ABOUT
About Us
About Us
J.T. Howe & Associates, Inc. is a physician billing and consultation company. We collect professional fees for private practices and medical groups. Through advice based on fact and experience, we will make your practice more profitable and efficient.
We achieve this by knowing the payers, their billing policies and government regulations to minimize denials. Then we continuously follow up on unpaid or denied claims to ensure that every service you provide is appropriately paid.
Contact us to determine how our services can benefit your practice.
Our History
Jerry T. Howe (The JT of J.T. Howe & Associates, Inc.) established the company in 1987, after tenure as Vice President at Children’s Hospital and Research Center, Oakland. His goal was simple: Provide the best billing service possible so practitioners could devote their time and energy to their patients. This remains our goal today.
We accomplish this by:
- Knowing each client personally
- Assisting and advising when better processes can be adopted
- Knowing the payers, their processes and idiosyncrasies
- Employing a smart, knowledgeable, trustworthy staff who are dedicated to the success of our clients
Our Values
These are the core characteristics that are the basis for who we are. If you ever have a concern that I or one of our staff are not adhering to these qualities, I will stop anything I am doing to address and resolve that concern.
- Integrity – We do what is right, period. We service and advise our clients from a highly rigid set of ethics, and base our reputation on that.
- Compassion – We treat every member of our team, our client’s teams and their patients with the respect, sympathy and understanding that we would expect from our own families.
- Commitment – We will fulfill every promise that we make and stand by our client’s side until our services are no longer needed.
- Transparency –
Our ability to provide services to our clients relies on an open and timely information flow from our clients. As a client, you can expect that same level of open communication from us, regardless the issue.
Why We Do What We Do.
There are many false assumptions about medical professionals held by individuals outside of the industry. Being issued a license to practice medicine, at any level, does not come with a blank check or a pot full of gold. There are still loans to repay, malpractice premiums to meet, overhead costs to cover; all the while collecting payments from insurers and/or patients in arguably the most heavily regulated industry in the United States.
At the same time, medical professionals are sought after in some of the most dire times of a patient’s life. They are looked upon to cure ailing, prevent pain and discomfort or ward off death.
We know countless providers who work miracles every day. But those same practitioners have to deal with the agonies of restraining a parent to allow a child’s broken bone to be set; delivering the news that cancer has spread; or informing a spouse that there is no medical remedy for what is taking their loved one.
That is why we seek to ease the on-going stress of running a medical practice, because we know of all of the other pressures and worries that practitioners face.
Our Principals
These are the guideposts by which behave and conduct ourselves.
Family first –
No one can be expected to be their best at work if something is wrong at home. We fully expect that your first priority should be your family. On the rare occasion that your work and family cannot co-exist, then you should consider putting all of your energy into your family.
Expect what you inspect –
As an example, I expect my daughter to brush her teeth, but I will check in on her to make sure she is meeting that expectation. It isn’t that I don’t trust her, but I want to ensure that she completes the task efficiently and effectively. The same is true for our staff and their workloads.
Message to Garcia –
A story of presidential messenger who delivered a letter to a Cuban general in May of 1898, without being given direction of the general’s location or by which means of how to carry out the assignment. In essence, it means that when you accept a task, concentrate on that task and follow through until it is compete without relying on someone else to direct how to accomplish it.
Attention to detail –
Pay attention to every detail, from the information you type to the annunciation of your words. That attention decreases mistakes, which in turn decreases the amount of time that is spent finding and fixing those mistakes.
What do you know; who needs to know it; have you told them? –
Open and honest communication is a cornerstone of our teamwork, both in the office and with our clients. There is no prize for being the only individual that has a piece of information; share it and expect that information be shared with you.
Be cognizant of the communication loop –
Use common language. Ensure that your audience has the same understanding of the terminology as you do. Coding can mean assigning a CPT code to a procedure or writing a computer program. If there is a misunderstanding in the terminology, there will be a misunderstanding in the conversation and everyone will leave frustrated.
Question all assumptions –
Or at least recognize what is an assumption versus a fact. Relying on only assumptions makes an, well, you know the phrase. Rarely is an assumption based decision the right decision.
Bad news never gets better with time –
This is true in all aspects of life. If you make a mistake, admit, own and correct it. Those are the learning lessons that makes you better. Then share that mistake so you can make the rest of us better.
Our Experience
There are many false assumptions about medical professionals held by individuals outside of the industry. Being issued a license to practice medicine, at any level, does not come with a blank check or a pot full of gold. There are still loans to repay, malpractice premiums to meet, overhead costs to cover; all the while collecting payments from insurers and/or patients in arguably the most heavily regulated industry in the United States.
At the same time, medical professionals are sought after in some of the most dire times of a patient’s life. They are looked upon to cure ailing, prevent pain and discomfort or ward off death.
We know countless providers who work miracles every day. But those same practitioners have to deal with the agonies of restraining a parent to allow a child’s broken bone to be set; delivering the news that cancer has spread; or informing a spouse that there is no medical remedy for what is taking their loved one.
That is why we seek to ease the on-going stress of running a medical practice, because we know of all of the other pressures and worries that practitioners face.
Our management team has more than 90 cumulative years of medical billing experience. With that, we know how best to assist any practice with their back office operations.
Our client practice specialties and sub-specialties, for both adult and pediatric providers, include:
- Anesthesiology
- Cardiology
- Critical Care Medicine
- Emergency Medicine
- Family Medicine
- Hematology
- Internal Medicine
- Endocrinology
- Gastroenterology
- General Surgery
- Neonatology
- Neurological Surgery
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Oncology
- Ophthalmology
- Orthopaedic Surgery
- Pediatrics
- Perinatology
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
- Radiology
- Urology
Providing Physicians Service So You Can Focus On What You Do Best - Taking Care of Patients!
"The team at JT Howe has been pivotal to our success and growth as an orthopaedic practice. We trust them implicitly to guide us and advise us as we grew over 15 years and never once did we have reason to look elsewhere. I would recommend them without any reservation."
-Scott Hoffinger, MD