HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, had a lot to say on the subject of privacy. HIPAA also has a lot to say on the subject of technology. Health information can't be transmitted electronically except in safe and secure ways. Password systems, encryption, and secure portals are examples of safe ways to transmit data. Facilities that deal with private health information have to have a risk management plan, too, detailing how they intend to keep data safe.

The new HITECH act, Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health, raises the bar further still. Now "business associates" as well as health-care providers are required to ensure that their data is secure. It is also necessary to ensure that the computers where data is stored are secure. For small practices, this can be a burden.

SmartPay can help. With SmartPay, health data revealed on invoices is always secure. You can send an email to your patients letting them know that an invoice is ready for them at your secure portal. There is no need to transmit any sensitive data directly, no need to print out or create paper records for invoices, and no need to add security measures to your office computers. Since SmartPay gives you the option of making payments for your customers by phone, it is even suitable for rural areas or older patient populations, in which internet access can be an issue for some patients.

Eligible health professionals who make "meaningful use" of electronic records systems will receive payments under the new stimulus package, which makes it easier to switch to electronic billing now than ever before. The costs of switching -- never a real issue when you use SmartPay -- will be more than covered.

One concern is that the electronic system you use must be "certified," yet the details of certification haven't yet been settled. It could be the end of 2009 before these details are made clear. However, programs will be required to do the following things:

(1) protect the privacy of health information

(2) ensure the comprehensive collection of patient demographic and clinical data

(3) include patient demographic and clinical health information

(4) have the capacity to provide clinical decision and physician order entry

Some of these criteria apply more to EHR programs than to invoicing. Nonetheless, you can feel confident with SmartPay on all these points, because SmartPay is customizable. Filtering features, customizable invoices, and a high level of control over data collection and storage mean that whichever direction the requirements take as HITECH develops, your practice will be able to adjust. 

Easily. Without additional costs.

Contact SmartPay  to discuss your particular needs.

Earth Day is past. We like to make every day an Earth Day,but we don't want to give you the impression that SmartPay is a sacrifice you should make for the environment.

Paperless billing is a green choice, certainly, but it can also help keep your business in the black.

Consider all the costs involved in sending out a paper invoice:
•    Printed envelope    $.03
•    Printed letterhead     $.07
•    Printing one sheet    $.27
•    Postage (as of 5/01/09)     $.44
•    Labor costs     $.40
    Total    $1.21

We’re being conservative here, assuming that you are paying only $10.00 an hour (counting benefits) for someone who can prepare, process, and mail forty invoices an hour. We’re assuming that your office printer is at the low end of the range for cost of printing, and that your invoices are a single sheet of paper. We’re not counting the cost of electricity, or of fuel if you have to take invoices to the post office, as many small businesses do. We’re assuming that you don’t make physical copies of the invoices, as you might if you prepare invoices by hand, so we're not including copying or storage costs for those copies. We’re not even considering the labor costs for receiving, sorting, opening, processing, and filing the paper payments, nor for the costs involved in preparing and depositing those paper payments. We’re not considering the opportunity cost involved for the small business in diverting workers to the task of invoicing.

With SmartPay, your total cost for an invoice can be as low as 39 cents.

Add the benefits of faster turnaround, a more forward-thinking and professional image, and increased customer satisfaction, and you can be sure that your business will benefit from SmartPay.

When you think of electronic billing, the first thing that comes to mind may be a big office. And it's true that Onsharp's SmartPay electronic billing system will readily accomodate companies sending out hundreds of invoices a month -- or more. Analysts look at such businesses and calculate the pounds of paper they use, the gallons of ink, the hours of time file clerks and bookkeepers spend, and it's easy to conclude that such businesses can save a lot of time, money, and resources by switching to electronic billing.

Does that mean that electronic billing isn't suited to an individual doing business independently, such as an artist or musician or consultant, or to a mom-and-pop store, or to a small salon or bakery? Is online invoicing unnecessary for a private practice with one optometrist or a daycare center or an interior designer working out of a home office?

Not at all. 

In some ways, the smallest businesses need electronic billing even more than an established firm.

Consider these facts:

• A small private medical practice or day care center may already be required to have secure online record-keeping. Requirements of the new stimulus package legislation, new HIPAA requirements, and updated rules for day care agencies receiving grants all contain requirements for security measures that are most easily and inexpensively met with online billing. With Smartpay, you aren't required to provide locks and secure premises for computers, because the sensitive information is online, under the control of your patients or customers.
• The musicians in the picture above spend hours every day practicing, taking lessons, caring for their instruments, and auditioning for the gigs that pay the bills. How many of their invoices go unpaid because they don't keep careful records or follow up strictly on payments? People who make a living as independent artists or consultants often find that office tasks are the last jobs to get done. SmartPay is less expensive than hiring an accountant to get your invoices out on time.
  
• People working from a home office and sending out a few invoices every month worry about making a professional impression -- and they should. Freelance workers find that their clients view putting a check in the mail as an extra, unusual step when they're accustomed to doing most of their transactions online, through electronic banking, or with credit cards. Payments to individuals may even be looked on as less important than payments to larger comapnies, and delayed. SmartPay allows every business, large or small, to present a professional face, with a customized portal and multiple options for payment. Many small businesses find that the turnaround for payment is much faster with electronic bill presentment and payment than with paper invoices.

SmartPay electronic billing has so many advantages for businesses -- quicker turnaround, better use of resources, opportunity for branding, savings of time and money -- that it seems like an easy choice.

But sometimes we worry that customers will resist the use of electronic billing. Some of our customers may not be completely comfortable with computers, and those who aren't may have fears about using the computer to pay a bill. They worry that their identity might be stolen or that their information may not be secure. Influenced by news and rumors about hackers and viruses, they imagine that the online environment is dangerous.

Consumer education is an important part of the process.  Acceptance of electronic bill paying options is increasing, with a rise of about 22% each year this century in online bill payments. Consumers are beginning to realize that payment through a secure portal is actually safer than sending a paper check in the mail. Describing for customers the many points at which a paper check is vulnerable is one way to put these concerns in perspective.

Clarifying that sensitive information is more under consumer's control with SmartPay can also help. Rather than keeping information in the office computer or in paper files where many people can see it, all the sensitive data is online. Tell customers that this kind of system is considered secure enough for HIPAA, the medical privacy regulations which are among the strictest security rules commonly used in the United States. Also encourage them to try the system and see that they have access and control over their own information to a greater degree than they had with the old paper system. 

And for many of your customers, the fact that they make payments at a customized portal -- a place that looks like your trusted company -- will help overcome discomfort with the idea of electronic billing.

Still, some customers will continue to be uncomfortable until they get used to the idea. fortunately, SmartPay has a transitional option for these individuals. You can make phone-based payments on behalf of customers who need this service while they adjust to electronic bill payment. Customers also have access to free phone support, another feature which helps new users feel at ease.

Contact SmartPay for details of this option.

SmartPay will be attending the Electronic Transactions Association Annual Meeting and Expo on April 22 and 23, at the Mandelay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. We'll be there with our partner InterceptEFT for this year's big networking and training sessions.

The Electronic Transactions Association is the professional network of the electronic billing industry.  This year, educational sessions will cover issues like the future of checks, the implications of the current economic crisis, and the challenges of international payments.

It's an exciting time to be in this industry. Consumers are less likely to use cash (41% of American shoppers report this) and more comfortable with electronic transactions. This means that many businesses are having to go to electronic billing whether they feel ready or not. Some business owners are intimidated by the technology or  concerned about the cost of installing software and training staff to use new programs.

At the same time, extensions of HIPAA regulations make security a bigger issue than ever. Any computer which stores sensitive information may have to be locked and require special security measures that can be time-consuming and costly to enforce. Ironically, while there are still some who worry about the security of online transactions,  using secure online invoicing like SmartPay is the easiest and least expensive way to achieve HIPAA compliance. With SmartPay, all consumer payments take place online, at a secure portal, and no sensitive data resides in your office computers. 

Onsharp's SmartPay offers businesses of all sizes a secure, cost-effective way to initiate electronic transactions without an investment in software, new security measures, or specialized technical skills. ETA's commitment to consumer and business education  makes them a great fit for us. We look forward to seeing and being seen at the ETA Expo.