Here are the facts to validate:
Deciding on a vendor requires a lot of research. But asking the vendors for certain specific information can make the task a lot easier. Similarly, medical billing is also a very crucial process that requires time, dedicated staff, knowledge and accuracy.. Associating with a reputable and professional medical billing company can resolve a lot of billing issues and provide results.
At present, one may come across a wide array of large-scale medical billing companies. This has also made the healthcare industry more complex and competitive with every passing day. A practitioner or a healthcare organization needs to know what they require and should expect from a billing company and must compare all the offerings from different billing companies. Medical billing requires skilled employees, sophisticated technology and constant vigilance.
How to choose the right Medical Billing Company
One needs to know the difference between a dubious medical billing company and one whom they can trust with the patient’s medical information. Insist a vendor offers a business associate agreement to maintain PHI security and overall HIPAA compliance. With the right billing company, a practitioner can significantly reduce their time spent on billing issues and can focus more on patient care. The below mentioned points will help one understand how to choose the perfect billing company.
Value for Money
An experienced, end-to-end medical billing company consists of professional billers and advanced revenue cycle management experts. There is a cost and value associated with end to end medical billing & collections. Some vendors offer a reduced rate, however, there are limitations attached along with additional hidden costs. Making a decision on cost alone is not enough.
Some questions to ask before hiring a medical billing company:
- Company’s total years of experience
- How many people are assigned for the account?
- What kind of training does the staff have?
- Do they have certified coders?
- How many years of experience in your specialty?
- How HIPAA compliant are you?
- Do you have a compliance plan?
- Do you have any professional affiliations?
- Can you provide references?
- Who owns the billing data?
- Do they offer denial management?
- Can they keep track of and make analysis of your “rejected claims’’?
- Will your organization alert me about contract issues?
- What type of reports will you receive?
- Are there billing follow up items which they do not handle?
- Can they add value with their Fee Scheduling knowledge?
- Would they assist in Credentialing with a specific payer?
Importance of technology
According to analysis, a lot of independent physicians utilize an integrated practice management, and EHR software. . Does the billing company vendor:
- Do you provide a cloud based practice management software?
- Do you offer an integrated EMR?
- Are your processes mostly electronic?
- What kind of data backup and recovery procedures do they follow?
Offer Complete Transparency
Experienced and highly qualified medical billing companies use enhanced cloud-based systems, where one can expect 24/7 access to any claim or any data. As well as real time data. Through the software, one can have easy access to payments, charges, adjustments, write-offs, posted payments and more. Transparency allows for:
- Summary of the charges
- Summary of the payments
- Aging Summary (AR)
- Aging claims by the insurer
- Summary of adjustments, which includes defined write offs, contractual adjustments and refunds
- Procedure analysis
- Denial reasons
You get what you pay for. Lower rates aren’t always the better option, and a lower fee of your bottom line doesn’t always save the practice money??
For more information, please contact MGSI at info@mgsionline.com check our website @ www.mgsionline.com