One of the biggest problems for a medical practice, or any business for that matter, is ensuring you get paid in a timely manner. What private practice medical providers often forget is they are not just providing medical services to their patients, they’re also running a business. If your medical practice doesn’t treat itself like a business, it will likely run into trouble down the road. One of the areas that trips up many medical practices is A/R or accounts receivable. At Outsource Receivables we’re constantly working with medical practices of all sizes to institute strategies and procedures to improve A/R. When A/R is healthy, so is the overall practice.
How Can You Improve Your Practice’s A/R?
If you find your 90 days+ A/R numbers climbing month after month, it’s time to take control of the situation before your practice is facing significant financial problems. Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business, including a medical practice. Below are a few strategies we’ve seen improve practice’s accounts receivable numbers significantly. They may be worth pursing in your practice.
Utilize the Latest Medical Billing Technology
Repeated errors in medical coding is an issue we see in practice’s where accounts receivables are a problem. If your team is improperly coding procedures, or using antiquated technologies to track collections, you’re likely not getting paid on time. Be sure you’re utilizing the latest in medical billing technology to ensure you have a streamlined portal where claims can be tracked. Technology that tracks claims properly is very helpful in identifying common and repeated errors in coding. Errors can also be corrected efficiently so claims are resubmitted quickly helping to continually advance the ball and keep your claims moving. Getting paid quickly is critical to practice health.
Track Employee Tasks
Identifying inefficiencies in how claims are processed within the practice is key to improving a practice’s bottom line. For example, are some of your billing team members performing tasks that should be handled by your administrative staff? Maybe your providers are spending time handling billing tasks that should be turned over to the medical coding department. Auditing all areas of your practice will usually unearth inefficiencies. Optimized workflow can lead to improved profitability across your entire organization.
One good exercise is to track the trail a medical bill takes around your office. Take note of each area or department where the medical bill is handled and determine if that step is necessary. This exercise will likely show areas where your process can be improved.
Consider Outsourcing Medical Billing Tasks
The regulations surrounding medical billing are constantly changing, and it can be incredibly intimidating for a small to medium sized medical practice to keep up. If you feel like you’re swimming in uncertainty related to medical billing and you’re looking for a way to improve your accounts receivable, feel free to reach out to our team at Outsource Receivables today. We can help to ensure your medical billing and coding practices are in strict compliance, while also improving A/R and reducing the number of medical claims that are denied. We’re so confident we can help, we offer a money back guarantee. To learn more, give us a call at (866) 585-2800.