In this installment of medical billing, we're going to examine some common problems that you may run into with one of the more common add-ons to a medical billing package, barcoding. We'll not only examine the problems but give possible causes and solutions to them. Of course each case may be different.
One of the most common problems you will run into with barcoding when you're trying to scan or enter a new barcode is that the barcode doesn't take. In the case of trying to enter the barcode, the keys don't seem to be typing anything. In the case of trying to scan a barcode into the system, the scanner doesn't seem to be picking anything up. What should happen is that as you scan the barcode, the barcode itself should appear in the barcode text box and the system should beep. Instead, nothing happens.
In both cases, especially if both are happening together, the most common problem is that you have an IRQ or COM port conflict with your hardware and your PC. This means that the IRQ or the COM port the barcoding scanner device has been assigned to is also being used by something else on your computer. What you're going to have to do in order to correct this problem is go into your system configuration, view every device that is connected to it, such as modems, printers, etc. and jot down the IRQ and COM port for each of these devices. When you find the conflicting device you're either going to have to move it to another port, or if there is no place to put it, you'll have to uninstall it or move the scanner to another computer. Those are your only options.
If there are no conflicts, then it is quite possible that the scanner is simply not functioning and not only that, it's locking up the keyboard. To test this, just unplug the scanner and try to type any barcode entry into the software. It should work fine.
Another common problem with barcoding is that when you print out the barcode labels themselves, they either print off center or get cut off or simply just don't print right. This is usually a simple matter of going into the barcode printing options and see what label size the barcode is set for. Yes, there are a number of sizes and you have to set this up in the options. If you don't, it usually defaults to the most common size. If you're using that size you'll be fine, but it you're not, you're in trouble.
Another common problem with barcoding is that when trying to set the type of barcode you want to use, such as UPC or generic, the correct code doesn't come out. This is actually one of the stupidest problems. In most software, you can't just pick your barcode type. You have to also save the screen itself or it defaults back to whatever was there.
The above tips should take care of most barcoding issues that you're likely to run into when doing your medical billing.
