Billing collection issues to address in your medical practice

I’m here at the annual meeting of the National Certified Healthcare Business Consultants (www.nschbc.org) in Palm Springs. Cindi Walker at Medicus Billing (http://www.medicusbillingconsulting.com) reminded us of three simple ways to improve practice profitability:

Make sure front desk enters patient’s insurance information correctly the first time. A big problem in almost all physician medical practices. Get it right the first time and quit mucking up your revenue cycle process and improve cash flow.

Improve collections at the front desk. Most medical practices “think” they do a great job at the front desk where in reality the opposite is true. Collect it up front and it doesn’t get in to the revenue cycle collection process. Question: What percent of daily office visits is your front desk collection money from?

Improve physician coding techniques. Physicians need feedback on their coding techniques on a monthly basis. If you see any issue with a doctor’s coding, let he or she know as soon as possible. This is one way to prevent revenue from slipping through the cracks.