Billing & Payments In Clinics: Going Paperless With Clinthora

By Author: sheetu
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Introduction

The healthcare industry is always changing, and the digital transition of that change is evident in how clinics handle their billing and payments. It seems like everyone is using some form of digital payment, and the days of manually keeping a register, myriad paperwork, guides, hand-printed receipts, etc., are quickly disappearing. Clinic management systems (CMS) like Clinthora are reinventing how clinics process their billing, patient payments, and insurance claims:

Clinthora supports the CMS approach to billing by bringing together relevant features that can amalgamate Electronic Medical Records (EMR), appointment scheduling software, and doctor-patient electronic communications to overcome the issues with paper, expedite clinic and patient transactions, and improve transparency.

In this article, we will discuss common payment delays for clinics, how automating invoicing improves payment processing, how to easily integrate bills into an insurance claim, and how Clinthora’s system integrates all of these features and more into one platform.

Standard Payment Delays in Clinics

Although ...
... advanced technology can help streamline billing and payments in clinics, many clinics experience payment delays from manual processes and disjointed systems. A few common issues are
1. Errors with Manual Invoicing
When clinics still use tedious, traditional, paper-based billing processes, the potential for human errors in calculations, wrong codes for treatments, or missing patient information will lead to late payments or rejected payments.

2. Delays with Insurance Verification
Processing requires a claim form to be verified with a patient's insurance company to find out whether a claim will be paid, and it can take days or weeks, particularly when the basic data is missing.

3. Not Having a Fully Integrated EMR
When the Billing systems are not connected to or fully implemented into an Electronic Medical Record (EMR), treatment information may be left out or repeated, which will create inaccurate billing.

4. Inconsistencies across multiple locations
When clinics have multiple locations without some sort of multi-location clinic management system, there tend to be discrepancies in billing formats, pricing, and reporting standards.

5. Insufficient Payment Follow-up
Without reminders or patient portals, collecting a patient's outstanding payments can lead to undue stress on staff, which will impact the clinic's overall productivity by repeatedly repeated staff telephone calls or emails.

Automate Invoicing/Receipts
Automation is the foundation of billing for modern clinics. Here’s how Clinthora does it:
1. Automatic Invoicing
Clinthora's clinic management system invoices its patients automatically as soon as a doctor completes a consultation or treatment. This could be
• Doctor's consultation fee
• Any lab tests
• Any drugs prescribed
• Any other services received
By integrating with his EMR software, Clinthora captures a fully comprehensive billable service list in real-time.

2. GST Compliant Invoices
Clinthora auto-generates GST compliant bills in accordance with Indian taxation principles. This greatly simplifies the accounting burden for clinic admins and auditors. claims.

3. Receipts via SMS & Emails in Real-Time
As soon as payment has been made, a digital receipt is sent automatically via SMS or email to the patient, reducing the demand for paper receipts and for the time-consuming processes that go with printing them. This process provides clarity for patients and gives the clinic trust and transparency when it comes to service bills.

4. Intelligent Payment Gateways
Cloud-technology-wise, Clinthora integrates quickly and easily with the leading payment gateways in India. Patients can pay via UPI, net banking, credit/debit card, and some mobile wallets. Providing several different payment options can significantly increase the completion rate of payments.

5. Cashless Transactions for Multi-locations

Clinics with branches in different cities can accept payments in different currencies, and private clinic owners can list, track, and manage all of their branches' cashless payments centrally. It gives them peace of mind knowing that all branches are using the same pricing structures and tracking payments in the same way.

Insurance Integration
In India, an increasing number of patients are using insurance to pay for their healthcare, but clinics still consider this to be a huge time burden. Clinthora's healthcare EMR comes with some pretty neat integrations and automations.

1. Pre-Authorization and Eligibility Checks
Clinthora has integrated with several TPAs (Third Party Administrators) so we can check real-time insurance eligibility, which allows you to cut your claim rejections.

2. Automatic Claims Submission
Clinthora auto-generates claim forms based on the patient's treatment details located in the EMR software. It submits claim forms directly to insurance providers, saving time and money and reducing your admin work.

3. Insurance Tracking Dashboard
Admin staff can view a scrape of a patient's claim status over all patients via an insurance tracking dashboard—much easier than checking spreadsheets and logging into multiple systems.

4. Document Uploading and Compliance
Clinthora allows patients and staff to upload all documents required, including prescriptions, diagnostic reports, and ID proofs, directly into the system, providing the doctor with the necessary documentation for approval, while allowing the compliance officer to review and approve documents, speeding up the approval process.

5. Reduce Rejection Rates
Manual data entry is removed, and accuracy improves, which means there will be fewer rejected claims and reduced reimbursement times.

Advantages of Digitization with Clinthora
Here's why the long-term advantages of going paperless with a complete clinic management solution like Clinthora are substantial:

1. Enhanced Patient Flow
With automated billing and receipts, patients are in the treatment room faster and spend more of their time getting care.

2. Centralized Financial Information
Clinthora provides one real-time source of financial reports from one site or multiple clinic locations—anytime, anywhere.

3. Reduced Operating Expenses
The transition to digital will save you money on paper, ink, printing machines, and storage costs.

4. Increased Data Security
Digital records have encrypted protections and are secured on the cloud, unlike physical documents that can be damaged or lost.

5. Improved Patient Experience
Patients can manage everything—from receiving a bill to making a payment or adhering to an insurance benefit—through Clinthora's patient app.

Summary
We believe clinic operations will continue to evolve into a digital future—the first step is a paperless solution to billing and payments. Clinthora’s clinic management system is a fully automated solution that minimizes billing errors, increases the speed of claims to insurance companies, and provides an overall better patient experience for both patients and healthcare providers.
Clinthora integrates EMR software, appointment booking software, and intelligent payments so that clinics can ease the burden of administration on clinicians, allowing them to have more time to invest in their clinical practice, while also appropriately helping the clinic scale.
If your clinic is still doing billing manually, if you are doing it in a less-than-time-efficient way, or if you still rely on paper, it is time to move towards a more intelligent, speedy, and paperless solution—it's time for Clinthora.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is a paperless billing system in a clinic?
A paperless billing system refers to the movement to digital tools for processing invoices, receipts, and payments for healthcare client services with no physical paper systems. Systems such as Clinthora automatically do this for speed and increased accuracy.

2. Is Clinithera's system able to integrate with my insurance provider?
Yes, Clinthora will have integrations with TPAs and insurance companies to allow automated claim submission, verification, and tracking.

3. How does Clinthora improve billing for clinics with multiple locations?
Clinthora can effectively handle centralized billing with uniform pricing and reports across multiple clinics/branches.

4. Is the Clinthora system compliant with GST?
Absolutely. Clinthora generates GST-compliant invoices automatically, making tax filings easier for your clinic.

5. How secure is patient billing data in Clinthora?
Clinthora uses encryption and cloud security protocols to ensure that all patient and payment data is protected from unauthorized access.