subject: How To Choose The Right Medical Billing Service Provider [print this page] Outsourcing your medical billing and coding is a practical decision in these economically challenging times. Success with managing your accounts receivable depends greatly on choosing the right medical billing service provider. As the very purpose of outsourcing your billing and coding tasks is to save time and money, you need to choose an experienced service provider. It is important that the company you choose will work as an extension of your practice so that you are kept informed of all the developments and activities. Here are some tips to guide you in selecting a reliable medical billing company.
Experience: Experience in the field of medical billing and coding is crucial. Choose a medical billing service provider with considerable experience and a successful track record. Only a firm with years of experience and a reputable record in the field can deliver reliable medical billing services to augment your revenue.
Expert team: The company you choose should have, expert certified (AAPC) coders code on staff. They should be up-to-date on current coding initiatives to prevent denials and enhance reimbursement. A company that provides solutions on advanced medical billing systems such as Lytec, Misys, NextGen, Inception and Eclipse or even work on your own billing software would be the right choice. Services provided should be comprehensive and ideally include patient enrollment, insurance enrollment, system-based insurance eligibility verification, AR follow up, charge entry, claim submission, payment posting, denial analysis, report maintenance, and so on.
HIPAA compliance: Patient information is highly sensitive and has to be handled with great care. Since the medical billing service provider has to deal with all your patients' sensitive health-related information, it is important to ensure that the company you sign up with is HIPAA compliant.
Customized monthly reports: Timely reports and coding updates are crucial. This helps you stay in control of your medical billing and coding and informed about the progress of claim submission and reimbursement position including outstanding claims, charge data, user notes, follow-up information, and payments.
TAT: Turnaround time is another important factor to consider. Getting medical billing services on time is important as insurers have deadlines. So check out the TAT that the company can offer.
Quality assurance: Make sure that the medical billing and coding company has strict QA measures in place. Pay attention to the process the medical billing companies use.
Other things to ensure include
Ensure that the medical billing services can ensure cost savings of 30-40%
Ensure that the company does not charge any hidden fees
Ensure that there are no long-term contracts involved
Going by all these considerations can definitely help you to choose the right medical billing service provider. Browse websites of medical billing companies and choose the one that best meets these conditions.
