4 Must-have Data Points for Dispatch-Billing Alignment and Maximum Reimbursement
Mar 27, 2025
1 min read
In emergency situations, dispatchers are responsible for guiding 9-1-1 callers through tough situations with life-saving support....
Podcast: 4 Ways ePCR Software Can Relieve EMS’ Biggest Headaches
Jan 3, 2025
1 min read
The EMS industry continues to face challenges on multiple fronts. Staffing shortages persist, operational costs are rising, and reporting...
Black Book Research Ranks ZOLL Billing the #1 Insurance Discovery Solution
Nov 14, 2024
1 min read
ZOLL® Data Systems has received top honors in Black Book’s annual Finance and Revenue Cycle Management survey for the second year in a row....
How an Air Medical Transport Company Broke Net Cash Collection Records With RCM Optimization Tools
Nov 12, 2024
1 min read
When Classic Air Medical (Classic Air) looked to upgrade their billing software, they had two goals in mind: 1) restructure the billing...
What To Consider When Making the Transition From On-premises to Cloud-based EMS Software
Sep 16, 2024
1 min read
For emergency medical service (EMS) organizations, making the jump from on-premises software to cloud-based software comes with a lot of...
Black Book Research Ranks ZOLL® AR Boost® as the #1 2024 Insurance Discovery Solution
Aug 6, 2024
1 min read
ZOLL® Data Systems has received top honors in Black Book’s annual Finance and Revenue Cycle Management survey for the second year in a row....
How To Use Automated RCM Tools and Healthcare Market Intelligence To Power Reimbursement
Jun 26, 2024
1 min read
In the hectic moments on scene, common obstacles arise that affect an EMS organization’s revenue cycle management (RCM) process. Some...
You Can Protect Revenue Integrity: Tips for Ground and Air Ambulance Billers Navigating Medicare
Jun 11, 2024
2 min read
Medicare can cause a lot of headaches for air and ground emergency medical service (EMS) billers. What should, in theory, be a...
Simple Steps Make All the Difference for Optimizing ePCRs for Billing
May 3, 2024
1 min read
It’s not a rare occurrence for patient care documentation to have many holes, inaccuracies, and deficiencies that make submitting clean...
How EMS Agencies Can Streamline the Prior Authorization Process To Protect Revenue and Reduce Burnout
Christa Lassen-Vogel, Senior Manager, ZOLL Data Systems | Mar 12, 2024
The prior authorization (PA) process emergency medical service (EMS) providers endure is a story of unintended consequences. Created as a...
Your Agency Isn’t Getting Paid: Here’s What You Can Do
ZOLL Data Systems | Jan 23, 2024
You might be surprised at how many billing challenges are common for every agency. Issues that cause payment delays or denials are the same...
5 Ways to Achieve Revenue Integrity and Avoid Payment Delays
ZOLL Data Systems | Jan 5, 2024
Revenue integrity is the goal of every billing department. If an agency can achieve this goal, its documentation will stand up to the...
Providers: Take Back Power During Payer Contract Negotiations
ZOLL Data Systems | Dec 19, 2023
Covering reimbursement rates, medical necessity, credentialing, and prior authorization (PA), payer-provider contracts are key to emergency...
Meet the New ZOLL Dispatch and ZOLL Respond CAD Solution
ZOLL Data Systems | Dec 14, 2023
When seconds count in emergency response, dispatchers and call takers should have the right tools in place to get critical care teams to...
Providers Can Even the Playing Field During Open Negotiations – Here’s How
ZOLL Data Systems | Nov 28, 2023
Emergency medical service (EMS) providers are facing ongoing challenges when it comes to receiving the maximum reimbursement rate from...
News Alert: ZOLL Claims Clarity Data Service for Healthcare Providers Delivers Claims Data To Foster Market Transparency and Support Data-driven Negotiation and Decision Making
Christa Lassen-Vogel, Senior Manager, ZOLL Data Systems | Oct 30, 2023
Healthcare reimbursement practices are under scrutiny, and payment levels are declining for providers from emergency medical services (EMS)...
Gain More Confidence and a Stronger Position During Open Negotiations and IDR
ZOLL Data Systems | Oct 10, 2023
Since the No Surprises Act (NSA) has gone into effect, emergency medicine (EM) physicians and emergency medical service (EMS) air ambulance...
How Multi-company Billing Creates a New Revenue Path for EMS Agencies
Steven Aliano, Senior Marketing Content Specialist, ZOLL Data Systems | Aug 2, 2023
For smaller EMS agencies, difficulties with billing can have a multi-faceted effect on all areas of business. Small agencies may be dealing...
Improve EMS Patient Satisfaction and Self-pay Balance Collections by Using a Modern Payment Platform
Christa Lassen-Vogel, Senior Manager, ZOLL Data Systems | May 31, 2023
Patient satisfaction is a difficult puzzle for EMS providers to piece together. Medics are driven by a sincere desire to help people, but...
How Emergency Medicine Providers Can Mitigate Self-Pay Collection Challenges
ZOLL Data Systems | Apr 26, 2023
Across the country, emergency medicine providers are strapped by workforce gaps and swamped by a rising tide of patient visits to the...
Tips for Making Compliance with Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection Requirements Easier
ZOLL Data Systems | Apr 20, 2023
With reporting deadlines looming for the Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System (GADCS), it’s of vital importance to understand...
Strategies and Tips for Capturing Optimal EMS Reimbursement
ZOLL Data Systems | Mar 31, 2023
When EMS agencies maximize reimbursement revenue from patient transports, they help keep their organization financially strong so that they...
Tips for Managing the Surge of Patients About To Lose Medicaid Coverage
ZOLL Data Systems | Feb 28, 2023
What happens when millions of people lose healthcare coverage in one year? That’s the question healthcare providers are apprehensively...
Proven Ways EMS Agencies Can Minimize Impact and Maximize Reimbursement From Self-pay Accounts
ZOLL Data Systems | Jan 27, 2023
“Self-pay accounts are leaving EMS agencies “hanging by their fingernails.” So says Maggie Adams, President of EMS Financial Services.It’s...
Should Your Agency Bring EMS Billing In-house?
ZOLL Data Systems | Jan 16, 2023
Is it worth it to bring your EMS billing in-house? Sooner or later, every organization that outsources its billing and collections...
EDI, AI, Robots, and Machine Learning: Demystifying Healthcare Software Automation
ZOLL Data Systems | Dec 20, 2022
Facing an increasing number and complexity of claims, many healthcare organizations are hoping that software automation can provide billing...
5 Best Practices To Enhance Efficiency and Optimize Reimbursement Under CPT® E/M Coding and Guideline Changes
Christa Lassen-Vogel, Senior Manager, ZOLL Data Systems | Dec 16, 2022
Along with a new year, January 1 will usher in watershed changes to the American Medical Association’s (AMA) “Current Procedure Terminology...
Technology Fills the Revenue Cycle Skills Gap and Enhances Financial Performance
ZOLL Data Systems | Nov 29, 2022
Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) have had to weather multiple storms in recent years. First, when procedure volume dropped during the...
6 Steps to a Better Patient Experience Through Financial Transparency
ZOLL Data Systems | Oct 31, 2022
When patients receive attention and care on the financial portion of medical care, along with quality patient care, it can reduce stress,...
Using Data to Understand Pre-pandemic Enrollment Patterns and Protect At-risk Patients During Medicaid Redetermination
ZOLL Data Systems | Jul 28, 2022
When the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) expires, it will be a pivotal time for providers, payers, and patients. As state Medicaid...
The Transformational Effects of Charitable Financial Screening For ASCs
Christa Lassen-Vogel, Senior Manager, ZOLL Data Systems | Jul 19, 2022
Despite staffing shortages and increasing patient volumes, ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are still expected to provide high-quality...
Golder Ranch Fire District Increases Collections by 5% and Saves 30 Hours Per Month of Staff Time — ZOLL Pulse Award Winner
ZOLL Data Systems | Jun 10, 2022
Golder Ranch Fire District (GRFD) leadership wanted to ensure that they were maximizing the functionality of RescueNet® Billing software...
City of Allentown EMS Achieves Exceptional Financial Performance and Workflow Efficiency with Move to Cloud-based Billing Software — ZOLL Pulse Award Winner
ZOLL Data Systems | Jun 9, 2022
City of Allentown EMS (Allentown EMS) management had a vision for moving to a cloud-based billing solution to support the growing need to...
UMC EMS Modernizes Crew Communications, Sharpens Response Times, and Reduces Operating Costs — ZOLL Pulse Award Winner
ZOLL Data Systems | Jun 8, 2022
University Medical Center’s (UMC EMS)service area has been steadily growing, and agency leadership recognized the need for a...
TransCare Improves Patient Care and Access to Wellness Services While Reducing Unnecessary 911 Calls — ZOLL Pulse Award Winner
ZOLL Data Systems | Jun 7, 2022
TransCare Medical Transportation Services (TransCare), a division of the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, has a mission “to ensure that no one...
Mutual Aid EMS Deploys New Integrated Software System to Improve Response Times, Operations, and Compliance — ZOLL Pulse Award Winner
ZOLL Data Systems | Jun 6, 2022
Mutual Aid EMS operates 14 ambulance stations across a 924 square-mile service area. Agency leadership saw tremendous opportunity to...
Compliance Accreditation and Patient Safety with Pre-hospital Emergency Care
ZOLL Data Systems | Mar 18, 2022
In Emergency Departments (ED) and Intensive Care Units (ICU) in the U.S., more than half of critically ill patients arrive via ambulance....
5 Simple Steps That Help You Avoid Costly Billing Mistakes, Improve Your Bottom Line, and Reduce Patient Anxiety
Steve Wirth, Esq., EMT-P, Attorney, PWW, LLC | Mar 3, 2022
(7 min read) When providing healthcare services — whether that be in the pre-hospital (EMS) or traditional hospital setting — we are...
Strategies for Reducing Payment Uncertainty With Less Effort and More Satisfaction
ZOLL Data Systems | Feb 24, 2022
In a recent webinar hosted by Healthcare Business Management Association (HBMA), AR optimization expert, Juli Smith, discussed the growing...
Conquering Billing Challenges Early in the Patient Encounter
ZOLL Data Systems | Feb 23, 2022
Healthcare providers are striving to meet rising demand in their communities but are feeling the burden of prior authorization get heavier....
Six Reasons You Can’t Miss ZOLL Summit 2022
Christa Lassen-Vogel, Senior Manager, ZOLL Data Systems | Feb 22, 2022
ZOLL’s largest educational event of the year, ZOLL Summit, brings hundreds of EMS, Fire, and healthcare professionals from all over the...
Demystifying Proper EMS Billing for Hospital Inpatient Transports Part 3: How Much Must the Hospital Pay?
Doug Wolfberg, Founding Partner and Attorney at Law, Page, Wolfberg & Wirth | Feb 15, 2022
This post is Part Three of a three-part series. View Part One | View Part Two. In part one of this three-part article series, we looked at...
Demystifying Proper EMS Billing for Hospital Inpatient Transports Part 2: Medicare Bundling Rules
Doug Wolfberg, Founding Partner and Attorney at Law, Page, Wolfberg & Wirth | Feb 8, 2022
This post is Part Two of a three-part series. View Part One |View Part Three. In the previous installment of this three-part article...
Demystifying Proper EMS Billing for Hospital Inpatient Transports Part 1: Who’s the Payer?
Doug Wolfberg, Founding Partner and Attorney at Law, Page, Wolfberg & Wirth | Feb 1, 2022
This post is Part One of a three-part series. View Part Two |View Part Three One of the areas of ambulance billing that can pose challenges...
Short-staffed ASCs Can Ease the Burden of Prior Authorization and Do More With Less
ZOLL Data Systems | Jan 18, 2022
(2 min read) Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASCs) do an exceptional job of collecting patient deductibles, co-pays, and other patient...
How and Why Bringing EMS Billing In-house Could Be Right for You
ZOLL Data Systems | Jan 4, 2022
If you currently outsource your billing and collections functions and are considering bringing them in-house, you’ll want to assess whether...
5 Critical Medicare Updates Every EMS Agency Should Know
ZOLL Data Systems | Jun 30, 2021
(5 min read) For many years, EMS agencies and advocacy groups like the American Ambulance Associates (AAA) have been battling for adequate...
Understanding How to Get Paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs for Ambulance Transports
ZOLL Data Systems | Jun 24, 2021
(3 min read) Getting reimbursement for ambulance transport from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) can be challenging. For...
Hold for Deductible: Why “Zero Day Billing” Is No Longer the Goal
Doug Wolfberg, Founding Partner and Attorney at Law, Page, Wolfberg & Wirth | Jun 18, 2021
(3 min read) The lay of the land in EMS billing used to be “Zero Day Billing.” This meant that emergency medical service (EMS) agencies...
How to Demystify Slow Revenue Capture, High Denials, and Too Many Write-offs
Christa Lassen-Vogel, Senior Manager, ZOLL Data Systems | Jun 17, 2021
(6 min read) Billing for emergency medical services (EMS) is tricky in the best of circumstances. In emergent situations, patients may or...
ZOLL® Pulse Award Winner Helps Tucson Agency Increase Payments by 12%
ZOLL Data Systems | May 27, 2021
(3 min read) The ZOLL Pulse Awards, first launched at the 2017 ZOLL Summit, recognizes professionals who improve operational efficiencies...
Hosted Computing Eases Orderly Transition to SaaS Solutions
Frederick Barnes, Vice President, ZOLL Data Systems | May 26, 2021
(5 min read) There are many reasons that business applications are moving to the cloud, or Software as a Service (SaaS) model. One of the...
ZOLL® Pulse Award Winner Helps Florida Agency Achieve Higher Levels of Operational Performance
ZOLL Data Systems | May 21, 2021
(5 min read) The ZOLL Pulse Awards, first launched at the 2017 ZOLL Summit, recognizes professionals who improve operational efficiencies...
Spring Cleaning for Your EMS Billing
ZOLL Data Systems | May 14, 2021
(2 min read) The COVID-19 pandemic has made it more important than ever for EMS agency billers and managers to conduct their annual reviews...
Are Your Key Performance Indicators Costing You Money? (Part 3)
Brian S. Werfel, Esq., Partner, Werfel & Werfel, PLLC | Apr 29, 2021
Co-written by Scott A. Moore, Esq., Principal, Moore EMS Consulting LLC A Critical Look at How Common KPIs Are Being Used (or Misused) by...
The No Surprises Act: Preparing Your Practice for the Coming Challenges and Opportunities
Mark R. Jones, President and CEO, EMRJ Consulting | Apr 27, 2021
Co-written By Juli Smith, Director, ZOLL Data Systems
Healthcare Credit Checks Benefit Patients and Providers Alike — So What’s the Controversy?
Juli Smith, Director, ZOLL Data Systems | Apr 12, 2021
(4 min read) When a patient checks in to see a new healthcare provider, there is the inevitable package of new patient paperwork. Along...
5% of Your Self-pay Patients Likely Have Medicare Coverage
Juli Smith, Director, ZOLL Data Systems | Apr 8, 2021
Gaps in demographic and insurance information are commonplace. Patients are often mislabeled as self-pay despite the presence of billable...
Retroactively Discover, Verify, and Bill Medicaid Coverage for Hospital Encounters
Juli Smith, Director, ZOLL Data Systems | Apr 5, 2021
(2 min read) In 2019, almost 50% of all insured individuals were insured through employer sponsored plans. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the
The Patient’s Financial Experience: Trends, Innovations, and Challenges
ZOLL Data Systems | Mar 11, 2021
Juli Forde, Director of Strategic Partnerships, AR Optimization at ZOLL® Data Systems partnered with Jonathan Wiik, Principal, Healthcare...
5 Timely EMS Billing Tips for Navigating 2021
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Feb 23, 2021
(7 min read) Have you ever lost your glasses only to find them on top of your head? The habit of putting them there has become so routine,...
Are Your Key Performance Indicators Costing You Money? (Part 2)
Brian S. Werfel, Esq., Partner, Werfel & Werfel, PLLC | Feb 19, 2021
Co-written by Scott A. Moore, Esq., Principal, Moore EMS Consulting LLC A Critical Look at How Common KPIs Are Being Used (or Misused) by...
How Emergency Medicine Physicians Can Increase Revenue in 2021 With Medicare PFS Cuts Looming
ZOLL Data Systems | Jan 21, 2021
In August 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the proposed Medicare annual payment rule for 2021. This rule...
Reducing Emergency Department Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) in 2021
ZOLL Data Systems | Jan 19, 2021
In 2020, emergency department volume reductions and an increase in uninsured patients have caused financial ripple effects through the...
The Cash Pay Lie and Other Costly Realities
ZOLL Data Systems | Jan 15, 2021
In an effort to maintain or increase patient volume and reduce collections costs, physician groups increasingly are offering substantial...
How NEMSIS v3.5.0 Can Propel the EMS Industry Forward
Tim Nowak, Founder & CEO, Emergency Medical Solutions, LLC | Dec 21, 2020
New National Data Reporting Elements for Improving Patient Care and Driving Evidence-based Progress in EMS’ Role in the Healthcare Ecosystem
Billing Medicare and Private Payers for Telehealth Visits: What to Expect Post-Public Health Emergency
ZOLL Data Systems | Dec 14, 2020
The American Medical Association (AMA) and many other organizations are actively advocating for continued support of telehealth...
Are Your Key Performance Indicators Costing You Money? (Part 1)
Brian S. Werfel, Esq., Partner, Werfel & Werfel, PLLC | Dec 9, 2020
Co-written by Scott A. Moore, Esq., Principal, Moore EMS Consulting LLC
Tips for EMS Agencies to Resolve Today's Patient-Pay Accounts
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Nov 24, 2020
Everywhere I go, ambulance providers, billing companies, and billers ask, “Why do patients think that ambulance service is free?” Across...
What’s Next? More EMS Billing in the COVID Environment
ZOLL Data Systems | Nov 13, 2020
Like all other providers in the healthcare ecosystem, emergency medical services (EMS) agencies have been impacted in many ways by the...
How to Boost Billing Performance and Patient Satisfaction
Christa Lassen-Vogel, Senior Manager, ZOLL Data Systems | Oct 20, 2020
(6 min read) Today, healthcare providers are under increased pressure to ensure a positive patient journey - one that prioritizes the ...
EMS Billing in the COVID-19 Environment
ZOLL Data Systems | Oct 13, 2020
(2 min read) In April 2020,the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) conducted a survey to assess the early impact...
Offering Patient-centric Payment Plans Increases Provider Collections by More than 11%
ZOLL Data Systems | Oct 6, 2020
(2 min read) Most healthcare providers report offering patient payment plans. The plans are popular; approximately half of consumers state...
Look Who’s Paying for Treatment without Transport
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Sep 22, 2020
How Efforts at the State Level Are Blazing the Trail for Community Paramedicine Reimbursement
Leveraging Technology to Augment the EMS Billing Process and Experience
Christa Lassen-Vogel, Senior Manager, ZOLL Data Systems | Sep 16, 2020
Is Now the Time to Re-engineer the EMS Billing Process?
How to Optimize Revenue Cycle Management Technology: Best Practices from the Experts
Juli Smith, Director, ZOLL Data Systems | Aug 26, 2020
In a recent report by HIMSS Healthcare IT News, five healthcare revenue cycle technology experts offer perspectives on best practices for...
How to Verify Patient Eligibility Under the HRSA Uninsured COVID-19 Program
Juli Smith, Director, ZOLL Data Systems | Aug 13, 2020
In early April, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced that a portion of the $100 billion CARES Act Provider Relief...
EMS Compliance Lessons from a $10M Medicare Ambulance Fraud Scheme
Christopher Kelly, Esq., Of Counsel, PWW, LLC | Aug 11, 2020
(4 min read) Several recent cases have shown that the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the...
Not Your Traditional EMS Call: Documentation and Billing for Telehealth Consults
Tim Nowak, Founder & CEO, Emergency Medical Solutions, LLC | Aug 6, 2020
(5 min read)
Leveraging Multiple Data Streams to Accelerate Reimbursement and Enable Agile Operations
Tyler Williams, Director of Strategy, AR Optimization, ZOLL Data Systems | Jul 22, 2020
(7 min read) Consider this scenario: a child enters the hospital emergency department with a broken collar bone, sustained while at play....
Mitigate the Impact of Volume Loss by Optimizing Accounts Receivable
Juli Smith, Director, ZOLL Data Systems | Jul 9, 2020
Proven Best Practices and Solutions to Effectively Mine Past Accounts Receivable (5 min read) Amid COVID-19, hospitals and providers alike...
Guarding Against (More) Revenue Loss
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Jun 18, 2020
By Maggie Adams
Innovating Revenue Streams During COVID-19: Four Telehealth Best Practices
Juli Smith, Director, ZOLL Data Systems | Jun 4, 2020
Written By: Juli Forde (3 min read) As healthcare providers continue to manage unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 crisis, making...
How to Prevent Revenue Loss During COVID-19
Juli Smith, Director, ZOLL Data Systems | May 21, 2020
Unanticipated situations like the COVID-19 crisis present significant revenue challenges for healthcare providers. The path forward can be...
How to Minimize the Operational Impact of MBI and Increase Patient Satisfaction
Ray de la Pena | May 13, 2020
4 Tips for Maximizing Billing During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Mar 26, 2020
(3 min read) Using your software tools to maximize billing efforts during these difficult times may not be top of mind right now, but I...
COVID-19 Patient Documentation to Improve Outcomes and Protect EMS Crews
Chad Hurka | Mar 13, 2020
With COVID-19 cases on the rise, first responders must address a new set of concerns relating to patient care and crew safety. The CDC has...
Three Ways for Billing Departments to Handle Financial Hardships
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Feb 19, 2020
Written by: Maggie Adams (3 min read) Self-pay accounts are an ongoing frustration for billing departments. The best billing system can’t...
Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers Accelerate Claim Payment
Kelli Turner | Feb 11, 2020
(4 min read) On January 1, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) made the formal shift to the use of Medicare...
Being Paid vs. Being Paid Correctly: The Difference Can Be Costly
Daniel Pedersen | Feb 5, 2020
(4 min read) It’s no secret that being paid for the service you provide is the goal for most ambulance systems. After all, reimbursement is...
The Never Quite Forgotten Compliance Risk
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Jan 22, 2020
(6 min read) Medicare usually pays the largest portion of ambulance claims. But when viewing medical transportation - ambulance combined...
Accounts Receivable (A/R) Management: Working With Patients and Third-Party Payers
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Oct 31, 2019
(7 min read) The most common question I get is, “Why do our accounts receivable keep growing?” Problems with unpaid claims, denied...
How Using Dispatch Protocols Can Avoid Revenue Loss and Compliance Risk
Amanda Stark | Oct 16, 2019
(4 min read) Dispatch is an area that seems to generate a lot of misunderstandings and confusion, especially as it relates to Medicare...
Using Audit Results and Your Data to Improve Compliance
Amanda Stark | Oct 9, 2019
Audits sometimes get the reputation of being a bad thing or a dirty word. But an audit, whether you’re doing it yourself, hiring someone to...
EMS and Fire: Unique Challenges and Solutions
Brittany Frater | Sep 25, 2019
How Chris Davison of Tucson Fire tackles challenges and optimizes for efficiency (6 min read) Chris Davison has been the Ambulance Billing...
Do Your Own Internal Audit to Avoid External Review (and Reduce Denials)
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Jun 5, 2019
(5 min read) Lately it feels like ambulance providers are getting yelled at from Medicare and the OIG at every turn – “Medicare Paid Twice...
The Emergency Triage, Treat, and Transport Model (ET3)
Brian S. Werfel, Esq., Partner, Werfel & Werfel, PLLC | Mar 14, 2019
CMMI’s new pilot program ushers Medicare into the 21st Century “When you only get paid if you take people to the hospital, guess what...
Get Better at Collecting, Analyzing and Actioning Your EMS Data in 2019
Rob Humphreys | Dec 20, 2018
(4 minute read)
Behind the Scenes with a Beta Customer
Brittany Frater | Nov 27, 2018
CareMed gets in on the ground floor with ZOLL Billing Note: ZOLL Billing is now widely available in market. To learn more about getting...
The Most Important Metrics Your Agency Should Be Measuring
Brittany Frater | Nov 13, 2018
“Data is a great four-letter word, but operationalizing it or turning it into actionable intelligence is a key activity for any executive...
Webinar Recap: After 1 Year with Billing Pro, Payments Are Up 116%
Bridget Yoder | Nov 6, 2018
In a recent webinar Ryan Thorne, owner and CEO of Thorne Ambulance Services, discussed the success his company experienced after...
The Challenge of Counting Costs
Brittany Frater | Nov 1, 2018
In EMS, our reimbursement doesn’t cover our costs.
Ambulance Billing for Small and Medium Services – Outsource or Keep In-House?
Bridget Yoder | Oct 4, 2018
Maggie Adams, president of EMS financial services recently presented a webinar on the topic of ambulance billing—is it better to keep your...
EMS Operations, Documentation & Billing
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Sep 27, 2018
It's all about the numbers Welcome to 2018, a year of numbers that will influence operations, billing, documentation and compliance....
The Importance of Documentation Compliance
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Sep 20, 2018
What is the quickest way to get EMTs and paramedics to roll their eyes? Tell them how important their documentation is to reimbursement,...
The 7 Deadly Sins of EMS Billing
Brian S. Werfel, Esq., Partner, Werfel & Werfel, PLLC | Sep 18, 2018
In September 2015, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a report, “Inappropriate...
3 Ways to Improve Your EMS Billing Management
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Sep 13, 2018
Today we discuss the many small steps ambulance providers can take to improve operations and get paid for transports. Actions in dispatch,...
Auditing Ambulance Claims
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Sep 4, 2018
Why, How, and When During recent client audits, we found an insurer who had underpaid two clients. Naturally, the clients were thrilled to...
Why Do Ambulance Claims Get Denied
Steve Johnson | Aug 23, 2018
Paint a Complete Patient Story to Eliminate Denied Claims Your crews’ patient care reports (PCRs) should clearly and consistently...
Is it more cost effective to outsource your EMS billing or do it in-house?
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Aug 21, 2018
7 Questionable EMS Billing Practices to Avoid
Brian S. Werfel, Esq., Partner, Werfel & Werfel, PLLC | Aug 9, 2018
In September 2015, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a report, “Inappropriate...
5 Steps to Finding the Right EMS Billing Software Provider
Renee Collier | Aug 7, 2018
Are you in the process of bringing your EMS billing in house? Unless you plan on billing manually, the selection of your software provider...
Want to Get Paid? Ensure Field Crews Complete Compliant Trip Reports
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Jul 26, 2018
What is the quickest way to get EMTs and paramedics to roll their eyes? Tell them how important their documentation is to reimbursement,...
Track These 7 KPIs to Improve EMS Billing Efficiency
Renee Collier | Jul 24, 2018
As an ambulance billing department, it’s important that you identify key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate agency performance and...
April Roundup: Mobile Device Best Practices, KPIs to Increase Your ROI, Benefits of GIS & More
Lindsay Alexander | May 1, 2018
If you haven't visited the ZOLL Pulse Blog in awhile, you've missed some really great content to help you in your day-to-day as EMS...
How to Use GIS to Improve Billing, Operations & Responder Safety
Brian Rowe | Apr 19, 2018
Have you ever tried to geocode an incident for a motor vehicle crash using a milepost on a roadway or determine the best access point to a...
March Roundup: Make EMS Billing Easier, Learn to Manage a Media Crisis, Improve Operational Efficiency & More!
Lindsay Alexander | Mar 29, 2018
Perhaps you spent your free time diving into March Madness instead of keeping up on the latest on the ZOLL Pulse Blog. That’s OK. We’ve got...
Streamline Your EMS Billing Process with Insurance Discovery & Eligibility Tools
Brandi Hart | Mar 22, 2018
Bi-County Ambulance Service, located in Northern California, is a 911 ambulance company with an annual trip volume about 26,000 calls. We...
Kanawha County’s 5-Step Journey to Zero Day Billing
Larry Cole | Mar 13, 2018
Kanawha County (West Virginia) Emergency Ambulance Authority (KCEAA) runs about 50,000 emergency responses and bills about a 100,000...
10 Ways to Improve Efficiency [& Start Saving Money] Today!
Kelli Turner | Mar 8, 2018
Do you struggle trying to improve operational efficiencies within your EMS or Fire agency? Are you driven by trying to squeeze every dollar...
How to Successfully Navigate the EMS Landscape in 2018
Lindsay Alexander | Feb 6, 2018
During the month of January, the ZOLL Pulse Blog was focused on tips and tools to help your EMS or Fire agency succeed in 2018. Check out...
How to Drive EMS Billing Efficiency (& Revenue) Like a PRO!
Ryan D. Thorne, NRP, Founder and CEO, Thorne Ambulance Service | Jan 30, 2018
When you walk into a Subway sandwich shop, you are expected to pay for your sub before you eat it. What if, instead of paying for that...
EMS Operations, Documentation, and Billing Is All About Analytics
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Jan 25, 2018
Welcome to 2019: a year of numbers that will influence operations, billing, documentation, and compliance. 35: This number reflects the...
How to Prep Your Agency to Bring EMS Billing In House
Renee Collier | Jan 16, 2018
The Importance of Compliant EMS Billing The EMS billing environment has evolved into a complex, dynamic environment that requires a...
Looking for EMS Software Best Practices? Check Out ZOLL’s Educational Webinars!
Lindsay Alexander | Dec 26, 2017
Many of the world’s most successful people have a commitment to constantly learning.Spending at least a few hours each week learning from...
What Were the 12 Hottest Topics in EMS in 2017?
Lindsay Alexander | Dec 14, 2017
Because the holiday season is in full swing, I was tempted to begin this blog post with one of my favorite Christmas clichés (think: a...
How to Create a New EMS Billing Department
Renee Collier | Dec 7, 2017
If you are bringing your billing in house and have already selected your billing software vendor (Read How to Select a Billing Software...
So Happy Together: The Story Behind RescueNet Billing Pro
Ted Williams | Dec 5, 2017
When two companies team up to build a cohesive product offering, good things can happen. Good things that have made an enormous impact for...
How to Improve the Patient Journey from Dispatch through Discharge: October Roundup
Lindsay Alexander | Nov 2, 2017
During the month of October, we posted an array of content on the ZOLL Pulse Blog addressing the patient journey from dispatch to patient...
How to Select an EMS Billing Software Vendor
Renee Collier | Oct 31, 2017
Are you in the process of bringing your billing in house? Unless you plan on billing manually, the selection of your software provider is...
3 Simple Countermeasures to Sustain Effective Documentation & Reimbursement during a Major Incident
Kristyna Domene, Meg Chandler & J. Todd Sheridan | Sep 26, 2017
Electronic health records (EHRs) have become the standard of care in most healthcare systems throughout the United States. This shift was...
Use Insurance Discovery & Eligibility Tools to Streamline Your Billing Process with a Click of the Button
Brandi Hart | Sep 12, 2017
Bi-County Ambulance Service, located in Northern California, is a 911 ambulance company with an annual trip volume about 26,000 calls. We...
Create Contingencies to Ensure Sustainability of A/R Operations
Larry Cole | Sep 7, 2017
Disasters occur routinely in our business and come in all shapes and sizes. Unfortunately, disasters with your accounts receivable could be...
What Happens to Your EMS Operations When Disasters Strike?
Andy Geske | Sep 5, 2017
While writing this blog, Hurricane Harvey has been dropping several feet, not inches, of rain on the Southern Texas and the surrounding...
August Roundup: The Latest Tech Trends, Security Best Practices for Mobile Devices & More!
Lindsay Alexander | Aug 31, 2017
If you haven’t visited in a while, you’ll notice that the ZOLL Pulse Blog has a brand new look! We hope you find it far more engaging and...
ZOLL Online: Our Journey to Zero Downtime Releases
Rob Humphreys | Aug 24, 2017
While most of the articles on the ZOLL Pulse Blog address issues with which our customers grapple every day, I’d like to change gears a bit...
Think Outside the Box: How to Get the Most Out of Your Crystal Reports
Darlene Forney, Customer Onboarding Report Analyst | Aug 17, 2017
Today we are going to talk about Crystal reports, and why they are so important to using the ZOLL software. Crystal reports is a...
Top 5 Unexpected Benefits of EMS Software Integration
Sean Kukauskas | Aug 10, 2017
Like it or not, technology has made its way into the world of EMS, and it’s here to stay. Software solutions such as computer assisted...
Do You Work in Billing? Find Out How to Make Your Job Easier
Chris Watanabe | Jul 19, 2017
As a manager of people and process combined with strict compliance, I spend most of my free time thinking of how to combine these three...
Paving the Way for Personalized Customer Service
Lindsay Alexander | Jun 1, 2017
Susan Delsandro began her career as a driver, and is now the director of customer care billing and compliance for On Time Transport after...
Leveraging Cohesive Technology to Meet & Exceed Agency Benchmarks
Lindsay Alexander | May 24, 2017
Ryan Thorne, CEO and director of Thorne Ambulance Service in Greenville, South Carolina, knew that in order to progress in a private...
Maintaining High-Performance EMS Systems
Lindsay Alexander | May 19, 2017
Chris Byrd has held several roles at On Time Transport from being an EMT, dispatch manager and currently the manager for high performance...
How Do I Capture More Revenue Per Claim? Introducing RescueNet Billing Pro
Donna Magnuson | May 11, 2017
Although patient care and ambulance transportation are the focus during an emergency call, the billing organization is the lifeblood of EMS...
The Latest Compliance Tips for Successful EMS Operations
Lindsay Alexander | May 2, 2017
Did you know that medical information is worth at least 10 times more than a credit card number on the black market? It’s shocking, but...
Documentation Compliance in the Real World
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Apr 20, 2017
What is the quickest way to get EMTs and paramedics to roll their eyes? Tell them how important their documentation is to reimbursement,...
Know Your EMS Billing Inside and Out for Accurate Claims
Renee Collier | Apr 13, 2017
Documenting Patient Care Reports to Reflect the Provided Level of Service When discussing the levels of service for billing, it’s important...
What Really is the Best Way to Achieve Operational Efficiency?
Lindsay Alexander | Apr 4, 2017
Every agency strives to improve the quality and efficiency of their EMS operations. Bonus if they can do so while reducing cost. What is...
Operational Dashboards Turn EMS Data into Actionable Insight
Rob Humphreys | Mar 30, 2017
Last month, we shared six dashboards to improve clinical outcomes. This month, as we focus on operational efficiency, we delve into how...
Better Care & Billing Metrics Start with ePCR: Part 2
Mark Gambale | Mar 16, 2017
In Part two of this three-part series “Guarantee Your ePCR Works for you, Not Against You”, we asked Steven Cohen, the Assistant Director...
Keys to Better EMS Billing Management
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Mar 7, 2017
Tips for Improving Operational Efficiency and Cash Flow Today, we discuss the many small steps ambulance providers can take to improve...
Paint a Complete Patient Story to Eliminate Denied Claims
Steve Johnson | Mar 2, 2017
Your crews’ patient care reports (PCRs) should clearly and consistently demonstrate that patients received high-quality patient care. The...
Want to Enhance Your Ambulance Billing Efficiency? Start Measuring These KPIs
Donna Magnuson | Jan 26, 2017
As an ambulance billing department, it’s important that you identify key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate agency performance and...
A Look Back & a Look Ahead
Lindsay Alexander | Jan 3, 2017
ZOLL would like to wish you, and your loved ones, a very Happy New Year. With the New Year comes new resolutions for the year, which a lot...
How to Identify & Manage the Top 5 Risks of a HIPAA Breach
Steve Wirth, Esq., EMT-P, Attorney, PWW, LLC | Dec 5, 2016
Dec. 28, 2016 marks the 16th anniversary of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule – the federal...
The 7 Cardinal Sins of EMS Billing
Brian S. Werfel, Esq., Partner, Werfel & Werfel, PLLC | Nov 16, 2016
In September 2015, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a report, “Inappropriate...
Ambulance Claims Audits: Why, How & When
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Jan 31, 2014
During recent client audits, we found an insurer who had underpaid two clients. Naturally, the clients were thrilled to learn they were...
ICD-10 Documentation Training: What is Different & Why Does it Matter to Me?
Marie Johnson | Jan 16, 2014
ICD-9 codes (and soon ICD-10 codes) are used to describe diseases, signs and symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social...
Managing EMS Claims Denials
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Jan 9, 2014
I talk often about the changes of 2014 and the likelihood for higher claims denials. Today we discuss tracking and avoiding denials. Now,...
5 Things to Expect From Your Software Vendor Support
Leonard Giuliano | Oct 18, 2013
As a member of the City of Thornton Fire Department, I have many years of experience evaluating, managing, and using software to support...
5 Things EMS Agencies Should Be Doing Now to Prepare for HIPAA
Ryan Stark, Esq., Managing Partner, PWW | Sep 16, 2013
Is your agency prepared for September 23, 2013? Below are 5 critical steps from Page, Wolfberg & Wirth, the National EMS Industry Law...
The Major Differences Between ICD-9 & ICD-10
Marie Johnson | Sep 12, 2013
The impending change from ICD-9 to ICD-10 will be the largest and most challenging transition of our careers. When it comes to ICD-10, a...
ICD-10 Implementation Planning – Where Do We Begin?
Marie Johnson | Sep 6, 2013
These are the planning phases to consider in preparation for the ICD-10 Implementation. Each of these four phases will outline time frames...
ZOLL Online Helps Smaller Fire & EMS Organizations Improve Efficiency
Larry Malloy | Aug 2, 2013
The needs of smaller fire departments and EMS agencies are often overlooked by technology companies. Software may improve efficiencies and...
ZOLL Online – High Performance In A Secure Environment
Larry Malloy | May 3, 2013
We understand it’s not easy for an organization to give up some control of their systems and processes, especially when it comes to data...
How to Implement KPIs Within Your EMS Billing Department
Donna Magnuson | Apr 23, 2013
The Importance of Setting Goals for Your EMS Billing Agency As an ambulance billing department, it’s important that you identify key...
Security, HIPAA & HITECH Compliance
Larry Malloy | Nov 28, 2012
If you are dealing with patient health information, security and compliance concerns may keep you awake at night. Basic data security and...
