Do you realize that almost one fourth of all medical practice income is lost due to under coding, under pricing, non-reimbursed or claims missed charges? Hundreds of millions of dollars is lost annually due to medical billing errors. Is your medical billing practice among those offices that are only receiving 70% of the available medical billing revenue due to them?
There are numerous providers that are available to help you ease the job and keep your medical practice functioning properly and efficiently. Medical billing and coding services are now an integral part of healthcare. Most of the companies offer billing services only. They collect bills by submitting claims accurately and follow up on payments ensuring that coding is correct. Some of them work only for small businesses which are commonly individual physician offices and specialty offices. Some large practice management companies offer medical billing and coding packages that include administrative services to run the medical practice more effectively.
Cost of service is the most common reason why a healthcare provider should hire medical biller. Bear in mind the money you are spend is to improve the efficiency and profitability of your the medical practice. You'll want to extensively examine the fee structure for services offered and choose services that best suits to your medical practice and situation. Healthcare providers should consider the compliance with regulations. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) authorized the privacy protection and security of patient data. Medical coding providers should follow HIPAA guidelines to ensure patient confidentiality. One way you can make sure your coders are compliant is to look for AAPC (American Association of Professional Coders) certification.
Most of service providers have the specialization in a particular protocol. They promise better collections than general billing and medical coding providers do. The medical coding and billing provider and the healthcare practitioner should communicate openly and clearly to have an effective relationship. Communication with the healthcare provider should be constant to substantiate trust among the two parties.
Timely submission of claims should have the specific guidelines to prevent rejection from insurance companies. They must have a fine tuned process in place. The service provider must persistently follow up on payments. Many insurance companies deny or reject claims on administrative technicalities. The medical billing service provider needs to ensure forms are filled in orderly manner so that insurance companies will not reject them.
Before making a final decision, make sure to choose an experienced medical billing provider. The sole criteria in choosing the best for your medical billing practices are to consider someone who is an expert in collecting denied or difficult claims. They must have a proven track record and should give you a way out of a contract for performance failure.
Author: Lloyd Jones Doronila
Source: http://ezinearticles.com
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