Archive for the Week of July 7, 2006
Archive for the Week of July 7, 2006
Welcome to the medical billing blog archive for the week of July 7, 2006.
Here you will find links to every article added to the Outsource Management Group web site during the week of July 7, 2006.
You can browse this week's archives by clicking the "More" button from any of the excerpts below.
Reducing Your Rejections
Rejection hurts. Rejected medical billing claims really hurt. They take time away from your staff because the reason must be found for the rejection, the files must be pulled, the billing must be looked at and the claim must be re-submitted to the carrier. All of this takes valuable time away from your practice and has your staff chasing paperwork when they should be servicing your patients and helping your practice grow. Not to mention, you’re still not getting reimbursed for services performed until that claim is re-submitted, accepted and paid. That’s where the idea for outsourcing your medical billing becomes very appealing. Your medical billing partner will not only …
Outsourcing Your Medical Billing in Florida
If you happen to be a physician in Florida and you’re thinking about outsourcing your medical billing to an outside firm, think about what your practice’s needs are before you jump in and make a choice. The best company for your medical billing may not be the one listed in the yellow pages that is on the next block. With the Internet, secure server technology, and other advances in secure data transmissions, you need only find a company that fits your needs, whether they are 2 or 2,000 miles away. Find out how your claims will be handled. Ask what the process will be for handling rejected claims. The more …
Deciding to Outsource Your Medical Billing
Time again, we hear the biggest challenge in the medical billing outsourcing industry is simply convincing physicians it would be a good idea to outsource their medical billing and coding to a medical billing company. Some physicians have been burned by doing business with medical billing companies that may have very good intentions and promised great results, but simply didn’t have the on the job experience to handle the myriad of unusual circumstances, unexpected situations, and fast moving changes (some coding numbers can change many times in one year, and a wrong coding number means delays in reimbursements) that can occur in this industry. Outsourcing medical billing is a huge …
If You’re Not Outsourcing Your Medical Billing Claims…..
Did you know that if you are not outsourcing your medical billing, chances are very good you are throwing away about one third of your revenue from your practice. That’s a lot of money to not be collecting. You could vastly and quickly improve your reimbursement rate and collection of funds owed if you outsource your medical billing. Many practices still submit claims via paper, other practices submit their claims electronically but don’t have time to keep up with the coding and billing changes that can occur, many times as frequently as four times per year. Studies show, practices that outsource their medical billing to a medical billing partner that …
A Simple Lack of Documentation
One of the biggest reasons for denied claims or missed charges on your medical billing is simply a lack of documentation. It is never intentional, but in these busy days of patients, phones, and crisis du jour, it happens. Some of the important processing points where this can happen with your medical billing are: At the Point-of-Care: This is one of the most common causes for inaccurate or lost billing is that doctors find it difficult to record all patient encounters at the end of the day. It’s hard to recall every single procedure you performed with what patient. Your medical billing partner can consult with you to help you …
More Reasons to Outsource Billing Functions
Outsourcing your medical billing will remove so many of your headaches in your practice with your medical billing. A sobering statistic about family physicians who do their own medical billing is that they can be suffering a loss of 10%-20% of their reimbursements each year simply due to incorrect coding. It’s important for your staff to understand the documentation guidelines especially for E/M (evaluation and management) services. Your practice probably uses about 30 codes for about 95% of your patient visits per day. Make sure your staff is familiar with those codes that apply directly to your office’s procedures and the documentation those medical billing codes require. It can seem …
Inaccurate Medical Coding Can Cost You
One of the biggest ways a thriving practice loses money is through inadequate and inaccurate medical coding. Either one is a deadly mistake for your medical billing and can result in the following: Partial payment of your medical billing claim – meaning your staff has to stop whatever they are involved in and pull the patient’s file and note whatever has been paid and then spend time discovering why the rest of the claim was not paid. Sometimes it is an accident on the carrier’s part, but many times it is due to bad coding on the physician’s side of the medical billing. Denial of your claim is another big …
The Best Way to Handle EOB
The goal of any medical billing firm is to receive a correct check and correct explanation of benefits (EOB) from an insurance company. Sometimes this is easier said then done. Many times the EOB goes one place and the check goes another. There are two basic ways this can be handled: The first method is an example of a practice that compiles their own medical billing. In this case, it is beneficial to make sure a check and EOB are sent to the practice. This prevents future problems with remainders owed. It also makes sure the physician gets paid, instead of having a check sent to the patient and hoping …
When to Use 99324 in Your Medical Billing Claims
When doing medical billing for rest home care, there are many common pitfalls. Many coders bill four at home services or nursing home services when rest home care is performed. Incorrect medical billing coding such as this, could get you into trouble. The new medical billing CPT codes for 2006 address specific guidelines to follow for rest home coding. The place of the service is a big issue when dealing with the rest home services. Rest home, or custodial care facility is labeled as a POS 33. This is defined as a facility that provides room, board and other personal assistance services generally on a long-term basis. There is a …
