Medical Billing and Coding Services

Deciding to outsource your medical billing is not a decision to be taken lightly, and in the beginning you may not even need to outsource your billing. But soon, you will find that your staff is so busy servicing your patients and running your office with its day-to-day goings on, finally you have to look at outsourcing.

There have been some horror stories out there about physicians outsourcing their medical billing or practice management to a company and then finding out it cost them even more money because the company just wasn’t up to date on their coding books or simply not experienced enough to handle the coding and billing.

Before you can choose a Billing Partner, you need to decide upon your goals in outsourcing your medical billing in the first place. Some practices wish to outsource their billing to keep patient care separate from billing issues. Others outsource because they are simply too busy to keep up any longer and realizes the costs adding another employee to their staff can cost a practice in terms of taxes, unemployment claims, and more.

Look for a Billing Partner that is up to date and fully compliant with HIPAA regulations, ask for references, find out how much experience the medical billing company has, find out what the medical billing firm does in the cases of denied or partially paid reimbursement claims. Find out what the reimbursement rate on claims filed by the medical billing company.

These are the questions you should be asking your potential medical billing partner so you can choose the right fit for your practice and establish a long and profitable relationship.

If you are noticing your medical billing claims are taking longer and longer to be reimbursed or you are having denials, rejections, or only partial reimbursements on your medical billing claims, it may be time to look at outsourcing your medical billing claims. You may feel as though you would be giving up control of your cash flow when actually you will have more control than ever. In fact, outsourcing your medical billing and coding needs through a medical billing partner is one of the smartest business moves you can make.

The best company to handle your medical billing isn’t necessarily located around the corner from your practice or even in the same town. Thanks to the power of the Internet, secure Internet connections, and advances in software and computer networks that allow for secure transmission of sensitive data, the process of finding a medical billing company to handle your needs is just a mouse click away.

This will free up your staff immensely as they will no longer have to spend long hours at the copy machine getting claims ready to send in. Your claims will be transmitted computer to computer via secure network transmissions and you can get real-time information on your patient accounts at anytime. Furthermore, outsourcing your medical billing will insure that all your claims are properly coded and documented properly. Your medical billing partner can devote 100% of their time to handling your coding and claims. That way your cash flow is steady and you can concentrate on growing your practice.

If you’re wondering how your medical billing gets to the outsourcing company, the answer is carefully and securely. The patients are seen as usual in your office, your staff creates the records for billing just as they always did. If you are still using paper files your claims will need to be scanned and hand entered into the medical billing system, if you transmit electronically your staff will need to only access the program and transmit the chosen claims to be processed by the medical billing company.

The data will be transmitted to the medical billing company who will code and double check your medical billing claims to insure they are error free and then transmit them either directly to the carrier or to a clearinghouse. A clearinghouse is just a another check and balance in the system of medical billing.

Your claims are formatted in a standard way so they can be transmitted to the various carriers. Once received, the carriers will normally send back a verification of receipt for the electronic claim filing, and then you can begin the countdown until your medical billing claim is reimbursed and you have a check in your office. Normal time until reimbursement is about 2 weeks and in some cases even less.

The simple act of outsourcing your medical billing claims will free up your staff to do so much more within your practice. If they are free from entering, checking and double checking and following up on claims, they can do what they do best – service your patients and help you practice grow and thrive. If there are problems or issues with a particular medical billing claim, your medical billing partner will handle any denials or partial payments.

If you feel you’re finally ready to make the choice to outsource your medical billing, be aware the best choice may not be just around the corner from you. With the security of Internet transmissions, you can use a company across the country and be just as secure as if you were handing your documentation directly to someone across the hall from you.

Making the choice to use a medical billing company for your practice can save plenty of money. However, choosing the wrong medical billing firm can cost millions and in some cases, your practice.

There are numerous benefits to using a medical billing company. One of the biggest is that dedicated individuals will work on your client’s medical bills on a day-to-day basis. Average error rate in self-compiled claims is around 30%. That number will drop to less than 1% when you make the choice to outsource your medical billing to a reputable firm.

Another benefit of using a medical billing company is that they lower amount of man-hours needed to run a successful practice. This cuts down on salary costs, vacation pay, and sick days because fewer employees are needed in the office.

After discussing the various benefits of hiring a medical billing consulting firm, it is very important to talk about choosing the right firm. Medical billing companies handle exceptionally sensitive materials and information about your patients. They have access to names, social security numbers, diagnoses, and procedures that were done to these patients. Your practice must be able to trust in the confidentiality of the medical billing firm.

Steer clear of companies that don’t spell out what they do for you and the credentials of their employees. Outsourcing your medical billing responsibilities to a consulting firm has several benefits, however, choosing the wrong firm can be devastating to your business – cheaper doesn’t always equal better and in the case of medical billing firms, ask for referrals – if a firm refuses to release them to you, that’s a red flag.

Outsourcing your medical billing can jumpstart your revenue for your practice if you choose a medical billing partner that is competent, experienced and working for you!