Tips To Improve Medical Billing Collections

By Tory Smith, Director, Sales & Marketing

MedHelp, Inc., Medical Management Specialists

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Tips To Improve Medical Billing Collections

As many Americans are racked with debt due to the economic slowdown, so are some healthcare providers. With approximately 50 million Americans not covered under private health insurance and a corresponding increase in the number of self-pays, medical providers are facing severe budget cuts, and have had to lay off or significantly reduce staff.

You may find the following tips beneficial in improving your medical billing collections.

Accurate Collection Of Patient Demographics

Collecting ample and accurate patient information at each doctor's visit is imperative to proper reimbursement. In addition to the patient's pertinent demographic information, be sure to collect their employment information, i.e., address, phone number, work title, supervisor, etc. More information is better.

Collection Of Co-Pays

Make sure you have clear and concise terms of payment procedures visibly posted in noticeable areas. Prior to rendering services, new patients will need to plainly understand what they are expected to pay upfront regarding co-pays, out of pocket expensive, etc.

Pre-Determined Payment Arrangements

For those patients that are experiencing financial difficulties, if possible, allow them to make payment arrangements. This provides more options for you and the patient. If they are able to make reasonable payment arrangements via installments, it will help generate cash flow to your practice while fostering good doctor/patient relationships.

Patients' Responsibility to Pay

Clearly detail the patients' responsibility to pay by having them sign an acknowledgement statement, and by having posted signage reflecting their responsibility.

Verifying Healthcare Coverage

Although verifying that the patient has private health insurance is a crucial step in ensuring that a claim will be paid, there are a lot of practices, for whatever reason that fail in this responsibility.

Reducing Denials/Increasing Revenue

Coding, modifiers, referrals and authorizations will have a great impact on your practice's denials and cash collections. By focusing on these four areas of importance, you will see a decrease in denied claims, which means lower A/R days, less labor intensive follow-up for your billers all corresponding with higher cash collections.

Following these simple rules can prove very effective in fostering healthy doctor/patient relationships, while reducing your outstanding receivables and improving your medical billing collections.