This feels like such a BIG ask. It also makes us think of the entirety of the medical billing process. Every single piece of the puzzle, when laid out can seem like A LOT. If we break it down to adjusting a few intricacies that could make the process more seamless it would be:
Transparency with patients about medical billing processes.
- If the patient is educated about their treatment process or medical care this will result in a better understanding on the part of the patient if they receive any billing afterwards. The same is also true about being transparent from the moment you have their co-pay information, and having them pay that on entry into your office the day of the procedure. Ensuring that patients are cleared financially with consistency is one of the primary ways that you can avoid accumulating bad debt.
Investing in your staff continuously.
- Any investment made to ease the burdens of your front-office team is a great asset, whether that be training, or getting in contact with a company like Gables Medical Billing to take on the stresses of dealing with payers. The continual education of staff leads to better outcomes in patient return and the overall feeling within your practice. If you do this you will likely see increased productivity which helps both you and your patients.
Using data and analytics to obtain the best view of your revenue cycle.
- Using the financial data and any charts, graph, or analytics you have at your disposal is critical to find any predictability with payers, whether it is a denial pattern, or the expectation of usage codes, locations, and patient necessity trends. This gives us more than just a rear-view mirror view, but can enable us to make actionable changes in the way we deal with payers and the submission and coding expectations for certain treatments and conditions.
Update your processes as the information based on analytics comes into view.
- Revisit your processes and procedures as you receive actionable information from payers. This will guide you in ensuring that your processes run smoothly. Another thing this will address is the fact that issues may still pop up, but you are building ways to grow and facilitate them with your team. It’s a great idea to work with your team to guide the patient through the copayment, and billing process, making it simple to see the process from beginning to end for patients and staff. This will make it simpler to update the flow of your revenue cycle management, and see more clearly where things are getting stuck. It may be a great practice to have regular check-ups and check-ins with your team and review the technological items you use, like the practice management software and ensure that all of your processes are in top shape, so that you can give your patients the best experience possible, and have a smooth revenue cycle.
Gables Medical Billing has a team of medical billers that are dedicated to helping your practice run the most efficient revenue cycle. Our team is trained to handle all claims submissions, follow-ups, appeals, and payment postings with the same dedication that you have when treating your patients.