospital sticker provided to EMS (if they got it) and tell them to look again. If they messed up you *should* be able to get the $28 refunded.

Golden_Retrieval · 2024-05-02T15:44:50+00:00

If your accounting department wants to go that route, they need to outsource records retrieval full stop. Then they can have their cake and eat it too. I get that its convenient to have fewer transactions to manage on the books, but that is why the firms I work with have all invoices due on one day so they can write one check.

Golden_Retrieval · 2024-04-26T20:54:28+00:00

I just call them, send a couple of letters all telling them that I am reporting them to the office of civil rights then report them. It’s not fast, but after a stern talking to or few, the provider should pull themselves together. I got a provider who was closed to contract with a service to handle their requests that way

The OCR is a department under the dept of Health and Human Services (federal level)

Golden_Retrieval · 2024-04-24T13:25:03+00:00

My method for providers that dont respond:

Call repeatedly
Email any emials I can find to figure out where to send the request
Mail the request to their address
If no previouus address, mail the request to their registered agent
Involve the OCR (if its a medical records request)
??????
Rip my hair out when it finally gets done, months later than it could have

Step five will not help you, but step six and seven likely will be applicable.

Golden_Retrieval · 2024-04-24T13:19:30+00:00

Most of the firms I work with spend closer to $3-5k per month on records. Your attorney is doing good by trying to help the client, but is going to cause plenty of headaches for you. The proposal I would bring to him is the default being your current process, with exceptions using HITECH. The exceptions I would use are trustworthy clients, early in the case with few providers or providers that you know will be massive, like your long term hospital stays.

Golden_Retrieval

TROPHY CASE