Billing Lytec Medical Software
Opinions on Lytec Billing Software from a Medical Billing Business Owner. Gripes and Likes of billing Lytec medical software.
My Experiences with Lytec Billing Software
I don’t have anything to gain in recommending (or not) Lytec software, but I wanted to share my experiences with the software since it’s the one I use the most. We use the client/server version running on a Windows server.
This allows multiple users to access at the same time. So we (the billing service) can be working at the same time the providers office is accessing the Lytec systems application.
From using and trying several different practice management systems, I’ve found that most practice management software programs have pretty much the same features and capabilities. And there are plenty of choices for PC or server based practice management software.
Minor Gripes
Regardless of what software you end up choosing, there’s going to be things you don’t like about it. For example with Lytec when entering charges I like to hit the “enter” key after completing each field to move to the next field (my old AltaPoint works this way). Lytec doesn’t work this way – you have to use the “tab” key which isn’t as convenient. But this is just a minor grip.
Good Knowledgebase
Because it’s widely used there’s a large public knowledgebase for Lytec billing software. Even if you can’t find a solution searching on Google, you can usually find it either in the Lytec support knowledgebase or from the third party Lytec billing software distributor (for a price of course) who sold you the software.
However the one thing I really appreciate about Lytec billing software is the ability to get help and resolve issues quickly when there’s a problem. If I can’t submit claims, our provider is not getting paid – which means I don’t get paid. I can’t wait days to get a software problem resolved. I need to get it resolved in hours.
Resolving Issues with Clearinghouse
We occasionally have problems with the claim file uploaded to the clearinghouse. Sometimes the form has been corrupted, overwritten, or inadvertently modified. This is not through any fault of the Lytec medical billing software itself – but the users. When this happens the claim file isn’t recognized by the clearinghouse and gets rejected. Rejected claim files are not something we can live with – especially given the volume of claims I submit daily. When this happens it’s very important to be able to resolve the issue quickly.
One thing that’s really been helpful when solving interface and format issues with the clearinghouse is being able to quickly and easily edit the claim form. Since the claim file in our case is a print image or .prn format, I can edit the form and change and move fields to suit the clearinghouse. With my other software, the claim file was in an ANSI format. I found making corrections or modifications to the ANSI file was difficult and confusing. Not just for me but it was difficult to find someone else who could provide competent technical support – even from the software vendor.
Easy to Edit Forms
With Lytec billing software, the claim forms can be viewed and edited in a WYSIWIG (What You See Is What You Get) format. That means I can easily see the changes that are made to each field and actually move the field. This is also helpful when modifying the CMS 1500 paper form. Even when I couldn’t get things corrected, it was easy for the clearinghouse tech support folks to help me figure out the problem and resolve it quickly.
This has also proven helpful when submitting patient statements. We submit statements electronically similar to claim files. When we set this up with the clearinghouse, it was a breeze. We only had to make minor adjustments to the form file which took all of 5 minutes.
EMR Capability
Although I haven’t used this feature, I understand Lytec now offers a practice management version with EMR (Electronic Medical Records) incorporated in the software. This is nice to know If you or your practice plans to migrate to EMR in the future.
Other Pluses
When I first purchased Lytec several years ago, also came with a good self paced CD based training. It was easy to understand and didn’t take long to learn how to use the software. I haven’t had to deal much at all with Lytec support – which is a testimony in itself – but when I have they have been very helpful.
I also like the reporting features. Our providers are always interested in numbers and trends – especially accounts receivable (A/R). Compared to other practice management software I’ve used, Lytec has a good selection of reports. It also has the ability to filter these reports which we use a lot.
My 2 Cents
So that’s my 2 cents on Lytec. I think Lytec Systems offers a very good product. Judging by it’s wide acceptance it looks like many other practices and billing services agree.
When choosing a PC or client/server application, regardless of which software you choose, make sure there’s a good knowledge base and tech support is readily available. I’ve learned that tech support is almost as important as features when selecting software.
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