Medical billing and coding errors can cost physicians and their practice thousands of dollars each year. But there are a few simple tips to reduce and even eliminate billing and coding problems.
1. Review billing and coding processes and see where most of the errors can be attributed. Are you having frequent rejections? What causes them and in what areas do most of the problems occur? Is it with a particular payer or procedure? Once you find out what the precise issues are, you can take the right steps to fix them.
2. Train your staff and make sure they stay current on the frequent changes in coding and legal regulations.
3. Make sure there is open and clear communication between you and your staff. As a medical professional, it is understandable that you are always busy. Missed charges and coding errors are often the result of miscommunication. Encourage questions from your staff.
4. Be diligent in monthly reporting and evaluation of billing errors. Some physicians may think that this is a distraction from delivering proper patient care. However infrequent audits and reviews can ultimately be more costly and time consuming.
5. Know the real cost of medical billing errors for your practice. Understanding how well you are performing in this area is a good metric for any practice to track on a regular basis.
If you or your staff don’t have the time to do a thorough medical billing audit, or if you don’t have an evaluation process, give us a call and we can walk you through it. If you don’t have the time or prefer to have a professional evaluate your coding procedures, we can implement a medical billing and coding assessment for you. It’s a fast, efficient and cost effective way to pinpoint exactly where errors are occurring. We’ll even tell you how to fix them so you can start seeing a significant improvement in your bottom line. Click here to learn more.
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