When a new doctor starts with JCL, one of the first things we do is figure out his or her registration status with the Ministry of Health. Several questions need to be answered: Does the doctor have a billing number? If not, have they applied? Does the doctor have current banking information set up with the Ministry? Which district office is the doctor registered with? And most importantly, is the doctor registered with MCEDT or, if the doctor has been practicing for at least a couple of years, EDT?
This latter question is the focus of this post. I was prepared to write about the MCEDT registration process, but a situation came up this week that I felt should be shared.
Better Safe than Sorry
Last week we spoke to a new grad interested in coming on board with JCL who had been doing locums at a downtown hospital this summer. Given that she’d been billing through the hospital since July, we were sure the doctor had an active MCEDT account. However – to be safe – we called the Ministry to check her status. To our surprise, she had not been set up with an MCEDT account! The doctor was dismayed, to say the least, when we contacted her to inform her that she’s not eligible to bill OHIP just yet. When she followed up with the billing person at the hospital, she received very bad news: All files that were sent off for this doctor in July and August had been rejected and the doctor has to wait until October at the earliest to be paid.
Knowing which method of data transmission a doctor is registered with is crucial for us to ensure we’re sending files the correct way, and that the MOH is receiving them. Physicians who have been billing for several years are registered with EDT, and we check if they’ve also registered for MCEDT. For doctors who’ve graduated over the past 18 months or so, EDT registration was not an option. These physicians can only bill through MCEDT and must set up an account after receiving their billing number. For those physicians then, we have to make sure the doctor is eligible to bill for MCEDT, and if not, we help them get set up properly prior to doing any billing.
Today’s story is not that uncommon, unfortunately. We’ve spoken with many physicians who’ve had similar problems with incorrect claim submissions and missing payments. When this doctor contacted us with her billing number, we were able to ascertain her MCEDT status in only a few minutes and get her on the right track. For us, the most frustrating aspect is that it is very easy to prevent these issues: One simple phone call back in July was all that was needed to make sure the physician got paid properly and on time.
Unsure of your registration status? Just call the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care Helpline at 1-888-262-6524.
Join us next week for more about the specifics of MCEDT registration.