In the coming weeks, The Records Company will reduce our number of email updates sent to clients as we prepare to introduce a new portal system that will provide status updates without adding to your email load.
As a first step toward the new system, we will simplify our responses on the current portal to streamline information and make requests more manageable, especially for clients with high volumes of open requests. To that end, we will no longer address the following issues in individual emails. However, you can rest assured we will continue to actively address these concerns for every request we receive:
- Provider research of patients, including patient details and matching maiden names or other alternate names.
- Location of correct facilities when the provided information is incomplete or inaccurate.
- Amendments to ensure HIPAA authorization is compliant with regulations, including but not limited to complete dates of birth, service dates, etc.
- Processing for expedited orders, which requires us to submit a new request, possibly through a different process.
- Changes in contact information for providers, including phone or fax numbers, changed information, and merged facilities.
- Rejections from facilities, which may be due to expired authorizations, missing authorization statements, incorrect dates of service, authorizations signed by the patient without the proper legal documentation (such as POA, probate court orders, etc.), or issues with a minor patient.
- Locating physicians at closed or new locations, and locating specialized billing sources, such as ER physicians, radiology, anesthesiology, etc.
- Locating supervisors and managers, sending letters, and forwarding time-delay complaints to necessary entities to get a response.
- The lapse of time between the release of records and the certification receipt.
- Negotiation of prepayment fees or invoice disputes for records to ensure compliance with state statutory rates.
- Records sent directly to a client without informing The Records Company. In these cases we continue following up on records that have already been received.
While each of these issues takes additional time in the retrieval process, they are also extremely common. By eliminating individual notifications for each delay, we can avoid inundating clients with emails and save additional time in the process from our end.
Moving forward, you can request weekly updates for your records and open requests. We will provide your office with a spreadsheet—similar to what you now see on the portal—that will illuminate any issues that need to be resolved. Please let us know if you would like to receive these weekly updates.
We plan to launch the new platform by the end of 2019. After the update, the portal will detail your request status while making more in-depth notes and updates optional.
Thank you for being a part of The Records Company. We appreciate your business as we continue to grow and change to make our service even better!