Finding the right billing partner: A Guide for Physicians

Revenue cycle management drives a medical practice forward

While it is important for Physicians to serve patients well, it is equally important to monitor claims, denials, and reimbursements.

For growing practices or for Physicians starting out, this can be a handful.

It is common for Physicians to get caught up in administrative tasks and spend a good part of their day on billing, the time which could have been used for patients instead.

Hiring specialist staff for billing and coding is not always feasible too. Costs can be incredibly high and the administrative work gets compounded.

The easiest way to combat some of these issues is outsourcing. What makes it effective is the immediate results, what makes it a topic of discussion is the plethora of questions surrounding it. The search for a Billing partner can be overwhelming, and while most are just a phone call away, they are also miles apart in the quality of services they offer.

The more established ones provide add-on services like patient follow up in health care system, personal Injury Compensation Claims and insurance eligibility verification, services explained in detail here.

A good billing partner can bring new life to a medical practice, for Physicians, the decision is important and difficult, we at Bikham Healthcare have tried to make it a bit easy for you.
While shortlisting a medical billing service, a few key points to keep in mind are :

Initial Investment A complete transparency in the services offered takes the business a long way.
It is imperative that the outsourcing solution does not come with an additional cost of software or set-up. 

Decreasing overhead is the reason medical billing thrives, look for an organization offering seamless, zero-investment transitions.

ICD-10 Compliance It is essential for billing companies to be in tune with current regulations.

10% of denials are caused as a result of administrative or clerical errors, Add-on services like Charge Entry Process in Medical Billing and Demographic Entries Services can help to reduce them, however, a billing company with certified coders will make sure the correct codes are used, clean claim forms are generated and the denials that happen due to errors at the provider end are significantly decreased.

Accounts receivable management

A/R is the backbone of revenue cycle management, nothing hurts the cash flow more than pending payments that keep piling up. A good billing provider will make their objectives clear from the get-go, an action plan to work on pending claims and service history of decreasing A/R are good signs the billing company means business.

Denial Management 

While A/R is one aspect of billing that can bring-in pending collections, Denial management makes sure any delays are avoided in the first place. A regular follow up ensures the payout in a comfortable time period. A good billing provider understands this, has people on board that understand a Physicians’ way of working and has a dedicated team to follow-up extensively on all claims.

Specialty Experience :

This may fall in the area of add-on services but Different specialties have different billing needs, a billing partner with experience in specialty billing is always one step ahead of others. A good example is Bikham Healthcare, for 13 years we have pioneered specialty billing.

Chiropractic billing, Physical Therapy billing, Radiology, DME billing, Lab, Neurology, Home Health, the list goes on.With a client list this varied, Bikham is well equipped to handle any kind of billing issue you are facing or may encounter.

RCM Medical billing by third-party partners is not new, physicians have been doing it for years. It is a proven way for immediate revenue increase and a peace of mind. 

Still have questions? Call us and we would be happy to guide you.

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