Working in the medical field can be extremely stressful. It requires extensive practicum and education hence even a single mistake could cost a life. There is a lot of pressure and doctors need to be responsible and vigilant when doing their work. This is why there should no issues with billing as it would distract the doctors from doing their job.
Medical billing involves more than just sending invoices. There are complex rules and regulations in place in healthcare which allow value of the services to be converted into the final amount owed by patients. Reaching the final amount that is owed by the patient involves going through medical coding, negotiations with insurance companies and then back to coding, back to insurance and then the final bill which the patient would have to pay.
Whether the physician works at a large entity or has a private practice, there would simply not be enough time to look at the billing process. Besides, it is also not possible to run a billing department by secretarial staff. This is why it is vital to use physician billing services. The services help relieve physicians/ doctors from stress and reduce staff turnover rates which decreases expenses associated with ongoing professional development, training and recruiting. By outsourcing physician billing, a lot of time is saved which would have been spent on preparing claims, communication with insurance companies and generating invoices.
Internal workflow, financial decisions and care delivery are improved by outsourcing physician billing. This post looks at the 7 most important physician billing services.
- Revenue Cycle Management
One of the most important physician billing services is revenue cycle management. It helps increase the cash flow, boosts overall net patient revenue and improves coding and billing efficiency. Due to revenue cycle management, the hospital/ clinic would have more finance to expand and grow their business. Revenue cycle management is extremely important as it helps ensure that sufficient working capital is always available. Thus, daily expenses will be met on a timely basis as cash flow would improve. The hospital/ clinic should not have to worry about collection from patients as physician billing services also ensure collections are timely collected. The service will include the ability to track all underpayments.
Unique software is used for collections to ensure underpayments are at a minimum and that collections are collected on a timely basis. It can be difficult for the hospital to receive collections as it is hard to contact patients and keep an account of their dues. Minimize costs by taking advantage of collection services included in physician billing services.
- Fire & EMS Billing Services
Physician billing services also provides Fire & EMS billing services. It helps increase the efficiency of coding and compliance. This results in improved revenue and cash flow. By selecting Fire & EMS billing services, the privileged patient data will be better handled and it will be stored safely.
- Pathology Practices Services
When it comes to physician billing services, pathology services help ensure that management of the pathology practices is maintained. By choosing pathology practices services, just about everything is handled by the physician billing service provider such as billing, patient revenue collection, management of revenue cycle and much more. It is important for pathology services to opt for the services to take advantage of reduced costs and higher quality services. It will help improve the revenue margin and the overall financial performance.
Transition to value-based care and fully utilize the service. It allows one to focus on their core competencies. Operational costs will be reduced and patient satisfaction rates will improve.
- Compliance Services / Contract Management
Mitigate the risk of non-compliance by contracting physician billing services. Compliance can be costly for the business but when you consider physician billing services, the costs of compliance will reduce considerably. Take advantage of physician billing services and ensure contract management is maintained. Contract management is an integral part of the physician billing services. It prevents any breach of contract and avoids any potential lawsuits from being filed against the hospital/ clinic. This in turn reduces operational costs significantly.
- Insurance Follow-Up
One of the things which physicians find most difficult to handle are insurance follow-ups as they take up plenty of their time. However with physician billing services, insurance follow-ups are efficiently handled. Therefore, it frees up much valuable time of physicians which allows them to spend more time on treating patients and building strong relationships with them. Physician billing service providers know the ins and outs of handling insurance policies and this allows the hospital to maximize their profits and ensure that they are not exploited by insurance companies.
- Reporting and Analytics
The world of today has become tech-savvy and only those businesses survive which are able to leverage technology to reach their potential. Physician billing services include reporting and analytics which provide insights into valuable trends. Reporting and analytics are an integral part of physician billing services. Efficient reporting helps provide accurate data which can be used for various purposes. Analytics on the other hand are used for analyzing vast amounts of data to provide meaningful information. This information can be used to achieve organizational goals. Reporting and analytics services will look into the market and allow the hospital/ clinic to penetrate into the market and retain their customer base.
- Facilitate Claims Submission and Settlement
Managing claim submissions and settlements can be difficult for the physicians to handle and that is why physician billing services provides claims submission and settlement services. The company assumes the responsibility for privileged patient data protection and establishes a secure connection to ensure submissions are made digitally. Fully-compliant technology solutions help make claims submission and settlement easy and reduce claim and settlement processing times considerably. Coverage verification is made automatic and it is ensured that medical billing goals of the company and met. This in turn allows the healthcare staff to devote more time to helping patients.