This week on the Edge Podcast, our host and NSCHBC member Terry Fletcher, will give our listeners, a few updates for your medical practices that came out of the 43-day government shutdown that ended on November 12th.

As you know as of October 1st, many services were stalled or expired without Congress in session including Telehealth, Hospital at home, and funding for many government services including $40 billion for rural health centers.

Many of those COVID ERA flexibilities that ended October 1st, and were restored 11/13, were only extended again through 1/30/2026. Join us for some quick insights.

When securing the patient’s share of cost for medical services, what is the minimum that should be done, and should this also be taught to back-office staff not just f/o or billing? How does the NSA impact financial agreements for patients? Who enforces these policies? and what if a 3rd party billing service is involved? All of these questions and answers are addressed today in this month’s episode of the Edge Podcast, with host Terry Fletcher and fellow NSCHBC member Laureen Murphy of MedCycle Solutions.

This month on the Edge Podcast, Terry welcomes NSCHBC member Janet Velazquez of JV Practice Solutions for a timely discussion on what it really takes to retain top talent in today’s healthcare landscape.

It’s not just about competitive pay and benefits. Companies must foster a positive, inclusive, and supportive work environment—but what does that look like in practice? Are healthcare organizations offering growth opportunities, flexibility, and a culture that inspires long-term loyalty?

Terry and Janet dive into the nuances of employee experience, exploring how workplace culture impacts retention, performance, and overall success. Whether you're a practice owner, manager, or consultant, this episode offers valuable insights into building a team that stays and thrives.

Production represents the services rendered and the value created by a dental and/or medical practice. Without adequate production, there wouldn't be anything to collect, regardless of how efficient the collections process is.

Terry welcomes Dental consultant, Callie Ward, to discuss that robust collections are absolutely crucial to translate production into actual revenue and profit. A practice with excellent production but weak collections will struggle financially and how to make sure practice success.

Automating medical coding presents significant challenges due to the intricate nature of health information management, particularly medical records, which form the bedrock of healthcare coding and billing. Protected Health Information (PHI) exists in various formats, including handwritten notes, patient intake forms, and dictated lab reports. This lack of standardization poses a considerable hurdle for AI systems.

Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) professionals—such as coders, billers, and auditors—possess the contextual understanding necessary to interpret and extract crucial information from diverse and sometimes illegible records. The complexity of abstracting documentation is further compounded by ambiguous acronyms, localized jargon, and specialized medical language. Additionally, a substantial portion of the information provided to coders is subjective, demanding a level of interpretation that current AI technology may not yet possess.

For AI to acquire these essential skills, medical coders will need to train the systems, and auditors will be responsible for verifying their accuracy. This technological shift is inevitable, so RCM professionals should consider developing these skills to remain competitive in the evolving IT landscape.

Join us as host Terry Fletcher welcomes Sirisha Bommireddipalli to the show for an insightful discussion on this important topic.

In this episode of the Edge Podcast, Terry and her guest, NSCHBC member and consultant Joe Lessard, discuss how to advise clients on critical business decisions for medical and dental practices. They cover topics such as:

• Insurance acceptance: What insurance plans should practices accept?
• Hiring strategies: When is the right time to hire new associates or partners?
• Location expansion: Should new locations be opened, and if so, where?
• Operational scaling: When should practices expand or contract outsourced operations?
• Equipment acquisition: Should practices lease or purchase new equipment?

Tune in for expert insights on practice management, financial planning for healthcare practices, and growth strategies for medical and dental clinics.

In the context of medical and/or dental insurance, ADR refers to Additional Documentation Request. This is a request from an insurance payer (like Medicare) for additional records to support a claim. It's not a sign of wrongdoing, but rather a way to ensure compliance with policies and verify the validity of claims.

Ignoring these requests, or failure to meet their deadlines, can result in a loss of revenue and trigger additional payers' audits and ADR’s.

Terry outlines the ADRs and best practices to make sure your staff is on top of these requests, which helps save your revenue.

In-house billing offers enhanced internal control and potential return on investment but entails higher costs and staffing challenges.

Conversely, outsourcing is cost-effective, transparent, and consistent but may result in skewed control of financial operations and introduce hidden costs.

Terry discusses this important topic with healthcare consultant Donna White, covering the best option for different-sized practices.