Medical Billing Companies & Consultants in Winston Salem, NC

Overview

MICA Information Systems, Inc., which uses the micamedical.com domain, is headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The company develops practice management and electronic health record software and also operates an outsourced billing business. It has served physicians since 1979 and supports practices throughout the continental United States. Its customers include solo practitioners, multi-physician groups and clinics with more than one location.

One distinguishing point for buyers weighing billing vendors is that MICA creates the software its own billing staff work in. A practice may license the platform alone or combine it with a managed revenue cycle service.

Billing and revenue cycle services

The company maintains a billing services division next to its systems division. Its end-to-end revenue cycle offering is built so that MICA personnel, rather than the practice, chase and resolve denied claims. Billing and coding also appear among the outsourced services it lists. In addition, MICA helps clients complete attestation for the Merit-based Incentive Payment System, aiming to protect reimbursement under MACRA. The main components are:

• Outsourced billing and coding of claims
• Denial work carried out by MICA employees
• Support with MACRA/MIPS attestation
• Checks of insurance eligibility ahead of visits, intended to cut down on rejected claims
• Tracking of receivables, plus live clinical and financial analytics

Software platform

MICA's flagship product is IMS, a suite that keeps scheduling, charting, billing and reporting in one shared database, so master files and patient data move between modules. The company states that it carries 2015 ONC certification as a complete EHR/PM system.

Rather than relying on generic templates, it supplies specialty-specific content for over 30 specialties, among them dermatology, cardiology, orthopedics, mental health, pediatrics, physical therapy, speech therapy, urgent care and urology. The platform is extended by a range of companion products:

• IMSGo, a mobile application for providers
• A patient portal and a patient app
• OnArrival self check-in
• An appointment booking system
• OpenEdge payment integration
• Cloud-based faxing
• The InTouch patient engagement tool
• Televisit capability

Other built-in features include a patient dashboard summarizing demographics, problems and medications, interactive voice reminders that combine automated and live-person calls, and a MACRA/MIPS reporting module that shows progress in real time.

Working with practices

Setup is tailored to each office. According to one physician testimonial, MICA staff worked with his team to preload frequently used CPT and ICD-10 codes and favored medications, and also produced forms and letters to ease the move to electronic workflows. The company also converts practices from competing EHR systems and markets that service as EMR Rescue.

Support and training personnel are located in the United States, with separate telephone options for software and hardware questions. Staffed hours run on weekdays, and round-the-clock technical support can be added. At least one dermatology practice reports relying on MICA for IT support in addition to software and billing.

Leadership and background

Jim Price, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Gary Hauser, Executive Vice President, purchased the business in September 1997. Both had previously worked for Corporate Investment, a mergers and acquisitions company owned by Price. Hauser, a native of Forsyth County, runs the billing services division and handles human resources across the company.

Scott Yingling, Vice President of Sales and Implementation, joined as head of sales and later became a partner; he brings about 25 years of selling office technology and manages new and existing sales along with the rollout and tailoring of software and billing engagements. MICA says it has installed hundreds of systems over the years.

Testimonials on its site come from practice managers at dermatology and allergy practices, including a five-office allergy group that has used the company for more than twenty years. Several reviewers highlight being known by name and getting personal attention when they ask for help.