August 27, 2022
For any healthcare organization, having a steady cash flow is necessary to run their operations unaffectedly. Therefore, providers should look for a proactive approach in medical billing procedures to mitigate the financial issues and compliance risks. This guide discusses the top six medical billing strategies clinicians can use to enhance their financial health and profitability.
The first medical billing strategy is to ensure the practice's financial health, providers require a collection process. A phased approach helps enhance the revenue cycle management by informing patients of their responsibilities. Below are the steps that the collection process should involve:
According to Becker's Hospital CFO Report 80% of all medical bills contain errors. Insurance companies are very strict about correct coding and billing practices, and any mistake from your end can result in claim rejection. Thus, the cycle of submission, rejection, correction, and resubmission of bills can take weeks, halting the cash flow and reimbursements.
Therefore, it is crucial that healthcare facilities and providers properly manage claims to avoid unnecessary back and forth. One way to speed up the process is to enter information carefully and double-check before submitting it. Another way is to get help from professional medical billing services providers.
Professional medical billing company has coders describing all the procedures performed inside a claim with the help of standardized codes, making it easy to decipher and process. Coders can use CPT, ICD-10-CM, and HCPCS level 2 classification systems.
Even though there are standard methods of describing procedures, errors can still occur. Some of the most common occurrences are:
Clearinghouses mainly catch these coding errors before being considered an issue. But some mistakes are difficult to detect, such as incorrect modifiers and non-specific diagnosis codes.
Another strategy that medical billing service includes is to steer clear of denials and rejections, you must cross-check all bills before submission. However, if they still arise, try to handle them straight away. Connect with the payer's representative to get the information on the issue with the original claim and update on the current claim status once it is processed. Following this step can expedite the claim editing process and reduce the duration of resubmission.
To identify flaws, continuously track your performance, and stay up-to-date with ever-changing healthcare regulations. Mentioned below are the steps that healthcare practitioners should follow to improve practice efficiency with medical billing strategies.
Clinicians' priority should be to provide quality care to patients. However, it often becomes a challenge for small to medium-sized practices to handle the overall billing procedures, stay informed about billing and coding protocol changes, and provide undivided attention to patients. The pressure to keep up with everything can increase the claim denial rate costing providers time and money. Thus, if you are facing issues doing everything yourself, outsource billing to a professional medical billing company.
With these tips, you can minimize the stress of claim rejections and resubmissions. However, knowing your limits and identifying the issues is critical in making these strategies work for you. It is an important part of the revenue cycle management solution, but doing it in-house can prove to be hectic stressing your staff, thus it is recommended to get professional medical billing services.
