When meeting and analyzing a new practice for medical billing services, this is one of the first questions we most often address and approach with a two-tier process, improving cash flow along with patient relations and awareness. These tips and guidelines will assist you in ensuring you are maximizing the potential return on your practice management system.

One of the first things you want to make sure is that charges are submitted electronically on a daily basis and balanced with the payor or clearing house. Rejected claims that do not pass the various edits should be turned around in 24 hours and promptly resubmitted the next day.

Intake employees must make sure to capture all correct patient demographic information and scan insurance cards into the system. Once a card is scanned into the system, it is easy for the practice management system account representative or your employee to immediately correct a claim if it is rejected for a typographical error or omission.

Another important practice management tool is automatic verification of insurance benefits before the patients appointment. This will enable your employee, and/or your practice management system account representative, to immediately identify patients that may have changed carriers, have pre-existing exclusions, or have large deductibles. Internal medicine and pediatrics also find it extremely helpful when determining if the patient has coverage. A patient (or the responsible party) is better prepared to make payment when they know, in advance, exactly what their insurance will pay as well as their approximate financial responsibility.

Another strong cash generator is to call the patients attention to any patient balance owed or balances exceeding 90 days when the patient schedules an appointment or visits the office/facility. Patients can also be advised of deductibles and coinsurance amounts at this time.

Your medical billing practice management process should also include a step to inform the patient when a rebill to their insurance carrier occurs in the event payment is not received from the insurance carrier. For example, a patient letter can be sent that states who was billed, service date(s) still outstanding, and instructions to contact the practice management client services representative or the plan benefit administrator so that the amount does not become a patient responsibility. You will be amazed at the number of calls this generates, and in the majority of cases, you may find that claims were originally rejected because of simple issues such as missing information from the patient or responsible party! Even though the patient receives an explanation of benefits, implementing this checks and balances step will increase cash flow while further fostering positive patient relations.

Practices should also have four medical billing statement cycles each month. For example, if insurance is billed on the first Wednesday of the month, then the patients secondary insurance may be billed the next day. If the patient does not have secondary insurance, then a statement should be generated on Friday of that same week for the patient portion. Too many practices send statements just once a month. Practices generating patient statements the same week payment is received can substantially increase cash flow from their medical billing process.

Lastly, offering medical billing payment options such as credit cards and online payment capability also assists with increasing cash flow. When patients can view their statements online and immediately pay, it benefits every one.

Implement these simple steps and watch your practice grow. These simple steps go a long way towards improving not only cash flow, but improved patient relations.