Treating patients in the hospitals and clinics, while simultaneously dealing with numerous new regulations pertaining to medical reimbursement is not an easy task. Hospitals with in-house medical billing department are especially struggling under the new laws. In this scenario, as many hospitals and clinics opt to outsource their medical billing services, we look at the most important points that need to be considered to find a stellar provider.
Verify the Credentials of the Company
Choosing a medical billing partner often starts with checking the credentials of a company. Credentials encompass many factors, one of which is their experience in medical billing. Years in operation is also important, as it is a reliable indicator of whether they will be able to adapt to meet the changing needs of a hospital over several years. The number of clients present on their roster also needs to be examined, and whether one or two can be contacted to get a reference or review. Finally most companies might not be able to provide all their credentials on demand, and in this case hospitals can ask for a written time table for their delivery.
Numbers of Teams Available
Managing the revenue cycle within a hospital requires several teams within a company. So ensure that there are teams that deal specifically with claims, while others deal with rejections and denials. Individual teams for each usually means that they can adapt to changing regulations at a faster pace.
Training and Certification of Employees
Training employees and ensuring they have the proper certification from organizations such as the American Association of Professional Coders (AAPC) and American Medical Billing Association (AMBA) is just the first step that medical billing companies have to take. In addition, employees need to have relevant on the job experience, and also take up continuing education units to keep their certification active. Hospitals therefore, need to check certifications and ensure that employees have the very latest.
Availability of Billers for Specific EMR Software
Using an EMR software and want medical billers who are experts in it? This is a prerequisite of many hospitals who want billers who are comfortable with the specific EMR package that they use as they can finish the coding process faster. Ultimately this results in faster claim submission and reimbursements reaching hospitals within a shorter timeframe.
Cost of Outsourcing Medical Billing
Finding out how companies collect their fees for services provided as part of medical billing outsourcing, involves knowing whether they collect a percentage of charges or receipts. Also start up fees should be taken into consideration when short listing potential medical billing companies.
Transparent Processes and Written Protocols
Ensuring medical billing service providers have transparent processes in place to provide regular monthly or weekly reports that are easily understandable is an all important factor that many hospitals overlook. Examining processes and protocols already in place in a company also provide an understanding about how current client’s needs are met and errors handled.
Changing reimbursement regulations does not have to hamper the process of finding a stellar medical billing company for your hospital. In fact with the aid of these important points, hospitals struggling to deal with falling revenue and value-based care protocols can efficiently ' outsource medical billing to companies like OutsourceRCM, which can help optimize money earned from current patients.
