New Medical Billing Procedure Saves Time And Money

By Author: Vikram Kuamr
Total Articles: 2912
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The typical medical office has more than 25 percent of its invoices beyond 60 days. Administrators are continually beleaguered by medical billing problems such as copayments and reimbursements not meeting projections. Physicians and medical administrators continually find themselves in the unenviable position of deciding whether they should create new billing statements or simply write off their fees; unfortunately both choices result in a loss.

Consider what happens when staff members send a small bill to a patient who underpaid their coinsurance by just eight dollars. Your staff begins by generating a billing statement, addressing an envelope and adding postage, sounds simple, fairly inexpensive and easy to do, but that's not the end of it; unfortunately, more costs occur. Even in an optimal situation where the patient immediately returns the bill with payment, a staff member still has to use valuable time to take care of it. Often, the payment still doesn't show up and a staff member wastes time calling or invoicing them again. All the small costs associated with medical billing activities add up over time and decrease ...
... the profits on services you've already provided. What can you do? The medical billing procedure outlined below, is designed to streamline the billing and payment process and reduce billing and administrative costs:

1. Put signs in several locations that state:

“Payment is required at the time of service.”

"Accept all credit cards, MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express."

2. If service, billing equipment or advice is required, seek the advice of an established and reputable merchant account provider.

3. Use medical billing forms which gather credit card information and allow office administrators to correct for under billing. Free medical billing forms are offered by some retail merchant accounts providers.

4. Simply don't make exceptions to your billing policy.

Additional payment options substantially increase the chances of receiving immediate payment (decreases administrative and billing costs). Processing a $10 copayment costs less than a postage stamp!

These days, more and more elective procedures are being performed and patients are increasingly paying more of their own expenses. Accepting credit cards, gives your patients the opportunity to pay outstanding bills and schedule follow up appointments at the same time.

Author Bio.

When medical offices streamline their billing process they save time and money. Learn how to improve your medical billing process by visiting Electronic Merchant Systems. http://www.elect-mer.com/ specializes in dental, chiropractic, veterinary, optometry and other types of medical offices.