A medical billing company is a valuable resource for physicians, medical practices, and other similar healthcare providers. There are many things medical billing professionals do other than post bills to patients. A good medical billing company will handle entering data about your patients into a patient management software such as patient information, physician information, medical codes, insurance information, as well as payment information. Additionally, medical billing professionals will help keep the payment process moving by re-submitting claims, interacting with all necessary parties to complete the billing process, as well as collecting payments from patients and insurers.
While some medical practices opt to do these services in house, there are many reasons why these services should be outsourced to a qualified medical billing company.
Finances
You will save money outsourcing medical billing to a third-party provider. The costs related to purchasing software and hiring and training staffers to do the work typically exceeds the amount you would pay to a medical billing service. In addition, medical billing companies will likely keep a closer eye on denied claims, forms, bills, and other issues that come up with medical billing while one or two staffers in your office may overlook these important issues causing severely delayed or lost payments.
Compliance
Medical billing companies are invested in staying up to date with the latest laws and regulations related to medical billing and patient management. Being compliant ensures that their clients are receiving the high quality service they can rely on. A medical billing company will award peace of mind that your practice’s medical billing practices comply with new laws, regulations, and industry standards.
Time
Another reason why you should hire a medical billing company is to better serve your patients by dedicating your time and resources to treating your patients instead of having to deal with billing. Running a practice brings a lot of responsibility, however outsourcing the revenue cycle to a third party provider frees up your time to focus on patient care.
Efficiency
Most medical billing companies will be able to provide comprehensive reporting on each aspect of the revenue cycle to show you where improvements can be made whether it’s during patient intake or after. This reporting provides an in depth look into the inner workings of your process and point out how to make it more efficient which could resolve cash flow issues, improve payment collection, and shorten the time between the patient’s visit and receiving the final payment. Without medical billing experts to help identify some of these opportunities, you could be leaving money on the table.
A medical billing company can provide a streamlined process starting with patient intake all the way through to final collections relating to the patient’s visit. Making sure this process is working at optimum levels is vital to the financial health of your practice. This process is called revenue cycle management and it’s all about processing information in a timely and strategic manner that will result in collecting payments as quickly and as efficiently as possible. In addition, a medical billing company will be able to communicate the status of your revenue cycle management and make recommendations for improvement. Overall, the business side of your practice must be working efficiently in order to keep it running. A medical billing company can help any practice do just that. Contact MHS today to set up a demo and we can show you how we can help improve your bottom line.