Practice Management Software: A Doctor's best friend by Jitendra Jain

Medical billing is the process of submitting and following up on claims to insurance companies in order to receive payment for services rendered by a health care provider. Software that automates this whole process by keeping records of claims submission and follow up as well as payments received is called medical billing software. Practice management software is a kind of software that deals with the daily operations and record keeping of a medical practice. Such software regularly allows users to keep track of patient demographics, schedule appointments in an organized manner, maintain lists of insurance payers and other important lists, perform all billing tasks, and generate reports based on the need of the medical practitioner.

Only after the advent of medical billing software has it become possible to manage the humongous number of medical claims in an effective manner. Many software companies have arisen to provide medical billing software to this particularly lucrative segment of the market. Several companies also offer full portal solutions through their own web-interfaces, which negates the cost of individually licensed software packages. The rules and regulations in the field of medical billing are very dynamic and are undergoing constant change. Therefore, in order to keep track of these changes, one must have robust medical billing software. Software companies and medical offices spend thousands of dollars on new technology and are forced to redesign business processes and medical billing software in order to become compliant with the new laws and acts. Medical billing software is also used by hospitals and clinics to check the eligibility of a patient for the intended services with the patient's insurance company.

Most Practice Management Software systems are designed especially for small to medium-sized medical practices and clinics. Such software systems are also known as medical practice software.

Also, there is some software that is designed for or/and used by third-party medical billing companies. Practice Management Software is can be categorized into three basic classes - desktop-only software, client-server software, or Internet-based software. Different branches of medical science have their own custom-made medical practice software which is suited to the exact needs and demands of that particular branch.

Most practice management software contains systems that enable large scale organization of data related to a medical practice. Such software are very easy to operate and quite robust too. Almost invariably, the process of running a medical practice requires some introspection, and practice management software usually contains reporting functionality to allow users to extract detailed data on financial performance of the practice as well as patients' financial histories. Modern medical practice software do all this with great ease and have several other very useful functions too by the use of which the software can be customized to suit your needs.