Medical billing and healthcare management are interconnected. The success of the practice relies on these two factors having a good relationship.
Nitin Chhoda explains the correlation between billing and management, and the role it plays in a successful healthcare practice so that the owner will value its importance and avoid recklessness.
Therapists walk a thin line when reconciling the healthcare management of their patients and medical billing.
The process of accurately coding and billing of healthcare practice management can sometimes be at odds with the client’s welfare and their insurance coverage.
Therapists are often dealing with a narrow description of a complicated problem and it’s essential to provide the exact billing codes that describe the diagnosis, symptoms and corrective measures that were taken.
Patients can differ widely in their responses to treatment, making it imperative that therapists provide in-depth documentation to support their actions and conclusions.
Accurate physical therapy billing ensures clients to receive the best possible care and the clinic to reimburse at the highest available level for the services provided.
Healthcare Management and Billing
Billing and healthcare management is a closely interwoven process and it’s the responsibility of clinicians to educate themselves on the intricacies of the two. The result is better billing and coding, expedited reimbursement claims, and staff members that aren’t overwhelmed.
Next to treating patients, billing is the most important position in a practice. A clinic’s profitability rides on the billing professional submitting claims in a timely manner, conducting follow-ups and ensuring payments are received.
Physical therapy billing is complicated and time consuming, and smaller practices often have a designated biller that has a variety of additional tasks.
The day-to-day workflow doesn’t remain the same and it’s easy for billers to get behind without the appropriate healthcare management support and sufficient time to perform their responsibilities.
An EMR facilitates the process, allowing billers to submit claims quickly, efficiently, and with a lower denial rate.
Billing With EMR
EMRs provide clinic owners with the tools to track reimbursement claims, monitor denials, and identify potential and existing problems. On average, claims are denied approximately 50 percent of the time.
This is due to a variety of factors, from incorrect coding to improperly submitted claims. The burgeoning number of healthcare claims and limitations on services has been the impetus for insurers to scrutinize reimbursements more closely than ever.
Therapists with an EMR for healthcare management can utilize its many capabilities to identify denial rates, ascertain why claims was rejected and discover any patterns that might exist.
Problems may lie with incorrect coding, inefficient healthcare management or time restrictions placed on the biller. Once the cause has been determined, clinicians can work toward a solution that better utilizes the biller’s time.
Revenue Loss Factors
Another factor in revenue loss is the number of old and unpaid accounts the practice is carrying. One of a biller’s priorities is to track payments and ensure they’re deposited in the clinic’s account. Billers must review accounts on a regular basis to ensure payments have been made and make inquiries into their status if needed. Billing and healthcare management requires an individual who is detail oriented, with an agile mind and specialized knowledge.
The financial health of a physical therapy practice hinges on the efforts of its coding and billing expert. A large part of effective healthcare management is ensuring the biller has the time and support needed to maintain a steady cash to the clinic.
Ensuring the individual has superior training and sufficient time to perform the necessary and sometimes redundant tasks of billing will boost the clinic’s revenues and allow clinicians to pursue additional streams of revenue.
