Hello Elevated Life Family Chiropractic Family,
This notice is a little long so hang tight with us. This information is important and we need you to read and understand.
Over the course of being open, there has always been changes as we grow and learn. One of the biggest benefits of chiropractic care for us is increasing the body’s ability to adapt to changes in our lives. One of those changes that has happened several times for our office is the software that we use. As some of you know, we have had several issues over the last couple years with the software that we have been using. Many of those issues we have resolved without it affecting our patients too much, but at times it has been a detriment and we don’t like that. So, we have decided to transition to a new software. In order to help with the transition, we want to be transparent in why we are switching, how we hope the software will help improve your quality of care and service, and the changes you can expect. We will also go over some hiccups that may come up and how we are going to mitigate any of those hiccups the best that we can.
To begin, the first year of using our current system, there have been changes that we liked and wanted to give them a chance to continue to develop the software. But this 2nd year hasn’t gone as well. Support hasn’t been what it once was and with each update, we are finding issues and we are constantly relearning. With there being updates 2-4 times per month, we are ready to move on. We are going to be switching over to a new software starting on June 10th in order to allow us the ability to still look back at our current software to hopefully catch anything before we are unable to access anything on our current software. We anticipate that having both softwares for the month of June will allow us to deal with anything that comes up and help with the transition.
With changing softwares, there will be some changes that may affect you as a patient. We anticipate that these changes will only improve your experience here at Elevated Life Family Chiropractic. One change that you can expect is an updated phone number that you’ll be receiving your appointment reminders from. You will not be able to text back and forth using this new number (which should be (978) 339-2896). Instead, you will be given the opportunity to sign up for a patient portal in which you can view your appointments, message us with a HIPPA compliant messaging system, update credit card information or ACH payment information, and other features. To access the portal you can go to elevatedlifefc.intakeq.com and sign up for the portal or have us send you an invite for the portal.
The messaging on the portal may not be ideal for some situations as it will immediately notify us on our end through the software when you message us, however, you will receive an email notification when we message you (unless you are logged into the portal). This may create some issues if you have to constantly monitor your email or don’t keep a tab open. However, you may still text us with our office number at (208) 357-1949. This is through a business Verizon account and we receive these text messages on our personal phones and the iPad. We are working on getting the ability on our computer. If you see Matti or Tiffanie texting on their phones, more than likely they are responding to messages from other patients. Texting the office number will be the quickest way to communicate but we would like to give the portal a test run and will be using it as much as possible. Phone calls will not be affected-the number will stay the same.
As you use the portal, please give us honest feedback as it will help us understand the shortcomings of the system and help us give feedback to the software company so that they can improve the software and make it easier for you. I would recommend that you create a bookmark of the portal and even place it on the home screen of your device (ask us for help if you need it!). They have let us know that in the future the portal messaging may be switching over to texting but at this time they do not have a timeline of when that may be.
Second, the transition is also going to force us to switch our payment processor. There will be some benefits to switch our processor. One of which is you will be able to add and modify any credit card information. It will also give us the ability to do ACH payments (bank transactions). This will allow us to save on processing fees. If you are willing to switch over to ACH payments, please let us know and we will help get you set up if needed. If you have any questions on what each payment option is and how it affects you, please let us know.
The main thing that will change for some of you is super bills and insurance. I want to be as transparent as I can and if you want a more in depth conversation, please let our front desk know and I would love to sit down with you. As many of you know, I attended the Idaho Association of Chiropractic Physicians (IACP) convention last month. While attending, I was able to meet with many other chiropractors in the state and discuss several things. One of which was coding and billing and working with insurances and the legalities of such even if we are not billing to insurance. We have been in-network with Medicare and Medicaid and have been out-of-network with all other insurances thus far. After learning of several experiences of other offices, we have made a hard decision to no longer be able to bill out to Medicare. That doesn’t mean that we will no longer be able to see those on Medicare, however there may be some details that we need to cover with you or those you refer in. We will continue to be in-network with Medicaid, however there will be some changes and you will need to meet with Dr. Randy to discuss your care on a case by case basis. Although the changes to Medicare and Medicaid will only effect some, others may be affected as well because we will be changing up the procedure codes that we use in order to stay aligned with the values and principles of our office. Changing these codes will more than likely change whether you are able to send in a super bill (itemized bill) to your insurance and get reimbursed. If you have questions, PLEASE talk to Dr. Randy. There may be some exceptions to that such as motor vehicle accidents (MVAs). While we do not actively search out for patients that have been involved in a MVA, we do want our patients that have been involved to get the care they need and deserve and have a couple options for that if you are ever involved in a MVA.
While we have spent the last month working with the demo and support teams of the new software in order to figure out how we can use the software with our current systems, there may still be a learning curve for everyone as we begin to implement. One thing we have not be able to fully test out is the payment system. At first it may take a little bit of extra time at the front desk for those that are not on a quarterly or yearly payment plan. If you are not on a plan and would like to change to a payment plan to save time and money, please let us know as soon as possible and we will get you a new Wellness Agreement to allow you the opportunity to switch. The reason for the increased time is because the check-in and payment process on the new system is very different from what it is in our current system. We anticipate that it will be a better flow once we get it figured out. However, at first it will take some time getting used to. Thank you in advanced for your patience.
All these changes, while hard at times, will help us be able to deliver a higher quality experience to you. We appreciate your understanding in the changes that are taking place. Many things we have done over the last few months have been in an effort to make this transition a more pleasant experience for all. If you have any questions or concerns, please let the front desk know so that they can schedule a consultation for you. During this transition, if you have any issues that come up please let us know so that we can help get things figured out and/or let the software company know how they can improve your experience.
We appreciate you and love serving you,
Dr. Randy, Matti and Tiffanie
Texting Number: (208) 357-1949
Appointment Reminders Number: (978) 339-2896
Patient Portal: www.ElevatedLifeFC.intakeq.com
