Physicians Practice Pearls: You Earned It, Now Collect It
By Judy Capko I was recently brought in by a practice to conduct a billing and reimbursement audit. As part of the process, I asked the receptionists about over-the-counter bill collection. Each responded: “I do my best.”
The billing department, however, told a much different, less complimentary story. Which one was reality?
To find out, I pulled encounter forms from the previous week and discovered that although the receptionists collected the majority of co-pays, they only collected on previous balances 20 percent of the time, and didn’t collect anything for non-covered elective services.
One unfortunate outcome of today’s labyrinthine insurance infrastructure is more complex billing statements, which cause confusion among patients and the receptionists who collect the bills.
Nevertheless, it’s time for medical practices to become more proactive when it comes to getting paid — before a patient even shows up at your office. Continued...
