When your clinic’s revenue has seemed to stall or decrease, that often means there’s some issues with the medical billing system that need to be addressed. Here are some key indicators or updates to consider when assessing your billing process.
Inquiry Follow-Up 
Have a system set up that organizes client balances so that you know when they need to have a follow-up and when they’re overdue. Front staff should also note when they’ve followed up so you know the patient has been informed. This will help minimize outstanding accounts and avoid missing claims.
Updated Patient Information in Your Practice Management System
Another part of patient demographics as it relates to billing is how efficient your process is for updating patient information. If you have outdated address, phone or e-mail you won’t be able to effectively inform a patient of their payment. If your front staff doesn’t have a consistent expectation of asking for new patient demographics, your system will have outdated information. Additionally, it’s more likely to get to the patient in a timely and accurate way if you have an accurate mail or email address.
Improved Staff Training 
If the same mistakes keep happening, try to identify a solution and how it can be addressed in a training meeting. You may find out the issue is with a small group of staff not following protocol. In general, however, there should already be a process in place for new hires, resources available for reminders, and a yearly session planned to go over the processes again and any improvements.
Track Outstanding Payments 
Follow-up is an important part of a clinic’s billing process. Without having an organized system in place to send reminders or alert the staff when a bill is overdue, then your clinic could miss out on essential revenue. Additionally, having a billing software in place will help inform your billers if there’s been a mistake on the claim, which will need to be quickly remedied.
Get Help by Outsourcing
When the current billers aren’t equipped to handle the workload, then it might be time to consider outsourcing. A billing company will have experts on staff to handle your claims, and you will only have to pay them on a contingency rate of actual receipts collected. Many clinics see an increase in revenue after outsourcing their billing and paying by the hour.
If you’re still unsure how outsourced billing can be a benefit to your clinic, give the experts at Outsource Receivables Inc. a call to have a no-commitment assessment of your practice.
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