In these uncertain times, with all the current changing regulations of how claims are submitted, received and processed by Insurance Carriers, it can be very overwhelming financially. The most common questions asked are… Am I collecting the most amount possible? How can I understand I am collecting as much as possible? How can I increase my revenue? Perhaps a Medical Billing Service could answer many of these questions and calm the angst that’s connected with them. There are lots of benefits to a Medical Billing Service. Listed here are six benefits which are explored in more detail.
Increase Collection Rates with a Medical Billing Service
Many people are under the impression that Medical Billing is only data entry; however, it is a whole lot more than that. To be able to bring in the most amount of money on the claims being submitted there needs to be follow-up on the claims medical billing. This quite often is where in-house billing falls short, with respect to the amount of staff that’s part of the department, claim submission and payment posting end up being the priorities. For instance when you have one biller in a two physician practice that sees a good amount of patients daily, the biller’s time is principally likely to be allocated to creating, submitting and posting payments for claims. Entering in the claims, and reviewing each claim before it gets delivered to the insurance carrier is time consuming. This is also true with payment posting; it is time consuming to create the cash received to each CPT code, yet extremely important. With only those two responsibilities, there’s short amount of time left for the claims that want more action. Usually the claims which are denied require little action to be able to become paid claims. However, it does take care to follow-up with the insurance company to see what must get the claim paid. Follow-up alone is really a full-time position. With a Medical Billing Service there are multiple personnel working for your practice. Often times there’s one full-time dedicated person following up on all claims that want further action. In place of spending money on two full-time employees most Medical Billing Services have follow-up on claims as a regular service of Claim Processing.
Increase Profitability with a Medical Billing Service
There are multiple ways that a Medical Billing Service can increase the profitability of a Medical Practice, including, but not limited by staff availability, eligibility services, and CPT trending. Once you hire a Medical Billing Service you’re getting multiple billers working on your account. There’s constant activity with claims submissions, payment posting, follow-up, patient billing and account inquiries. If some of those billers is actually out, there are multiple billers there to fill in, ensuring that no work is left until that biller is in the office. This implies there’s no disruption in the Billing Process and no hiccup in the revenue received. Patient Eligibility is among the easiest ways to make sure proper payment of claims. Before the individual even walks through the entranceway, the individual has already established their eligibility verified. As a result ensures the practice that the individual is covered under the insurance carrier on their file, and any referral that’s needed has been obtained. In addition, it permits any Insurance Carrier discrepancies (such as a big change of insurance, mistyped ID number, etc) to be fixed before the visit, resulting in an increase in “clean” claims, which often contributes to an increase in profit for the practice. Another way to improve profitability with a Medical Billing Service is through CPT trending. When payments are becoming posted to CPT codes, the billers often see a trend from what codes are being paid and just how much will be received per code. This can often cause two different scenarios. One being that certain codes aren’t being paid on, which often allows the practice to determine whether to carry on to offer that service for their patients, or find an alternate or comparable service that they’ll provide and that will be paid. The next scenario is that the practice is performing a procedure often, therefore allowing a renegotiation with the Insurance Carrier of just how much to be compensated. The above mentioned are merely three out of many ways a Medical Billing Service will help Increase Profitability for a Practice.
Increase Physician Productivity with a Medical Billing Service
When a physician is certain that the financial aspect of the business is in good hands, and isn’t focused on whether claims are being submitted and money will be collected, they can concentrate on what is the most crucial areas of a physician’s job – patient care. With a Medical Billing Service when there is a CPT code involved or perhaps a diagnosis code that cannot be found, the Medical Billing Service will have a way to assist in finding that code. As a result allows the physician to keep on seeing patients and charting without skipping a defeat, in place of sitting and trying to determine what the code is. Just like CPT trending, which helps increase profitability, a similar trend happens when the billers are reviewing claims prior to them being submitted to the insurance carrier. The billers will assist the physicians if you have a conflict in the codes being billed or if they see something that’s being repeated that will assist the physician and save them time when doing their chart notes. Many Medical Billing Services provide the services of a Business Analyst who will work with the physician and their office staff and provide suggestions on the best way to maximize use of tools on hand (i.e. EMR, MAs, office flow, etc). This can increase efficiency and productivity.
Increase Staff Productivity with a Medical Billing Service
As well as offering the services of a Business Analyst, some Medical Billing Services may also offer training on the best way to properly register someone, collect co-payments, and create an optimal office flow that will increase productivity through the entire office. Many office personnel don’t realize the importance of their job; not realizing that they’re projecting the very first impression on patients that walk through the door. Properly trained office staff can give more of the focus on the patients, which often will soon be appreciated by those patients who’re also more likely to recommend the physician for their friends and relatives. Alongside increasing the efficiency of work a Medical Billing Service also eliminates many patient calls regarding their accounts. When a patient features a question regarding a statement, or perhaps a bill they have received either from work or an insurance carrier, the decision is handled by the Medical Billing Service. They have the ability to assist your patient in an expert manner, without the pressure of having to check on in patients, answer the telephone, etc. The interest and professional way the Medical Billing Service personnel conduct their business will assure the patients that their questions and concerns are being handled properly.
Decrease Claim Denials with a Medical Billing Service
With a Medical Billing Service, the staff that’s dedicated to your practice goes through each claim before it is submitted to ensure that it is really a “clean” claim. A “clean” claim is what it appears like; a claim that’s the right CPT codes connected with the diagnosis codes, complete patient information, and complete insurance information. This decreases the possibility of denial by the insurance company. Medical Billing Services make certain that the highest percentage of “clean” claims possible are being submitted to the insurance carrier. This escalates the revenue coming back to the practice along with decreases the amount of labor had a need to follow-up on claims. Medical Billing Services realize that enough time spent reviewing claims to ensure they meet the insurance carrier standards is really worth the time.
Gain insight into your practice financials with a Medical Billing Service
A Medical Billing Service knows which reports to operate to give physicians complete insight to the financial side of the practice. Medical Billing Services know what money will be billed out to the insurance carriers, along with what is being received from insurance carriers and patient payments. This is turn allows the Medical Billing Service to operate the appropriate reports that report the physicians what they would like to know, in place of giving reports that report miscellaneous data that doesn’t pertain to the key financial insight of the practice. Many Billing Services will also be able to provide physician requested financial reports very easily. For instance, if your physician needs to learn how many specific procedures were done in a date span for Credentialing, the Medical Billing Service can quickly obtain this information. Another way to achieve insight to the financial side of the practice is always to trend how a insurance carriers are paying. If an Insurance carrier increases or decreases the amount received, it will soon be seen straight away by the Medical Billing Service, thereby allowing the correction or renegotiation of any discrepancy in payments.
