As a podiatrist, you’re dedicated to providing your patients with the most excellent and compassionate care possible. You’re doing your best to run an efficient office that maximizes the time and talents of your team. The time-consuming job of billing to get the appropriate compensation for services throws a monkey wrench into the works for many podiatric practices. Below are some tips for overcoming common billing challenges and generating more revenue with less hassle.
Be in the Know
One thing is certain about billing codes for podiatric medicine—they are constantly changing! It’s important that you allocate resources of staff and time to stay current on codes and other updates. Incorrect coding can slow your revenue collection significantly and cost additional work hours. Frequent mistakes can be a red flag for an audit and, even worse, open you up to allegations of fraudulent billing.
Don’t Leave Money on the Table
Submitting clean claims is just the first step to better billing. Often claims will be denied or rejections. These require prompt follow within prescribed time limits. Missing those deadlines can mean forfeiting money that legitimately belongs to your practice.
Establish Friendly but Firm Collection Policies
Most patients will still have a co-pay due for the services you provide. Studies show that it’s very difficult to collect co-pays once a patient has left the office. In fact, when you factor in staff time, materials and postage it makes it almost not worth it to try. The sum total of these monies is not insignificant, however. Train staff on how to politely but firmly insist that co-pays be paid at the time of service. Many offices ask for payment at check-in rather than check-out to help smooth the process and increase compliance.
Good billing practices keeps patients happy too. Getting multiple bills for the same service or being told your patient responsibility is more than expected due to incorrect claim filing creates headaches and bad feelings with patients that may lead to a loss of repeat business and referrals.
We can help you avoid billing errors. A Step Above Health Management Systems provides specialized podiatric medical billing services to clients nationwide. Let our firm provide your practice with a plan customized to manage all your billing needs. Please call us at (877) 448-6233 to learn how our solution can save your money and help streamline your billing process.
