There’s one thing that every medical practice has in common: in order to make it, you have to get paid.
If getting paid were easy, though, practices wouldn’t have revenue problems. The truth is, these problems do exist because getting paid is a challenge – to the point that a recent survey of practice owners named improving reimbursement as one of the main challenges a practice faces.
If you want to improve the process by which you receive payment and reimbursement for services rendered, whether it’s from a patient directly or from insurers, automated billing can help.
Common Challenges to Getting Paid
One frequent challenge that practices run into involves payment from patients. Specifically, practices don’t always do a good job of collecting all pertinent information when an appointment is scheduled, or when payment is collected. This can (and frequently does) include verifying eligibility.
Another challenge comes with coding the visit. Coding can be complicated, and personnel aren’t always adequately trained to handle the complexities of coding and billing. The wrong code can result in extensive delays – or, worse, claim denials. Errors in coding are the most cited cause of claim delays or denials, so cleaning up coding is essential.
Finally, time itself can be an enemy. Without an automated system, there can be delays simply because humans don’t always process things in a timely, orderly manner. Manual systems are, by nature, inefficient and dependant on people – which can result in time lost.
How Automated Billing Overcomes Obstacles
Fortunately, these three challenges can be overcome by creating an automated billing system.
Automated billing can track claims to make sure bills are being paid, send electronic bills to insurers (thereby cutting down on delays), verify eligibility, correctly code a claim, and use electronic health records (EHR) to maximize efficiency.
Automated billing is even more powerful when combined with medical practice billing services that specialize in providing outsourced billing to practices that don’t have the time, training, or personnel to do it correctly and efficiently.
This avenue not only helps overcome challenges to getting paid; it can also save money in the long run and reduce your operating costs.
Talk to a billing specialist to find out more about automated billing and outsourced services that can reduce days in A/R, delays, and human error.
