The radiology billing and coding was usually seen as a bulky process. It is quite difficult to stay upgraded on different changes in rules and regulations of an individual payer. Irregularity in billing and coding can occur in the tough radiology environment. Moreover, this can create hurdles such as lost or under-coded filing and the major risk of dealing with compliance matters. The majority of errors are only identified at the time of auditing or when claims are rejected. When it comes to managing your revenue cycle, you will not understand the losses that occur owing to inefficiencies in your billing and coding processes.
Tips for radiology billing and coding procedures:
After the introduction of high-ductile health plans (HDHP), in addition to HRA and HSA, has placed the patient back into the world of medical expenditure billing. This means radiology practices are looking rising share of their reimbursement for offered services. Furthermore, the reimbursement is directly coming from patients rather than insurance plans. Organized practices are observing as well as reviewing their policies, as these policies are relating to compensation and patient billing. Take a wider look at best practices, which can be helpful to trace your radiology billing and coding procedure and to get timely reimbursement so that you can focus on your patients.
Analyze exam titles and templates
Owing to the number of exams, the majority of the radiologists’ design templates to make sure all appropriate documentation noticed properly. These templates must be reviewed once a year along with CPT up-gradation to assure they are still the latest. If the radiology group alters protocol, a technique, or equipment, auditing should be done whenever such kinds of changes were made.
Concentrate on consistency and accuracy in documentation
Not only the billing and coding department but also other departments are responsible for correct radiology billing and coding processes. It is necessary for radiologists to concentrate on consistency and accuracy in their documentation, therefore; it definitely recognizes clinical indications, impressions, and findings. Documentation required to be precise and proper, use language which is able to understand by CPT descriptors
Requests for advanced beneficiary notices (ABNs) on Medicare patients and supervise medical requirement
When Medicare does not enclose a service because of the absence of medical requirements an ABN should be offered to a patient. Professional component fee and the facility technical document covered by the ABN. The professional component of ABN is often missed owing to the assistance required from the facility staff and returning of ABN’s transmittal to the billing organization. At the patient’s hospital, the radiologist and facility staff should work together in order to make sure the ABN records the professional component fee. Furthermore, radiologists need to ask their respective billing firms to supervise trends from ordering physicians.
These physicians should have knowledge about Medicare-covered situations before writing an order for a particular service. In addition to this, proper coordination between a radiologist and billing company is necessary in order to get a signed ABN copy from the patient. Initially, this coordination may look bulky, however, after proper coordination of processes, lesser write-offs could be experienced by radiologists.
Radiologists Must keep an updated knowledge of CPT code necessities
Radiologists are accountable for final documentation and submitted codes. Usually, dictated notes do not support the ordered exam thoroughly. This leads to coders following justification from radiologists or making assumptions from the given data. Keep in mind that coding is not only for coding staff, radiologists to have an upgraded knowledge about CPT codes necessities.
Design a Radiology Billing and Coding procedure for report inconsistencies.
Occasional inconsistencies in the documentation, like multiple views are unavoidable. A radiology group will look at correct reimbursement for offered services, and lower rejection and auditing problems. If you outsourced your radiology billing and coding to a billing and coding firm, it will help you to design a process, which will minimize report discrepancies.
Educate staff for patient payment encounters
Whenever there are problems such as insurance payment issues, accounts receivable agents should communicate with the patient to give information about the issues, in order to evoke their help and support and recall them of their duties. Instead of mailing a balance bill or a statement to a patent saying that there was no insurance payment usually consumes several months to solve. To resolve such kinds of issues automation in outbound calls could be incorporate by practices to aim eligibility denials. Therefore educating your staff for patient payment encounter is very essential, as it is one of the aspects of your customer service policy.
Outsourcing your radiology billing and coding responsibilities could help you to mitigate today’s auditing hassles and secure your financial outcomes. We are experts in offering medical billing services all over the country. If you are ready to decrease your denial rate, enhance revenue performance we can help. Contact us to learn about how we can offer you radiology billing and coding services that support your practice.