Iatric Solution

The medical billing process like medical coding,  is a lengthy procedure, complicated too. The steps include the following steps:

·        Registration

If a patient sets an appointment with the health care providers they usually preregister for the visit with the doctor. But they need to register their names with the health service providers stating the reasons for their visit. They must provide personal insurance information to prove that they are eligible to get the service for the reimbursement.

·        Confirmation of  financial responsibility

The medical biller determines the services that cover the insurance plan which differ with the variety of medical  billing company settings. The plan accepted by the one, may be rejected by the other company.

·        Patient check in and check out

The time when the patient checks in, particularly for the first time, they need to complete some formalities, one of them of course is the filling of some forms or verify the information the doctor have in their files. The patients are also required to add more information if required.  The patient may also be required to give  some kind of official identification, like a driver’s license or passport, in addition to a valid insurance card.

The bills once completed, the super bill is then transferred, typically through a software program, to the medical biller.

·        Prepare claims/check compliance

The medical biller after taking the bill from the medical coder, and puts it either into a paper claim form, or into the proper practice management or billing software. The Billers includes the cost of the processing in the claim. They won’t send the full cost to the payer, but rather the amount they expect the payer to pay, as laid out in the payer’s contract with the patient and the provider.

·        Transmit Claims

Since the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), all health entities are covered by HIPAA have been required to submit their claims electronically, except for certain circumstances.

Getting a perfect Medical Billing and Coding is a real challenge, particularly for smaller performances with restricted time and resources. For an independent physical practitioners the medical billing is very much crucial for the financial health of any organization.  The medical billing slip-ups harm your practice. So it is necessary to detect the most common medical billing mistakes. It is not enough, the mistakes must be strategized to be averted before they influence your revenue cycle management.        

How can it be possible to avoid the errors

First, it needs to be ensured that the data collected about the patients and the insurance company is correct and current.

Secondly,  always go for an Electronic health record system for billing. The data maintained in  this system can check billing errors automatically before they go out for final reimbursement. Once the patients’ data are saved, the potentiality for errors is reduced or eliminated completely.

Thirdly, keep your clinical staff updated about the recent changes of healthcare regulations. The independent physician must go through regular training about current methods and modification of billing.

Fourthly, the health care personnel must stay alert regularly in regard to the errors as frequently as possible to determine the latest pattern. The errors must be addressed with the staff so that those can be fixed as early as possible and need no further repetition.

Fifthly, avoid duplicate billing  

Another important way to keep away from medical billing problems is that you need to be much careful to over-billing services, more than once. Although this may seem like a self-explanatory task, it can happen very easily if more than multiple people is inputting information. It’s crucial to be thorough searching when verifying the patient’s billing in every case to avoid future complications and erroneous medical billing.