What Medical Billing Companies Offer
Before you outsource to medical billing companies, learn what to expect from them. You will find that most will organize files and contact patients to get the bills paid.
If you are not sure whether it is worthwhile to outsource work to local medical billing companies,
you should find out what they tend to do. You might find that what you need done is not a possibility. On the other hand, you might discover that you can easily save your staff some time for other work by outsourcing a few tasks.
One of the most common ways that medical billing companies can help is by keeping accounts receivable files organized. Clearly, you do not want to mix up files, since this could result in your office never being paid for services rendered. It could also cause you to bill patients more than once, which would obviously result in a critically low level of customer satisfaction. Rather than lose money and drive away patients, you should outsource the work to a company that can focus on this task. Many employees are great at various types of work but find it hard to stay organized, especially when it comes to details that are not major parts of their job. If they tend to toss files everywhere in the office, it is time to get a professional to organize them.
Once the files are organized, you need someone to regularly contact patients to ensure the bills are paid. In many cases, medical billing companies will start by sending out a bill to a patient, with a date by which it must be satisfied. If it is not paid by that date, the company will have to send a reminder, and then let the patient know about any late fees or collection activity that may have to be taken if it is late. If the notice is still ignored, then the company may have to enforce the policies, meaning that the bill could be sent to collections. While this may not be the best outcome, it will ensure you get at least some of your money. This is better than letting the unpaid bills pile up once patients realize there are no consequences. The result is that medical billing companies may end up paying for themselves with the bills that they ensure are finally satisfied. So, consider that before you assume you cannot afford to outsource the work.
As all this is occurring, the company you have hired to do the work will likely keep you up-to-date. This is because many medical billing companies post electronic records and notices online everyday so that you know who has and has not paid, as well as what is happening with claims that have been left unpaid for a while. This helps you stay aware of how your office is doing financially so you can plan accordingly.
Being in charge of a medical office is much easier when you have experts working on each task. This is why you should consider letting an outsourcing company file each bill.