As costs for healthcare increase, it also affects how healthcare professionals generally take care of their patients since reimbursements now follow a value-based system. They must maintain a standard when it comes to looking after those who seek medical help.
In some instances, there may be slips when it comes to the collection of fees since one has to consider their patients’ partnership with their insurance companies. This can be quite difficult to deal with given that services must be rendered first before a payment can be made. If a patient has insurance, chances are the payment need not be upfront.
There are myriads of ways for physicians to make collections easier which in turn, can help them maximize practice reimbursement. Here are some tips on how to make a copay less of a co-pain.
Standardize Alternative Ways to Issue Billables
Patients forgetting to pay for services or not remembering how much needs to be paid can be actual problems when dealing with insurance companies. While issuing receipts and giving the patients physical copies has been a practice that everyone follows, it also helps to send digital copies through email or text. It can be a foolproof way to make sure patients have more than one reminder of their billables should they misplace their physical copies.
Learn How to Manage Denials
Despite denials are a norm when dealing with patients’ insurance policies, there can be ways to lessen dealing with the constant following up for re-approval of claims. Making sure that we are familiar with the coverage that the patients have by making sure front office staff are capable of checking eligibility is one way. This also makes it easier for you to communicate with insurance companies in terms of patient coverage. The more informed and well-trained your staff can be, the more you will be familiar with handling denials.
Establish Easy Payment Options
If there are instances that a patient would opt to pay in installments, it would be beneficial if there are accessible ways for the patient to send over the payment to the physician. Electronic modes such as online payment will allow patients to use debit, credit cards, or cash applications for faster transactions. For this to be effective, a proper payment deadline should be made clear on both sides.
Opt to Digitize Processes
The process of working with insurance companies alongside the patients involves a lot of information exchange involving coded medical procedures, bills, reports, modes of payment, pre and post auditing, and a lot more of constant back and forth between you and the providers. By transitioning to automated electronic procedures, processes can be more streamlined especially when it comes to collections, miscommunication can be significantly lessened, denials can be properly managed, and future transactions will be smoother. Customer service, in general, will also improve given the easy interactions made possible by standardized processing.
There are a variety of ways on how one can effectively maximize practice reimbursement. What was once something stressful to deal with can turn into a walk in the park with proper preparation, a specific set of expectations, and digitized solutions.
